BOS3525
StepstoOvercomeOSHA’sViolationLaws BOS3525LegalAspectsofSafetyandHealth ColumbiaSouthernUniversity StepstotakeassoonastheComplianceOfficerLeaves DearCEOofBKCSteelandCopperworks, AfterourcompanyreceivesanOSHAcitation,herearethefollowingstepsthatneedto betakenintoconsideration;
Step1:PosttheCitation
ItisimportanttopostacopyofeachOSHAcitationnearorattheplacethecompliance officerhasnoted.Afterward,effectivewaystocorrecttheviolation(s)mustfollowsothatthe messcouldbereducedbythetimetheofficermakesacomeback.Postingthecitationisa requirementbecauseaffectedareasandemployedwilldevisequickandfastmechanismsto overcomeit.
Step2:Makeaproperfollow-upbyreviewingOSHAcitationscarefully
Thisstepisessentialtounderstandassociatedpenaltieswhilereviewingthecitation.Besides,itisimportanttounderstandthatthecomplianceofficerhasjustproposedpenalties whicharenotfinalyet.Therefore,someofthequickfactorstoconsiderinthisstepinclude; Theprimaryconsiderationofthegravityoftheviolation.Forinstance,thedegreeof illnessandinjurycausedbychemicalexposure.UnderstandthesizeofourbusinessandOSHA’spenaltystructurebecausethesmallerit isthehigherthepenalties(Grubbs&Nelson,2007).Documentawell-writtenhealthandsafetyprogramtoprovideahealthfulandsafe workplacebothinareasthatcomplianceofficerhasrealizedandthosethatareokay.CarryoutquickfixesonOSHA'sviolationsthatarefixablewithintheshortesttime
possible.Citehistoricalreviewofwillful,serious,andrepeatviolationswithinthecompanythat thecomplianceofficerhasnoted.
Step3:Abateit
ImportanttounderstandistheabatementperiodincludedinOSHA'scitation.Sincethe timeframetocorrecttheviolationisshort,itisgoodtoagreewiththecomplianceofficerthe shortestintervalwithinwhichmycompanyfeelstoreasonablycorrecttheviolations.However,it willbeinordertosetasidetimethatthecompanywillcorrectwhateverthecomplianceofficer hasrealizedimmediatelyheleaves.Forinstance,Iwillissueatimeultimatumtoorder,deliver, andinstallequipmentornewpartstofixseriousconcernssincecitationshavebeenissued already.TheStepsIbelievethatcouldhavebeentakenduringaWalk-throughthat mayhaveresultedinaQuick-fixPenaltyReduction Itisimportantforeverycorporateorganization,mostpreferablythemanufacturingfirm toenactlawsthatsafeguarditsemployees,clients,andotherstakeholdersofthewholebusiness.Obeyingsuchlawsandstandardswillnotattractanysuspensionsandpenaltiesasfaras OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministration(OSHA)requirementsareconcerned(Grubbs& Nelson,2007).Therefore,thehealthandsafetyoftheaforementionedgroupofpeoplemattera lot;hence,Ibelievethatthefollowingstepswillhelpourcompanyinaquick-fixpenalty reduction.
Step1:IntroduceQuickEmergencyMechanisms
Sincewealreadyhaveproperinformationaboutourviolations,thisstepiscrucialto lessentheinescapablepenalties.Forinstance,thecompanyshouldspeedupasingleemergency
mechanismsuchasintroducingeyewashforeveryemployeewhouseschemicalsandgivethem glovestoavoidchemicalcontactontotheirskins.Thesearequick,effective,andlegal requirementsaswellaswaystosuperviseandpreventviolation(s)attheworkplace.Besides, quickdustingandcleaningwillalsolessenOSHAviolationsbeforethecomplianceofficer returns.
Step2:MakeaQuickCompensationPlanUpdateforEmployees
Becausethecomplianceofficerhasalreadyreiteratedpre-existinghazardousconditionsat thecompany,Ishouldworkfasttofixcompensationplansformyworkersbasedonthedegree ofchemicalexposureandimpactsontheirsafetyandhealth.Forinstance,Ishouldrevisetheir healthandcompensationinsuranceplans,moresoamongtheemployeesassignedtoworkin dangerousareasthatthecomplianceofficerhasnoted.
Step3:PreparetoFaceaComplianceOfficerandexplaintohimAboutCustomsofthe
Company Oneofthekeyareastomakeanexplanationisinthecompany'ssafetydatasheetthatthe complianceofficerhasalreadyrealized.Ishouldbereadytofixandfitanymissinglabels throughoutthewalk-throughinthefacility.Besides,extensioncodesthatextendinthewalkways shouldberepositionedasfastaspossible.Thesemeasurescanlessenviolationpenaltiesand complianceofficerscangettounderstandthecultureofthecompanyandhowitfunctions.
Step4:EnsureRecordsonHealthandSafetyRequirementsareuptoDate
ThisstepcomesforthasaresultofthecomplianceofficeraskingforOSHAlogs,safety datasheets,trainingrecords,andrespirationprotectionprogram.Theofficeralsorequested chemicalinventorylists,samplingdata,andhazardouscommunicationprograms.Updatingthese documentswillgreatlyhelpinaquick-fixpenaltyreductionbecausethecomplianceofficerwill
concludethatthecompanyhasperfecteditsregulatoryrequirementsandmadethemavailable uponrequest.
Step5:EngageEmployeesinaShortEducationSession
Theeducationismeanttoremindemployeesonhowbesttheyshouldaligntheirduties withOccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministrationrequirements.Itwillalsomakethem conformtothestandardsandlawsofsafetyandhealthregulatedbyOSHA(Grubbs&Nelson,
2007).
Reference
Grubbs,J.R.,&Nelson,S.M.(2007).Safetymadeeasy:AchecklistapproachtoOSHA
compliance.GovernmentInstitutes.