- Email: [email protected]
Regulatory agenda of OSHA
Gmwwtion Printed
& Recycling,
in Great
0361-3658/85
Vol. 8, No. 3/4, pp. 383 - 386, 1985
Pergamon
Britain.
$3.00+ Press
.oO Ltd.
REGULATORY AGENDA OF OSHA* ANTHONY E. GOLDIN Director of Policy, OSHA
In trying to determine the special interests of the industries represented by the Federation of Materials Societies as they relate to the recycling of materials, it quickly became apparent to me that the Federation’s concerns are as broad as those of OSHA. I will therefore try to provide an overview of some of the changes we have made in OSHA, the results of these changes, and where we are going as an agency. We are, of course, operating under budgetary restrictions in the same manner that most federal agencies and private businesses are. In the past, OSHA’s resources have not always been adequately focused. Management goals were unclear, the program was unbalanced, and the agency had acquired a highly controversial and adversarial image. The agency’s course is now charted each year, specific objectives are outlined, goals and tasks are assigned to senior and middle level managers, and progress is measured by objective statistical indicators. Our balanced program of development and enforcement of occupational safety and health standards, compliance assistance, free consultation services, training and education, technical assistance, worksite cooperation and partnership with the states operating their own safety and health programs is providing better protection for all American employees. The results are gratifying. Injury/illness rates have declined for the past two years. In 1981 the rate was 8.3 per 100 workers. This was reduced to 7.7 in 1982. Also, there were 530,000 fewer job related injuries and illnesses in 1982 than in 1981. The lost workday case rate declined from 4.0 cases per 100 full time workers per year in 1980 to 3.5 in 1982, a reduction of 13%. Significantly, only a small portion of the reduction in workplace injuries is attributable to such factors as change in age and experience of employees, or changes in the type of employment. Many changes have taken place in our standards development and enforcement activities. Standards are written in performance language which gives the employer greater flexibility in implementing the standard without impacting the safety and health of the employee. These standards are developed according to a four-step process which involves: 1. Determining significant risk 2. Demonstrating that the proposed standard would substantially reduce the risk 3. Setting the most protective standard that is economically and technologically feasible 4. Issuing requirements that achieve the regulatory goal in the most cost effective way. Last year we published the most far-reaching health standard in OSHA’s history. I am referring to the standard on hazard communication. We have also just published a standard on ethylene oxide and, earlier, an amendment on hearing conservation. We are also working on revisions to the cotton dust and lead standards. Under development are standards on asbestos, ethylene dibromide, benzene, respiratory protection and field sanitation. Recently completed or in the development process in the safety area are standards on grain handling facilities, concrete construction powered platforms, oil and gas well drilling, single and multipiece rim wheels, electrical safety standards for construction, rules for cranes and derricks, consolidation of shipyard standards and a standard for covering shoreside marine terminal workers. We also issued a final rule to revoke approximately 150 advisory and repetitive standards. *Presented by Frank Frodyma, Deputy Director. 383
384
ANTHONY E. GOLDIN
We have strengthened the enforcement process by concentrating on the more dangerous worksites and are, as a result, making more general schedule inspections in high hazard industries. Both the safety and health targeting systems have been refined to reflect this emphasis. In the safety area, a records inspection is made upon visiting a manufacturing worksite. If the establishment has a better than average record for the manufacturing sector, a “walkaround” inspection is usually not made. In another change related to state programs, all dual inspections by OSHA in state plan states have been eliminated. Special emphasis has been placed on the use of settlement agreements to reduce the amount of resources spent by enforcement personnel in litigation. In FY 80, about one out of every four of al! OSHA inspections with violations were contested by the employer before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; the current contest rate is down to about one out of every 24. The agency is settling potentially contested cases with employers through mutually satisfactory agreements which always include the abatement of hazards. Our focus is on the abatement of workplace hazards and not on the number of citations we can issue and the amount of fines we can levy. We can and are being tough, however, when and where needed. The field organization was also realigned by closing the smallest offices and consolidating the functions for increased efficiency. Moreover, the functions of the Area Offices have been expanded considerably to constitute Full Service Resource Centers for Safety and Health. This nationwide effort will expand considerably the assistance OSHA provides to the public including technical assistance, free consultation service, and a myriad of training and educational services. In addition, OSHA inspectors have been directed to offer abatement information to employers about hazards found during workplace inspections. OSHA has made a real effort to find better and less adversarial methods for meeting its objective of protecting the safety and health of employees. In doing so, we have emphasized the development of voluntary programs, increased the variety of services provided by OSHA and introduced increased flexibility into methods of compliance with standards. One such program is the Cooperative Assessment Program (CAP) which has been initiated in primary or secondary lead smelting establishments and in battery manufacturing. Under this program, a tripartite group composed of management, labor