ISCOSA TRAINING CENTER

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

MANAGEMENT - OSHA

LESSON 1
Introduction to OSHA
Introduction

More than 90 million Americans spend their days on the job. Until 1970, no uniform
and comprehensive provisions existed for their protection against workplace safety
and health hazards. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH ACT) was
approved by Congress in 1970, to assure so far as possible every working man and
woman safe and healthful working conditions. In general, coverage of the Act extends
to all employers in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and all other
territories under Federal Government.

DEFINITION:

OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration US

Department of Labor.
Employers: As defined by the Act, an employer is any “person engaged
in a business affecting commerce who has employees.
A competent person: is defined as “one who is capable of identifying existing and
predictable hazards in the surroundings or working
conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to
employees, and who has authorization to take prompt
corrective measures to eliminate them”
CFR: Code of Federal Regulations is a codification of the general
and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by
Executive departments and agencies of the Federal
Government. The code is divided into 50 titles which
represent broad areas subject to Federal regulations. Each
title is divided into chapters which usually bear
the name of the issuing agency. Each chapter is further
subdivided into parts covering specific regulatory areas.
Based on this breakdown, OSHA is designated title 29-
Labor, Chapter XVII.

Under Chapter XVII, the regulations are broken down into parts. (Occupational Safety
and Health Standards)
For example:
o Part 1910: General Industry Standards
o Part 1926: Construction Safety Standards

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Under each part, such as Part 1910, major blocks information are broken into subparts.
The major subparts in the 1910 standards include:

o Subpart D – Walking – Working Surfaces

o Subpart E – Means of Egress
o Subpart F – Powered Platforms, Manlifts, and Vehicle-Mounted
Work Platforms
o Subpart G – Occupational Health and Environmental Control
o Subpart H – Hazardous Materials
o Subpart I – Personal Protective Equipment
o Subpart J – General Environmental Controls
o Subpart K – Medical and First Aid
o Subpart L – Fire Protection
o Subpart M – Compressed Gas and Compressed Air Equipment
o Subpart N – Materials Handling and Storage
o Subpart O – Machinery and Machine Guarding
o Subpart P – Hand and Portable Powered Tools and Other Hand-
Held Equipment
o Subpart Q – Welding, Cutting and Brazing
o Subpart R – Special Industries
o Subpart S – Electrical
o Subpart Z – Toxic and Hazardous Substances

Each subpart is further broken down into sections. Let us look at one subpart in detail:
Subpart D – Walking – Working Surfaces.
The index of Subpart D is shown below:

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OSHA PURPOSE:
Under the OSH ACT (1970), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) was created within the Department of Labor in 1971 to:

1. Encourage employers and employees to reduce workplace hazards and to

implement new or improve existing safety and health programs.
2. Provide for research in occupational safety and health to develop innovative
ways of dealing with occupational safety and health problems.
3. Establish “separate but dependant responsibilities and rights” for employers and
employees for the achievement of better safety and health conditions.
4. Maintain a reporting and record-keeping system to monitor job-related injuries
and illnesses.
5. Establish training programs to increase the number and competence of
occupational safety and health personnel.
6. Develop mandatory job safety and health standards and enforce them effectively
7. Provide for the development, analysis, evaluations and approval of state
occupational safety and health programs.

OSHA Standards

In carrying out its duties, OSHA is responsible for promulgating legally enforceable
standards. OSHA standards may require conditions, or the adoption or use of or more
practices, means, methods or processes reasonably necessary and appropriate to
protect workers on the job. It is the responsibility of employers to become familiar
with standards applicable to their establishments and to ensure that employees have
and use personal protective equipment when required for safety.

Employees must comply with all rules and regulation which are applicable to their
own actions and conduct. The OSHA standards were taken from three sources:
consensus standards, proprietary standards, and federal laws in effect when the
Occupational Safety and Health Act become law.

1. Consensus Standards: are developed by industry-wide standard-developing

organizations and are discussed and substantially agreed upon through
consensus by industry. OSHA has incorporated the standards of the two
primary standards groups, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), into its set of standards.

2. Proprietary Standards: are prepared by professional experts within specific

industries, professional societies, and associations. The proprietary standards

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are determined by a straight membership vote, not by consensus. (An example
is the Compressed Gas Association).

3. Federal Law: Some preexisting federal laws are enforced by OSHA,

including the Federal Supply Contracts; the Federal Service Contracts Act; the
Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act; and the National Foundation
on the Arts and Humanities Act. Standards issued under these Acts are now
enforced in all industries where they apply.

Horizontal and Vertical Standards:

Standards are sometimes referred to as being either “horizontal or vertical” in their

application. Most standards are horizontal or “general” which means they apply to any
employer in any industry. Standards relating to fire protection, working surfaces and
first aid are examples of horizontal standards.

Some standards, though, are relevant only to a particular industry, and are called
vertical, or “particular” standards. Examples are standards applying to the longshoring
industry or the construction industry, and to the special industries covered in Subpart
R of 1910.

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Workplace Inspections

Authority to Inspect

To enforce its standards, OSHA is authorised under the Act to conduct workplace
inspections. Every establishment covered by the Act is subject to inspection by OSHA
compliance safety and health officers.

Under the Act, “upon presenting appropriate credentials to the owner, operator or
agent in charge”, an OSHA compliance officer is authorized to:
o “Enter without delay and at reasonable times any factory, plant,
establishment, construction site or other areas, workplace, or environment
where work is performed by an employee of an employer; and to

o “inspect and investigate during regular working hours, and at other

reasonable times, and within reasonable limits and in a reasonable
manner, any such place of employment and all pertinent conditions,
structures, machines, apparatus, devices, equipment and materials therein,
and to question privately any such employer, owner, operator, agent or
employee”.

