Chapter 25: OSHA Inspections

Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.
OSHA Inspections
Chapter 25
1

Learning Objectives
Lesson 25.1: OSHA Inspections
1. Describe OSHA’s legal mandate to protect
employees in the workplace and its inspection
priorities.
2. List the OSHA standards that apply to dentistry.
3. Outline why and how OSHA conducts
workplace inspections and describe the possible
outcomes of an inspection.
4. Identify ways that dental offices can proactively
prepare for an OSHA inspection.
2

OSHA Inspections
 Under the Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970 (The Act), the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
authorized to conduct workplace inspections
and investigations to determine whether
employers are complying with standards
issued by the agency for safer and healthier
workplaces
3

OSHA Inspections
 Standards are often performance based,
mandating achievement of a specific goal.
 For example, it is the responsibility of an employer
to protect employees from patient body fluids in
dental environments.
 The employer is challenged to protect the
employees as much as possible.
 One section of The Act, often referred to as
the General Duty Clause, is a broad
statement designed to cover all events and
locations.
4

Inspection Priorities
 OSHA’s priorities go in the following order,
with worst situations listed first:
 Imminent danger
 Catastrophes and fatal accidents
 Complaints and referrals
 Programmed inspections
 Follow-up inspections
5

 What is meant by imminent danger?
 The reasonable certainty that a danger exists that could cause death
or serious physical harm unless eliminated
 What is meant by catastrophes and fatal accidents?
 The second priority goes to investigations of fatalities and accidents
resulting in a death or hospitalization of three or more employees.
 What is meant by complaints and referrals?
 Deals with formal employee complaints of unsafe or unhealthy
working conditions and referrals from any source [including patients]
about a workplace hazard
 What are programmed inspections?
 The fourth priority is aimed at specific high-hazard industries,
workplaces, and occupations or health substances or other
industries identified in OSHA’s current inspection procedures
 What are follow-up inspections?
 Determines if an employer has corrected previously cited violations
6

What an Inspection Involves
 The complaint
 Employees have right to file complaints about
workplace safety
 Complainants have right to request that employers
do not know their names
 Complaints can be filed online at
http://www.osha.gov/pls/osha7/eComplaintFo
rm.html
7

 Other interested parties, such as patients,
can also file a complaint.
 Most online complaints go through OSHA’s
phone/fax system. An OSHA-7 form will need
to be completed.
 Written, signed complaints submitted to
OSHA are more likely to result in on-site
OSHA inspections.
8

 A discrimination complaint should be filed if an
employer has punished an employee for exercising
any employee rights established under the OSHA
Act or for refusing to work when faced with an
imminent danger of death or serious injury and
there is insufficient time for OSHA to inspect.
 A complaint can be filed by calling the local OSHA
regional office.
 In states with approved state plans, employees
may file a complaint with both the state and federal
OSHA.
9

What an Inspection Involves (Cont.)
 OSHA responds to the complaint
 Depending on the circumstances, OSHA will
respond in one of three ways to the complaint
• Stage no inquiry
• Stage an inquiry
• Conduct an on-site inspection
10

 Before beginning an inspection, the OSHA staff
must be able to determine from the complaint that
there are reasonable grounds to believe that a
violation of an OSHA standard or a safety or health
hazard exists.
 If OSHA has information indicating the employer is
aware of the hazard and is correcting it, the agency
may not conduct an inspection after obtaining the
necessary documentation from the employer.
 Inspections of complaints do not occur on a “first
come, first served” basis.
 OSHA ranks complaints based on the severity of the
alleged hazard and the number of employees exposed.
11

 On-site inspection
 OSHA can conduct workplace inspections to
enforce standards
 Usually on-site inspections occur unannounced
 Involves:
• An opening conference
• A walk-through review
• A closing conference
12

 Prior to an inspection, involved OSHA personnel
will become familiar with as many important facts
as possible about the workplace, such as its
inspection history, the nature of the business, and
the particular standards that might apply.
 Before an inspection, the inspector will conduct an
opening conference during which the purpose of
the visit and what to expect during the inspection
are explained.
 The inspector will ensure that an employee
representative is present at the opening
conference.
13

 After the opening conference, the inspector will
conduct a walk-through inspection for safety and
health hazards.
 A workplace representative must accompany the
inspector during the walk-through.
 The closing conference will also include a
discussion of all unsafe or unhealthy conditions
observed during the inspection and citations that
may result.
 Finally, the inspector explains the appeals
process.
 After the closing conference, workplace
personnel should meet and discuss what events
occurred and to plan for action as needed.
14

 During an inspection:
 Ask inspector for credentials
 Ensure the inspector has a warrant
 Answer all questions truthfully
 Stay with inspector at all times
 Correct all identified violations immediately if
possible
15

 Other things to keep in mind:
 Answer all questions truthfully, without directly
admitting guilt.
 Do not offer information unless asked.
 Do not talk about accidents or incidents that have
occurred in the past, unless specifically asked to
do so.
 Be courteous. Do not be rude to or argue with the
inspector.
 Ask the inspector for a receipt for any documents
provided.
16

Possible Outcomes of Inspections
 After the OSHA inspector reports his or her
findings to the office, the area director will
determine what violations, if any, were
present
 Willful violation
 Serious violation
 Other-than-serious violation
 De minimis violation
 Failure to abate violation
 Repeated violation
17

 Discuss that if the director determines
violations are present, OSHA will issue
citations and give the employer a reasonable
time for abatement of the violations.
 Employers have the right to contest a citation.
 More than 90% of OSHA inspections of
dental offices involve complaints about the
Bloodborne Pathogens and Hazard
Communication Standards.
18

 Violation types have penalty guidelines.
 Sometimes after, or other times concurrently
with the issuance of a citation and within
reasonable time after the inspection, the local
OSHA director will inform the employer of the
proposed penalty.
 Table 25.1 identifies standards cited by
federal OSHA for dental offices and clinics
during the period from October 2010 through
September 2011 and October 2014 through
September 2015.
19

Proactive Thinking
 Steps to prepare for (or even better, prevent) an
unexpected visit from an OSHA inspector
 Establish regular office meetings to discuss safety and
health and to seek employee feedback concerning
OSHA-related issues
 Join the Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention
(OSAP)
 Make sure the required OSHA poster, “Job Safety and
Health Protections”, is displayed in an area accessible to
all employees
 Identify, make available, and review all OSHA standards
that apply to the employees
 The required OSHA poster is Poster 3165. (Instructor
Note: Can be found at
http://www.osha.gov/Publications/poster.html ) 20

Proactive Thinking (Cont.)
 Steps to prepare for (or even better, prevent) an
unexpected visit from an OSHA inspector
 Ensure all required written programs, documents, and
employee records are current
 Monitor safety and health compliance in-house
 Designate a workplace safety officer
 Identify the person who needs to be present if there is
an OSHA inspection
 Make sure employee training concerning OSHA
standards is current and correct
 Regularly review employee records required by OSHA
 Designate duties for all employees in the event of an
inspection
21

Chapter 25: OSHA Inspections

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