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Workers count on OSHA
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In 1970 Congress
passed legislation establishing standards for occupational safety
and health administration. Since creation of the federal
agency (a year later) to oversee adherence to the standards, deaths
on jobs in the U.S. have been cut in half. Last year the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted over
35,000 inspections to insure a safe work place for all workers.
A total of 111 million workers at 7 million workplaces are protected
by OSHA standards. The main focus of the federal agency is the
inspection process. In addition to this, OSHA staff also
offers educational programs for workplace supervisors and managers.
Several states have applied for certification to operate their own
OSHA program within the state. The Commonwealth of Virginia
received this certification in 1988 for independent operation of the
OSHA program. The Commonwealth offices are located in Norfolk.
During the past twenty-four months, the state office has conducted
many surveys in physician offices. Surveyors look at proper
handling of sharps (needles), proper storage of chemicals and other
hazardous materials, complete posting of MSDS sheets (material
safety data sheets) for all chemicals and hazardous products used in
the physician offices and also employee educational programs. |
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Proposed New Safety and Health
Program Rule
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A new program rule (29 CFR 1900.0;
docket no. S&H-0027) is currently under consideration. If made
official, this rule will impact all healthcare providers. Goal
is to further reduce the number of job-related fatalities, illnesses
and injuries. Employers will be expected to comply by
designing and operationally activating a workplace safety and health
program. OSHA offices state that the program must have the
following core elements:
- Management, leadership and employee participation
- Hazard identification and assessment
- Hazard prevention and control
- Information and training
- Evaluation of program effectiveness
Each company will be required to identify one individual
(manager, supervisor or employee) to submit reports about workplace
safety and health conditions. This person will also be charged
with initiation of corrective action when problems are identified.
The proposed rule also requires that all job-related fatalities,
injuries, illnesses, incidents and hazards be reported and that the
organization's system is able to investigate and respond quickly to
control hazardous conditions. In addition, the organization
must have a method in place to evaluate new equipment, materials and
processes before they are used or activated.
Recordkeeping is very important. The employer must document
each work-related death, serious injury or illness or incident
(near-miss) having the potential to cause death or serious physical
harm. Can you identify potential areas of risk in the work
environment where you are currently employed or have been previously
employed? What actions were taken to educate you about these
potential risks? If you become a manager, supervisor or
employee charged with the responsibilities for monitoring, educating
and reporting safety and health in your organization, how
would you get started? OSHA
has a web site through the U.S. Department of Labor. Many
resources are available here. |