Inspection Priorities

OSHA has established a system of inspection priorities:

1. Imminent Danger
Imminent danger situations are given top priority. An immenent danger is any
condition where there is reasonable certainty the a danger exists that can e
expected to cause death or serious physical harm immediately, or before the
danger can be eliminated through normal enforcement procedures. Serious
physical harm is any type of harm that could cause permanent or prolonged
damage to the body or which, while not damaging the body on a prolonged
basis, could cause such temporary disability as to require in-patient hospital
treatment. OSHA considers that “permanent or prolonged damage” has occurred
when, for example, a part of the body is crushed or severed; an arm, leg or
finger is amputateed; or sight in one or both eyes is lost.

2. Catastrophes and Fatal Accidents

Second priority is given to investigation of fatalities and catastrophes resulting
in hospitalization of three or more employees. Such situations must be reported
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to OSHA by the employer within 8 hours. Investigations are made to determine
if OSHA standards were violated and to avoid recurrence of similar accidents.

3. Employee Complaints
Third priority is given to employee complaints of alleged violation of standards
or of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions.

4. Programmed High-Hazard Inspections

Next in priority are programmed, or planned, inspections aimed at specific high-
hazard industries, occupations or health substances.

5. Follow-up Inspections
A follow-up inspection determines whether previously cited violations have
corrected.

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Citations and Penalties

Citations issued by the Area Director

After the compliance officer reports findings, the area director determines what
citations, if any will be issued, and what penalties, if any, will be proposed.

Citations inform the employer and employees of the regulations and standards alleged
to have been violated and of the proposed length of time set for their abatement. The
employer will receive citations and notices of proposed penalties by certified mail.
The employer must post a copy of each citation at or near the place a violation
occurred, for three days or until the violation is abated, whichever is longer.

Penalties:

1. Other Than Serious Violation – A violation that has a direct relationship to

job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical
harm. A proposed penalty of up to $7.000 for each violation is discretionary. A
penalty for an other-than-serious violation may be adjusted downward by as
much as 95 percent, depending on the employer’s good faith (demonstrated
efforts to comply with the Act).

2. Serious Violation – A violation where there is substantial probability that death

or serious physical harm could result and that the employer knew, or should
have known, of the hazard. A mandatory penalty of up to $ 7.000 for each
violation is proposed. A penalty for a serious violation may be adjusted
downward, based on the employer’s good faith, history of previous violations,
the gravity of the alleged violation, and size of business.

3. Willful Violation – A violation that the employer knowingly commits or

commits with plain indifference to the law. The employer either knows that
what he or she is doing constitutes a violation, or is aware that a hazardous
condition existed and made no reasonable effort to eliminate it. Penalties of up
to $ 70.000 may be proposed for each willful violation, with a minimum
penalty of $ 5.000 for each violation. A proposed penalty for a willful violation
may be adjusted downward, depending on the size of the business and its
history of previous violations. Usually, no credit is given for good faith. If an
employer is convicted of a willful violation of a standard that has resulted in the
death of an employee, the offense is punishable by a court-imposed fine or by
imprisonment for up to six months, or both. A fine of up to $ 250.000 for an

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individual, or $ 500.000 for a corporation, may be imposed for a criminal
conviction.

4. Repeated Violation – A violation of any standard, regulation, rule, or order

where, upon re-inspection, a substantially similar violation can bring a fine of
up to $ 70.000 for each violation. To be the basis of a repeated citation, the
original citation must be final; a citation under contest may not serve as the
basis for a subsequent repeated citation.

5. Failure to Abate Prior Violation – Failure to abate a prior violation may bring
a civil penalty of up to $ 7.000 for each day the violation continues beyond the
prescribed abatement date.

Additional violations for which citations proposed penalties may be issued upon
conviction:
a. Falsifying records, reports or applications can bring a fine of $ 10.000 or
up to six months in jail, or both.
b. Violations of posting requirements can bring a civil penalty of up to $
7.000.
c. Assaulting a compliance officer, or otherwise resisting, opposing,
intimidating, or interfering with a compliance officer while they are
engaged in the performance of their duties is a criminal
offense, subject to a fine of not more than $ 5.000 and
imprisonment for not more than three years.

Service Available By OSHA

Consultation Assistance
Consultation assistance is available to employers who want help in establishing and
maintaining a safe and healthful workplace. Largely funded by OSHA, the service is
provided at no cost to the employer. No penalties are proposed or citations issued for
hazards identified by the consultant.

This process begins with the employer’s request for consultation and the commitment
to correct any serious job safety and health identified by the consultant. Possible
violations of OSHA standards will not be reported to OSHA enforcement staff unless
the employer fails or refuses to eliminate or control worker exposure to any identified
serious hazard or imminent danger situation.

Consultation assistance includes an appraisal of all mechanical, physical, work

practice, and environmental hazards of the workplace and all aspects of the employer’s
present job safety and health program.

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Voluntary Protection Programs

The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPPs) represent one part of OSHA’s effort to
extend worker protection beyond the minimum required by OSHA standards. These
programs, along with others such as expanded onsite consultation services and full-
service area offices, are cooperative approaches which, when coupled with an
effective enforcement program, expand worker protection to help meet the goals of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

Training and Education

OSHA’s area offices are full-service centers offering a variety of informational
services such as availability for speaking engagements, publication, audiovisual aids
on workplace hazards, and technical advice.

The OSHA Training Institute in Des Plaines, IL, provide basic and advanced training
and education in safety and health for federal and state compliance officers; state
consultants; other federal agency personnel; and private sector employees, employees
and their representatives. Institute courses cover areas such as electrical hazards,
machine guarding, ventilation and erognomics.

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NOTES:

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