Be Prepared for OSHA Inspection; Get your OSHA Certification Now!

The sole purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is to format and enforce health and safety standards that save workers in the workplace from accidents and injuries. It has authority to audit organizations for compliance on health and safety. OSHA performs workplace inspections to ensure that employers are fulfilling the standards and providing a safe and healthful workplace.OSHA compliance and safety officers perform these audits. These might be carried out due to accidents, fatalities, complaints and referrals or as a follow-up investigation. An OSHA inspection can become a stressful experience for employers since the agency can impose penalties on those who are violating the standards. Every workplace is unique; no common formula can be assigned for bargaining on an OSHA audit. However, concentration to some fundamental details can be immensly helpful; First, having an efficient safety and health plan which lays down the policies, measures and practices for defense against occupational safety and health hazards and helps to widen the proper attitude. Depending on the sort of industry and the complication of operations, these programs may even contain a Processes Safety Management (PSM) program mandated by the 29 CFR 1910.119 OSHA Standards. An in print program should be communicated to all employees.Second, training employees on occupational health and safety, including OSHA training and OSHA certification should be regular. Proper training is compulsory to insure that personnel comprehend potential hazards as well as practice safe working methods. Third, it is significant for companies to stress worker participation in safe practices. Dynamic employee participation can significantly improve conformity to OSHA certification standards.Fourth, it is imperative that businesses have a written hazard communication program. This is particularly important in industries handling hazardous chemicals. The complexity of the program will obviously depend upon the specific needs of the worksite. It may range from a simple collation of information from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), to a comprehensive OSHA mandated program in line with the 29 CFR 1910.1200 Standard.Fifth, periodic self inspections and compliance audits will help to identify violations and allow corrective action to be taken. Earlier cases of accidents or injuries, if any, can also be analyzed for possible preventive measures. This will minimize the likelihood of being cited for violations during OSHA training audits.Record keeping is one of the most important tools for providing proof of a company's efforts to comply with an OSHA inspector. The scope of documentation is wide and the more accurately records are maintained; the better it is for audits. Examples of relevant documentation would be accident reports, injury and illness reports, exposure records (hazmat exposure, noise exposure, etc where applicable), past inspections and action-taken reports, as well as employee training records.All these steps will lessen the stress of an OSHA inspection and reduce the odds of receiving citations and penalties. As an OSHA fact sheet states, "OSHA's primary goal is correcting hazards and maintaining compliance, rather than issuing citations or collecting penalties."