The PA OSHA Consultation Program

1. The PA OSHA Consultation Program PA OSHA Consultation

2. Federal Mandate • Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 • Enforcement • Consultation • Consultation requirement codified in 29 CFR 1908 • Each State and US Territory must provide safety and health consultation services • Funded by Federal OSHA at 90% and by IUP at 10% • 1 of 50 OSHA Consultation Programs nationally • 1 of 8 university based programs… 2nd largest in U.S.

3. Primary Objectives • To assist PA employers with: • complying with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 • saving workers lives and their livelihoods • preventing needless occupational injuries, illnesses and disabilities • minimizing property damage and costs • avoiding OSHA penalties, fines and criminal prosecutions • reducing workers compensation costs and third party liability exposures • attaining and sustaining economic viability

4. History • Since 1983 at IUP • Touted as an exemplary Consultation Program by OSHA • Serves as a model for other state programs • Rated as outstanding by employers consistently • Closely affiliated with the IUP “world-class and internationally known”Safety Sciences program

5. Staffing • 15 FTE’s • 1 Program Director, • 12 Safety and Health Consultants • 2 Administrative Staff • 4 vacant consultant positions • Consultants strategically located throughout PA • Highly experienced… 15-35 years each • Board certified professionals

6. Designed for Smaller Businesses • Designed specifically for small-and medium-size businesses • 250 employees at a single site or 500 corporate wide • Priority assistance given to: • employers in high-hazard industries • involved in hazardous operations • Large business requests honored as well…but limited scope

7. Services Performed • Onsite • Physical hazard evaluations • Occupational health exposure monitoring • Regulatory required program assessment and development assistance • Regulatory required training • Post OSHA inspection compliance assistance • Safety and health management program development assistance… leading to OSHA inspection deferral • Offsite • Daily telephone, email assistance • Interventions, presentations and seminars

8. Process Overview • Requests received and assigned to consultants • Onsite visit • Opening conference • Review of regulatory program, training and recordkeeping requirements • Walkthrough of facility • Physical hazards evaluation • Closing conference • Report generated with specific hazards, correction recommendations and completion timelines • Potential follow-up visits • correction verification • training

9. No Citations, No Penalties • Different than OSHA enforcement • Citations for violations… are not issued • Penalties for violations… are not imposed • The “catch” • Employer must agree to correct any “serious or imminent danger” hazards identified • Will refer to OSHA Enforcement if employer refuses to correct hazards…very rare

10. Confidential • Must maintain total employer confidentiality • Cannot divulge any info. to OSHA Enforcement • Cannot divulge any info. to lawyers pursuing liability cases • Protected from subpoena's • Request for Consultation Services will not trigger an OSHA inspection

11. Impact on PA Employers • Consultants visitedover 25,000 PA worksites • Helped employers correct over 115,000 serious and other than serious hazards • Saved employers over $805M from potential OSHA fines • Assisted employers preventcountless worker injuries / illnesses and deaths

12. Costs and Savings • Freeof charge to eligible employers • Avoided OSHA penalty and litigation costs • Reduced workers compensation costs • Minimized equipment damage and product losses • Additional cost savings…retained Safety and Health Consultants can costemployers$250/hr One consultant identifies an average of 4.5 serious hazards and SAVES the employer approximately $31,500 in OSHA fines** per visit

13. Other Business Benefits • Lowered Injury and Illness rates • Reduced Workers Compensation - Experience Modification rates • Enhanced worker morale • Increased productivity • Better product or service quality • Improved competitive position • Business sustainability

14. SHARP • The Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) • must have an exemplary safety and health management system. • must have OSHA rates better than their industry average • exempt form OSHA programmed inspections… for up to 2 years

15. Pre SHARP - Inspection Deferral • Can’t meet all the SHARP eligibility criteria • Are committed to working toward full SHARP approval • Can meet all SHARP requirements during the deferral period • May be recommended for an inspection deferral… up to 18 months

16. Conclusion • OSHA Consultation is a great service for PA employers • We often hear“this is OSHA’s best kept secret” • Significant backlog of requests, approximately 700…nearly 1 year for entire staff • Repeat business… tells the story

17. Requesting Assistance • Phone 800-382-1241 • Website www.iup.edu/pa-oshaconsultation • Priority of requests determined by: • the nature of the worksite problem, • the worksite size and industry category, and • the type of consultation service desired

18. Questions