OSHA announces its Site-Specific Targeting Plan for 2008
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced today that its 2008 Site-Specific Targeting (SST) plan
will focus on approximately 3,800 high-hazard worksites on its primary
list for unannounced comprehensive safety inspections over the coming
year.
"We will make effective use of our inspection resources to focus our
targeted inspection program on those workplaces with the highest injury
and illness rates," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G.
Foulke, Jr. "This program emphasizes to employers the importance of our
enforcement efforts in ensuring safe working conditions for employees."
Over the past ten years, OSHA has used a site-specific targeting
inspection program based on injury and illness data. This year's
program (SST-08) was developed using the agency's Data Initiative for
2007, which surveyed approximately 80,000 employers to obtain their
injury and illness numbers for 2006.
This program will initially cover about 3,800 individual worksites on
the primary list that reported 11 or more injuries or illnesses
resulting in days away from work, restricted work activity, or job
transfer for every 100 full-time employees (known as the DART rate).
The primary list will also include sites based on a "Days Away from
Work Injury and Illness" (DAFWII) rate of 9 or higher (9 or more cases
that involve days away from work per 100 full-time employees).
Employers not on the primary list, who reported DART rates of between
7.0 and 11.0, or DAFWII rates of between 5.0 and 9.0, will be placed on
a secondary list for possible inspection. The national DART rate in
2006 for private industry was 2.3, while the national DAFWII rate was
1.3.
The agency will also randomly select and inspect about 175 workplaces
(with 100 or more employees) across the nation that reported low injury
and illness rates for the purpose of reviewing their actual degree of
compliance with OSHA requirements. These establishments are selected
from those industries with above the national DART and DAFWII rates.
Finally, the agency will include on the primary list some establishments that did not respond to the 2007 data survey.
Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace
for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of
America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards;
providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships;
and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and
health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
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"SAFETY FIRST, SAFETY ALWAYS"
CSP,CIH,CSM