Workplaces can have plenty of accidents, no matter what the workplace actually is. People can slip and fall, get injured while using or being around equipment, and can be injured on the job in dozens of different ways. This is where various forms of safety come in, where people and organizations work to make the workplaces safer.
From various forms and signs and regulations that show people what to do and how to remain safe in the workplace, to massive companies like the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA), there are plenty of different ways to keep people safe at the workplace.
But while it is one thing to have a company that is designed to keep people safe, it is another to actually see how it keeps people safe. So this article is going to tell you everything you need to know about how effective OSHA really is!
The History Of OSHA
The Occupational Safety and Health Act was signed by President Nixon into law on December 29th, 1970 and the law was enacted on April 28, 1971. The creation of OSHA was because of the rising public concern about the growing number of injuries and death rates on the job. Before OSHA, many companies had no workplace safety training and what training there was was unregulated, and plenty of injuries and deaths occurred on the job.
Once OSHA was formed, it went right to work trying to identify all of the workplace hazards and then it attempted to address them.
OSHA Catches Problems Before They Become Problems
The main responsibility of OSHA is to make sure that workplace hazards are identified, talked about, and then fixed so they can’t be a hazard anymore. They focus on inspecting the workplaces, talking about and enforcing safety guidelines, and training both workers and managers in order to make sure that everyone knows how to be safe around the workplace.
Additionally, they also inspect the workplace for environmental risks, including the risk of chemical exposure and the noise levels that can occur at the workplace. Basically, whenever OSHA is around, they will make sure that everything in the workplace is much safer.
OSHA Makes Sure That Bad Habits Don’t Become Problems
Some workplaces have poor habits, including habits that can put the health of the employees and the business at risk. OSHA is able to make sure that all the bad habits of a company don’t become massive problems. Because no business wants to face legal repercussions because of an accident.
OSHA Makes Sure To Enforce Its Rules
OSHA can’t just bring the problems of a workplace to the attention of a business and then walk away. No, they need to make sure that they can actually enforce the rules and punish businesses that choose to not follow OSHA compliance. OSHA focuses on being a regulatory agency that focuses on compliance from employers to create a safe environment.
By avoiding the penalties of non-OSHA compliance, employers both make their warehouses and places of work much safer, while avoiding fines and legal fees from personal and workplace injury lawsuits.
OSHA Provides Regulated Information
One of the biggest issues in the era before OSHA was that even if employers and employees wanted to focus on health and safety, they couldn’t because there weren’t a lot of regulated pieces of training that all the workplaces followed. However, OSHA provides regulated training for all employees and gives them all the information they need in order to make sure that they can take care of themselves.
Whether it is forklift safety training or training to know how to move around the workplace while carrying a heavy load, the best thing to do is to take all of these pieces of training seriously and take advantage of the information.
OSHA Helps Companies Become Better With Reduced Accidents
Finally, OSHA has seriously reduced workplace accidents and that doesn’t just help the company stay out of legal hot water, but it also can help the company become better. With fewer employees being out of the office due to illness or injuries, and more employees being able to work correctly at their jobs, the company is going to perform better.
Plus, since employees are working longer and there is less turnover, those experienced employees are going to be able to climb the ranks of the company and continue to help the business grow.
OSHA Keeps Working Hard So Accidents Don’t Happen
OSHA has been proven to reduce workplace accidents, not just compared to the pre-OSHA days, but also when comparing it year to year. With the constant attention paid to the dangers of the workplace, OSHA is able to prevent accidents from occurring and that will allow your business to become better and keep on working without an accident!