and OSHA conducts an engineering evaluation by visiting facilities representative of the participating employer. A list of feasible engineering controls for these types of facilities and the time necessary for each facility to implement these controls are determined. This program highlights the positive effect of cooperation among management, labor and OSHA in improving the safety and health of employees in the most effective manner possible. In a somewhat similar program, OSHA undertook a joint initiative with ASARCO, the Kennecott Copper Corporation and the United Steelworkers to develop cooperative assessments at seven smelters with significant arsenic exposures. Agreements covering several plants have been signed and others will be completed shortly to determine appropriate control methods while maintaining the long-term profitability and competitiveness of the industry. In an effort to reduce any unnecessary paperwork burden on employers, OSHA exempted nearly one-half million employers in certain very low hazard industries such as retail trade, finance, insurance, real estate and certain service industries from OSHA paperwork requirements. These establishments would not be scheduled for routine inspections and the paperwork they were maintaining served no useful purpose. In another move to provide more services, OSHA started a pilot program in three area offices to spread information on catastrophic accidents in the construction industry. Due to overwhelmingly favorable response, the program has been extended nationwide. Facts about the accidents are summarized in data sheets which are widely disseminated to help prevent
REGULATORYAGENDAOFOSHA
385
similar accidents. In other service activities, OSHA has co-sponsored three hazard communication seminars in January of this year in cooperation with the American Conference on Chemical Labeling; conducted crane safety workshops in the southeast regions; and provided information on the hazards of hepatitis B infection to health care workers, recommending 15 work practices to be followed in caring for patients infected with the hepatitis B virus. The free consultation service has been expanded significantly to include a new focus on employer safety and health programs, employer and employee training and education, off-site advice as well as on-site assistance, and one-year inspection exemptions for employers who take advantage of the consultation program and meet certain criteria such as correcting all hazards and establishing effective safety and health programs in their workplaces. One of the most successful and satisfying of these new programs is the Voluntary Protection Program which was inaugurated on a nationwide basis nearly two years ago. Under this program, labor and management work together to assume primary responsibility for on-site surveillance and hazard abatement. The three categories of programs are: I. “Star” which is aimed at industry leaders, including those in high-hazard industries, using either labor - management committees or management initiative, with strict line accountability to provide superior safety performance as demonstrated by an exemplary safety program and below average injury rates, or superior health protection as demonstrated by an exemplary health program; 2. “Try” which is aimed at safety and health program innovators and those who can demonstrate the ability to achieve significant improvements in worker protection either through employee participation or management initiative; 3. “Praise” which is aimed at firms in low-hazard industries who can demonstrate superior safety performance through their safety program and below average injury rates. Participants in these programs are exempt from routine inspections although employees and employers retain all rights and responsibilities under OSHA law. The agency will continue to investigate employee complaints and any serious accidents at participating workplaces. To date, 31 worksites have qualified for participation. In an effort to assist organizations in developing occupational health programs, OSHA held a conference of labor, management and state government experts to help the agency determine the essential elements of an effective employee health protection program. This is leading to the development of a new generic health policy which will encourage preventive health protection programs at individual worksites. We are also studying the “new and inexperienced worker” problem in which new workers experience an inordinately high percentage of accidents. We have funded a study by the International Woodworkers of America to study how effective training can help to counteract this problem. In addition, OSHA has written to 19,000 manufacturers in high-hazard growth industries alerting them to the increased risks of job injury and illness among new and inexperienced workers. A similar letter was sent to about IO0 trade associations, unions a.nd publications in the construction industry. There is a new enthusiasm and vitality at OSHA these days. We have achieved a greater degree of employer, employee and government cooperation which has channeled energy and talent which was previously expended in confrontation toward the unifying goal of improving safety and health for all of our nations’s employees. We are proud of the results of the program changes we have made. For the first time, OSHA is offering incentives to employers for excellence. That’s because we recognize the fact that most employers and employees want to work with us to improve working conditions. The idea that management, labor and government are natural enemies in the workplace is outdated. Today, the key to accomplishment is working
386
ANTHONY E. GOLDIN
together. That is the spirit we will continue to foster in our projects during the coming years. We will build on the framework we have created. We will continue refining our targeting systems for inspections; we will continue our employer-employee assistance and voluntary protection programs; we will continue to study the new worker factor; we will look for new ways to promote workplace safety and health, and we will continue to expand the variety of services available through the Area Office Full Service resource concept.
