OSHA: Deal with it

Learning ins, outs of agency can make it less intimidating

By Hilary Ruesch

"OSHA has been seen as an adversary. They’re only an adversary if you don’t follow the rules." Hap Pigsley Safety Director Platt Construction Inc.

In 1999, construction accounted for 20 percent of all fatal work-related injuries in the nation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And while the national 1997-98 fatality rate is 3 percent lower than it was in 1995, it remains high: 14.2 per 100,000 workers a report by the Department of Labor indicates.

For that reason, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration establishes safety standards to prevent accidents, but regulations can be unclear. And the time it takes to meet these standards can be a burden, leaving many contractors intimidated when addressing OSHA inspections and citations.

Several options are available to contractors when dealing with OSHA, and a variety of educational resources can clear up the confusion surrounding complicated OSHA standards.

OSHA conducts inspections based on four priorities: imminent danger, fatalities or three or more injuries in an accident, complaints or referrals, and general targeted inspections.

The majority of inspections result from complaints or referrals, while targeted inspections concentrate on general safety and health concerns.

"Targeting is based on where injuries are," said Patrick Ostrenga, assistant area director of OSHA's Milwaukee office. "Forty percent of injuries are caused by falls, 25 to 30 percent are caused by electricity, and 30 percent are caused by struck-bys or caught-betweens."

Opening conference

When an OSHA inspection occurs, it begins with an opening conference in which OSHA presents the scope of the inspection to the contractor.

"We give the reason for the inspection, at which point the contractor decides whether or not to allow us to inspect," Ostrenga said. "If they don't, we get a warrant."

Following the opening conference or the serving of a warrant, the actual inspection of the site is conducted. After that, OSHA inspectors hold a closing conference with the contractor outlining their findings. If there are any violations, a citation will be sent to the contractor.

OSHA violations are broken down into five major categories:

Money generated by citations - and fines can be in the millions of dollars-does not go directly to OSHA. Rather, it is put into a general government revenue fund.

Options available

Contractors have three options when they receive citations: pay the fine, contest the citation or request an informal meeting.

Currently, 3 percent to 4 percent of OSHA citations are contested. Contractors must contest a citation within 15 working days of receiving it. This results in a court hearing before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

"The review commission is an independent body not controlled by OSHA," Ostrenga said.

OSHA and the contractor present their evidence before an administrative law judge who hands down a ruling. The hearings have no juries and can last from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks. If the judgment supports OSHA, the judge has the power to then raise or lower the fine.

Following the judge's ruling, there is a process of appeal available. Contractors can take the judge's decision before the entire review commission. If dissatisfied with the decision, contractors can take the ruling to the Court of Appeals and, ultimately, the Supreme Court.

However, when facing an OSHA citation, it is more common for contractors to request an informal meeting.

"They come in and present their side of the story and generally we reach a compromise," Ostrenga said.

At an informal meeting, contractors show their training methods, implemented safety guards and how they will abate the situation. If a contractor believes the citation is a mistake, this is the time to provide documentation of the mistake. Often, these meetings lead to changes at the work site and a reduction in the fine.

Changes needed

"The one thing many contractors miss is showing us how they are going to make sure it won't happen again," Ostrenga said.

In construction, the workplace is constantly changing, which can lead to a problem with inconsistent enforcement of safety standards.

"Many contractors have wonderfully written programs, but there is poor implementation," Ostrenga said. "Occasionally, policy from the front office doesn't get down to the guys in the field."

Hag Pigfley, safety director for Platt Construction Inc. in Franklin, finds that many violations stem from a misinterpretation of OSHA guidelines.

"Employers want a good, safe place for their workers," Pigfley said. "They realize workers are their most valuable asset."

In the course of three years, Platt Construction turned around its safety standing by implementing a strict safety policy that got the worker involved.

The first step to safety was breaking workers' old habits and getting them to foster a safety dialog.

"It used to be who hollered the loudest got the most done," Pigfley said.

Platt Construction now encourages workers to discuss and plan how to address safety concerns.

Pigfley emphasizes the importance of giving workers the authority to say no on the work site to conditions that they see as unsafe.

"If a situation doesn't look right or feel right - it's not right," Pigfley said.

Safety promoted

Management at Platt stands behind its workers' decisions when it comes to site safety and has taken several other steps to promote safety on its projects.

Platt Construction created a safety department, which Pigfley heads, to insure that workers are educated on safety precautions and OSHA standards are met.

In 1994, Platt Construction implemented drug testing to protect its workers. Often, workers abusing drugs end up injuring or killing others, not themselves.

"We don't want to hire an accident," Pigfley said.

Fostering personal responsibility, Platt Construction also enforces a strict three-strikes-you're-out safety policy. The first time an employee commits a safety violation, the worker is brought in, told what was wrong and why it's wrong. The second time, the worker is again given an explanation and the meeting is kept on their record. The third time, the worker is dismissed.

"We can't afford to have people who don't follow the rules," Pigfley said.

Awareness and education are seen as the key to providing universal safe working conditions. OSHA offers a vast outreach program to educate contractors on OSHA standards and methods of compliance.

OSHA provides information on standards on its Web site and through a newsletter, outreach meetings and seminars.

Outreach personnel educate contractors and workers by meeting with associations and unions and holding training sessions. During sessions, the details of complex standards are explained and compliance options for contractors are offered. These meetings are also forums for workers and contractors to openly ask questions.

New standards explained

Aside from sessions on general safety standards, OSHA hosts sessions that explain new standards and recent changes to old standards.

In upcoming months, OSHA will hold sessions on several pending standards. A ruling will be handed down in July on the steel erection standard, which mandates precautions against steel-related injuries. In 2002, a new recordkeeping standard may also be put in place, requiring that work-related injury and illness and their causes be recorded in a different way that better protect worker privacy.

Pigfley believes that OSHA should be seen as a contractor's partner in creating a safe working environment.

"OSHA has been seen as an adversary," Pigfley said. "They're only an adversary if you don't follow the rules."

Pigfley said contractors' attitudes toward OSHA and safety standards, in general, are changing, and there's a growing trend for contractors to create safety director positions and entire safety departments.

And that's as it should be, he said, as contractors no longer see safety as an expense, but a way to become more productive.

"Safety is the best place to save money," Pigfley said.

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