How OSHA plans to change its targets for safety inspections

A word to the wise: Recent modifications to OSHA’s enforcement priorities could prompt the agency to change the types of employers targeted for its wall-to-wall inspections.

That’s because OSHA just rolled out a new inspection weighting system, which is the first significant change to OSHA’s enforcement priorities since it began using enforcement units (EUs) in 2015.

While the new approach will continue to measure EUs, more units will no longer be given to longer inspections than to shorter ones. Instead, OSHA will consider other factors, such as agency priorities and the impact of inspections, when assigning EUs.

For instance, inspections initiated under OSHA’s site-specific targeting program could receive more EUs.
Specific criteria
Specifically, EUs will be assigned to inspections based on the following criteria:
Group A (7 EUs): criminal and other significant cases, e.g., proposed fines totaling more than $180,000.
Group B (5 EUs): fatalities, reportable injuries, the chemical facility national emphasis program and process safety management inspections.
Group C (3 EUs): caught-in, electrical, fall and struck-by hazards.
Group D (2 EUs): combustible dust, heat, confined space and noise hazards.
Group E (1 EU): everything else.

What it means to you:

While you of course want to prevent all types of injuries, pay particular attention to those that receive the most EUs – inspectors will be highly motivated to conduct checkups that get the most bang for the buck.

(From the Oct. 15, 2019, issue of OSHA Compliance News)