& Recycling,
in Great
0361-3658/85
Vol. 8, No. 3/4, pp. 383 - 386, 1985
Pergamon
Britain.
$3.00+ Press
.oO Ltd.
REGULATORY AGENDA OF OSHA* ANTHONY E. GOLDIN Director of Policy, OSHA
In trying to determine the special interests of the industries represented by the Federation of Materials Societies as they relate to the recycling of materials, it quickly became apparent to me that the Federation’s concerns are as broad as those of OSHA. I will therefore try to provide an overview of some of the changes we have made in OSHA, the results of these changes, and where we are going as an agency. We are, of course, operating under budgetary restrictions in the same manner that most federal agencies and private businesses are. In the past, OSHA’s resources have not always been adequately focused. Management goals were unclear, the program was unbalanced, and the agency had acquired a highly controversial and adversarial image. The agency’s course is now charted each year, specific objectives are outlined, goals and tasks are assigned to senior and middle level managers, and progress is measured by objective statistical indicators. Our balanced program of development and enforcement of occupational safety and health standards, compliance assistance, free consultation services, training and education, technical assistance, worksite cooperation and partnership with the states operating their own safety and health programs is providing better protection for all American employees. The results are gratifying. Injury/illness rates have declined for the past two years. In 1981 the rate was 8.3 per 100 workers. This was reduced to 7.7 in 1982. Also, there were 530,000 fewer job related injuries and illnesses in 1982 than in 1981. The lost workday case rate declined from 4.0 cases per 100 full time workers per year in 1980 to 3.5 in 1982, a reduction of 13%. Significantly, only a small portion of the reduction in workplace injuries is attributable to such factors as change in age and experience of employees, or changes in the type of employment. Many changes have taken place in our standards development and enforcement activities. Standards are written in performance language which gives the employer greater flexibility in implementing the standard without impacting the safety and health of the employee. These standards are developed according to a four-step process which involves: 1. Determining significant risk 2. Demonstrating that the proposed standard would substantially reduce the risk 3. Setting the most protective standard that is economically and technologically feasible 4. Issuing requirements that achieve the regulatory goal in the most cost effective way. Last year we published the most far-reaching health standard in OSHA’s history. I am referring to the standard on hazard communication. We have also just published a standard on ethylene oxide and, earlier, an amendment on hearing conservation. We are also working on revisions to the cotton dust and lead standards. Under development are standards on asbestos, ethylene dibromide, benzene, respiratory protection and field sanitation. Recently completed or in the development process in the safety area are standards on grain handling facilities, concrete construction powered platforms, oil and gas well drilling, single and multipiece rim wheels, electrical safety standards for construction, rules for cranes and derricks, consolidation of shipyard standards and a standard for covering shoreside marine terminal workers. We also issued a final rule to revoke approximately 150 advisory and repetitive standards. *Presented by Frank Frodyma, Deputy Director. 383
384
ANTHONY E. GOLDIN
We have strengthened the enforcement process by concentrating on the more dangerous worksites and are, as a result, making more general schedule inspections in high hazard industries. Both the safety and health targeting systems have been refined to reflect this emphasis. In the safety area, a records inspection is made upon visiting a manufacturing worksite. If the establishment has a better than average record for the manufacturing sector, a “walkaround” inspection is usually not made. In another change related to state programs, all dual inspections by OSHA in state plan states have been eliminated. Special emphasis has been placed on the use of settlement agreements to reduce the amount of resources spent by enforcement personnel in litigation. In FY 80, about one out of every four of al! OSHA inspections with violations were contested by the employer before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; the current contest rate is down to about one out of every 24. The agency is settling potentially contested cases with employers through mutually satisfactory agreements which always include the abatement of hazards. Our focus is on the abatement of workplace hazards and not on the number of citations we can issue and the amount of fines we can levy. We can and are being tough, however, when and where needed. The field organization was also realigned by closing the smallest offices and consolidating the functions for increased efficiency. Moreover, the functions of the Area Offices have been expanded considerably to constitute Full Service Resource Centers for Safety and Health. This nationwide effort will expand considerably the assistance OSHA provides to the public including technical assistance, free consultation service, and a myriad of training and educational services. In addition, OSHA inspectors have been directed to offer abatement information to employers about hazards found during workplace inspections. OSHA has made a real effort to find better and less adversarial methods for meeting its objective of protecting the safety and health of employees. In doing so, we have emphasized the development of voluntary programs, increased the variety of services provided by OSHA and introduced increased flexibility into methods of compliance with standards. One such program is the Cooperative Assessment Program (CAP) which has been initiated in primary or secondary lead smelting establishments and in battery manufacturing. Under this program, a tripartite group composed of management, labor and OSHA conducts an