News and Updates
Category: Recordkeeping
OSHA Site Specific Targeting (SST)
The Site-Specific Targeting (SST) plan is OSHA’s main site-specific programmed inspection initiative for non-construction workplaces that have 20 or more employees. OSHA will generate inspection lists based on elevated Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rates for 2019, and sites with upward trending rates for the three-year range of 2017-2019. They will also identify a random sample of establishments that did not provide them the required 2017, 2018, and 2019 Form 300A data. To verify data accuracy and quality control, OSHA also intends to include a random sample of low-rate establishments from the 2019 data. 1. High-Rate Establishments The SST plan selects individual establishments for inspection based on 2019 Form 300A data. Since average DART rates vary widely among industries, OSHA will set one DART rate for manufacturing and a different DART rate for non-manufacturing as objective selection criteria. 2. Upward Trending Establishments OSHA will identify establishments with rates above their industry’s national average in 2017 that have continued to trend upward in both 2018 and 2019 and continue to remain above their industry’s national average. 3. Low-Rate Establishments To verify the reliability of the Form 300A data reported to OSHA, the agency will generate a random sample of establishments with low DART rates using the 2019
Spooner Safety Seminars Are Back In Session
ATTENTION Group and Group Retro Clients: Spooner Safety Seminars are back on the road! Following a lengthy hiatus, our team is eager to get back on the road educating employers and helping you fulfill your required training credits with BWC. See below to find out when our team will be in your area and get signed up before the March 29 registration deadline. Cleveland Area: April 5th 2022, 10 AM – 12 PM @ Holiday Inn, 6001 Rockside Rd, Independence, OH 44131 ***This session has reached capacity. If you need help locating another 2 hour session in your region, please reach out to our safety team!*** Dayton/Cincinnati Area: April 6th 2022, 10 AM – 12 PM @ Hilton Garden Inn South-Austin Landing, 12000 Innovation Dr, Miamisburg, OH 45342 Columbus Area: April 6th 2022, 3 PM – 5 PM @ Embassy Suites, 5100 Upper Metro Place, Dublin, OH 43017 Youngstown Area: April 7th 2022, 10 AM – 12 PM @ A La Cart Catering, 429 Lisbon St, Canfield, OH 44406 To register online, click here. NOTE: Registration deadline is Tues 3/29/22, 11:59 PM All employers are welcome to attend these informative workplace safety seminars. The training sessions will satisfy BWC’s 2-hour safety training requirement for companies in Group Rating or Group Retrospective Rating for the 2021 policy year, and are approved for continuing education credits for those with HR credentials. The attendance fee is $35.00/person – this will be invoiced after your attenda
Surprise, It's OSHA! Dos and Don'ts for Surprise Inspections
Under the new administration, we have already seen a significant difference in approaches compared to the previous ones. Here is a recent example: An employee gets his arm caught in a machine and is hospitalized. Historically, in addition to the standard 5 years of OSHA 300/300A - OSHA would be looking at the machine and requesting the Lock Out/Tag Out (LO/TO) program. Now when OSHA shows up, it may look more like this: They look at the machine, request LO/TO and their written HazCom GHS program, Employee Orientation (onboarding) program, all LO/TO training documentation for Authorized and Affected employees, PPE Hazard Assessments, work instruction/training on machine in question, and Forklift Training Documentation. Is all of this requested material directly related to the incident? Not exactly - but they're going to expect you to supply it, regardless. Having said that, Spooner is encouraging all of our clients to review their OSHA Compliance, which should include all your written programs, sub-elements under those programs, and your facility. If you think you have nothing to worry about, ask yourself this: Once OSHA is in our facility, could we supply all of that requested documentation? Speaking of having OSHA at the door, we get a lot questions (and panicked phone calls) on that subject. To help you navigate that anxiety-inducing situation, here are some basic steps to take if you receive a “surprise” vis
