OSHA announces Targeted Inspection Plan for 2006

OSHA announced last week that its 2006 site-specific targeting program will focus on approximately 4,250 high-hazard worksites that will receive comprehensive inspections over the coming year.

The list of worksites comes from injury and illness data drawn from a survey of 80,000 employers in 2005.

The employers on this year’s list reported 12 or more injuries or illnesses resulting in days away from work for every 100 workers. Employers with slightly lower rates (between 7 and 12 injuries) will be placed on a secondary list for possible inspection.

OSHA will randomly select about 175 workplaces that reported low injury and illness rates to review the actual degree of compliance with OSHA requirements.

“Our targeted inspection program maximizes the effectiveness of our inspection resources to those workplaces with the highest safety and health hazards,” said OSHA administrator Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. “This program gives us the opportunity to focus our enforcement efforts where it will have the most benefit for workers and employers.”