engineering evaluation by visiting facilities representative of the participating employer. A list of feasible engineering controls for these types of facilities and the time necessary for each facility to implement these controls are determined. This program highlights the positive effect of cooperation among management, labor and OSHA in improving the safety and health of employees in the most effective manner possible. In a somewhat similar program, OSHA undertook a joint initiative with ASARCO, the Kennecott Copper Corporation and the United Steelworkers to develop cooperative assessments at seven smelters with significant arsenic exposures. Agreements covering several plants have been signed and others will be completed shortly to determine appropriate control methods while maintaining the long-term profitability and competitiveness of the industry. In an effort to reduce any unnecessary paperwork burden on employers, OSHA exempted nearly one-half million employers in certain very low hazard industries such as retail trade, finance, insurance, real estate and certain service industries from OSHA paperwork requirements. These establishments would not be scheduled for routine inspections and the paperwork they were maintaining served no useful purpose. In another move to provide more services, OSHA started a pilot program in three area offices to spread information on catastrophic accidents in the construction industry. Due to overwhelmingly favorable response, the program has been extended nationwide. Facts about the accidents are summarized in data sheets which are widely disseminated to help prevent
REGULATORYAGENDAOFOSHA
385
similar accidents. In other service activities, OSHA has co-sponsored three hazard communication seminars in January of this year in cooperation with the American Conference on Chemical Labeling; conducted crane safety workshops in the southeast regions; and provided information on the hazards of hepatitis B infection to health care workers, recommending 15 work practices to be followed in caring for patients infected with the hepatitis B virus. The free consultation service has been expanded significantly to include a new focus on employer safety and health programs, employer and employee training and education, off-site advice as well as on-site assistance, and one-year inspection exemptions for employers who take advantage of the consultation program and meet certain criteria such as correcting all hazards and establishing effective safety and health programs in their workplaces. One of the most successful and satisfying of these new programs is the Voluntary Protection Program which was inaugurated on a nationwide basis nearly two years ago. Under this program, labor and management work together to assume primary responsibility for on-site surveillance and hazard abatement. The three categories of programs are: I. “Star” which is aimed at industry leaders, including those in high-hazard industries, using either labor - management committees or management initiative, with strict line accountability to provide superior safety performance as demonstrated by an exemplary safety program and below average injury rates, or superior health protection as demonstrated by an exemplary health program; 2. “Try” which is aimed at safety and health program innovators and those who can demonstrate the ability to achieve significant improvements in worker protection either through employee participation or management initiative; 3. “Praise” which is aimed at firms in low-hazard industries who can demonstrate superior safety performance through their safety program and below average injury rates. Participants in these programs are exempt from routine inspections although employees and employers retain all rights and responsibilities under OSHA law. The agency will continue to investigate employee complaints and any serious accidents at participating workplaces. To date, 31 worksites have qualified for participation. In an effort to assist organizations in developing occupational health programs, OSHA held a conference of labor, management and state government experts to help the agency determine the essential elements of an effective employee health protection program. This is leading to the development of a new generic health policy which will encourage preventive health protection programs at individual worksites. We are also studying the “new and inexperienced worker” problem in which new workers experience an inordinately high percentage of accidents. We have funded a study by the International Woodworkers of America to study how effective training can help to counteract this problem. In addition, OSHA has written to 19,000 manufacturers in high-hazard growth industries alerting them to the increased risks of job injury and illness among new and inexperienced workers. A similar letter was sent to about IO0 trade associations, unions a.nd publications in the construction industry. There is a new enthusiasm and vitality at OSHA these days. We have achieved a greater degree of employer, employee and government cooperation which has channeled energy and talent which was previously expended in confrontation toward the unifying goal of improving safety and health for all of our nations’s employees. We are proud of the results of the program changes we have made. For the first time, OSHA is offering incentives to employers for excellence. That’s because we recognize the fact that most employers and employees want to work with us to improve working conditions. The idea that management, labor and government are natural enemies in the workplace is outdated. Today, the key to accomplishment is working
386
ANTHONY E. GOLDIN
together. That is the spirit we will continue to foster in our projects during the coming years. We will build on the framework we have created. We will continue refining our targeting systems for inspections; we will continue our employer-employee assistance and voluntary protection programs; we will continue to study the new worker factor; we will look for new ways to promote workplace safety and health, and we will continue to expand the variety of services available through the Area Office Full Service resource concept.