If you run any kind of workplace in the United States, you’re bound by several laws and rules that are meant to protect people. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is one of the main sets of protocols that workplaces are obligated to follow.
There were more than 4 million incidents of work injuries requiring medical care in 2021. Learning about OSHA regulations can keep your workplace safe and injury-free, in addition to avoiding some penalties.
These tips are helpful when you’d like to learn more about how OSHA is handled.
What Is OSHA?
There are a variety of points you should know about the Occupational Safety and Health Act. With OSHA, workplaces must keep their environment up to certain standards that will keep people healthy and safe.
There is a litany of OSHA rules that you need to be aware of in order to get the best from your commercial property management.
How Does OSHA Enforce Its Standards?
Occupational Safety and Health Act enforcement is important both for your management company and the people that work there.
Commercial property managers are subject to inspections and could be penalized for not following suit. Failing an inspection can bring about OSHA compliance problems that can hurt your company.
An Issue Is Noticed
In most cases, an inspection is triggered when there’s an issue in the workplace. If there’s a potential OSHA violation, it must be handled with seriousness, and cited if necessary.
Issues like having a faulty commercial roof can cause you to fail an inspection and receive an OSHA violation. Some other types of OSHA issues might include not having the proper fall protection, poor ventilation, exposure to fumes and chemicals, and not enforcing safety equipment.
The Levels of OSHA Violations
Not all OSHA violations are treated equally. The organization lists these violations based on different levels of severity.
A level one violation is referred to as OSHA De Minimis. This is a violation that isn’t heavily fined, because it’s due to an issue that doesn’t directly put people’s health and safety at risk.
An OSHA Other Than Serious violation is an issue that puts people’s health and safety in jeopardy, but not necessarily in a potentially fatal way.
The organization also is more heavy-handed when companies are repeat offenders. Repeat violations will have more expensive fines, and the company will be under more scrutiny and subject to further investigations.
A Failure to Abate violation provides a mandatory deadline to fix issues that were caught. These violations come with seriously steep fines that can be charged by the day until the issue is fixed.
An OSHA Serious violation refers to a penalty that includes serious hazards and potentially dangerous circumstances. A violation is categorized as Willful if it’s an extreme, negligent, and deliberate case.
The Company Must Communicate
When a violation occurs, the company is obligated to communicate effectively with the people in the building. This requires them to post a notice that an OSHA violation occurred.
The posting must also cite the violation and the date that it occurred. OSHA requires companies to keep the posting up until the issue is resolved, or for three full days if the issue is remedied right away.
From here, the company will also be given information on options to fix the issues, along with resources to come up with a workable plan.
How Do OSHA Inspections Come About?
In most cases, OSHA inspections are triggered because something went wrong. This could be due to an emergency situation or a report from someone within the building.
OSHA professionals might also conduct random inspections to make sure that businesses are adhering to the codes. When these inspections occur, it’s important that you comply and allow these professionals to complete it.
If an inspection is refused, the OSHA agent will report it to the local director. This could lead to violations or could put your company under further scrutiny.
Keep Your Company OSHA Compliant
In order to stay in compliance with OSHA regulations, you need professional oversight. There are companies that go through these inspections for you so that you know you’d pass an official inspection if one was to come about.
If you own real estate property, you can hire property managers that will help you stay compliant. These professionals also provide professional risk assessments to catch any issues of danger or health hazards.
That way, you’ll know that your building is ready for occupation and that you won’t be caught off guard by any sort of inspections. When your building is OSHA compliant, it typically means that the infrastructure is also taken care of.
A professional can help you stay up-to-date with OSHA regulations that change with time as well. There are companies that specialize in commercial and industrial properties and work side by side with facility managers to keep the business in compliance.
OSHA’s Role in Protecting Workers During Heat Waves
Heat waves, which are characterized by prolonged periods of excessive heat, often combined with high humidity, are becoming increasingly frequent and intense due to climate change. As these weather events become more common, protecting workers from the harmful effects of excessive heat has become a top priority. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. agency responsible for ensuring safe and healthy working conditions, has developed and implemented guidelines and strategies to keep workers safe during these periods.
Heat Illness Prevention Campaign
One of the key strategies OSHA has undertaken is the Heat Illness Prevention Campaign. This campaign is designed to educate employers and workers about the dangers of working in hot environments, how to prevent heat illness, and what to do if heat illness occurs. The campaign emphasizes three simple words: “Water, Rest, Shade”. These are fundamental elements of protecting workers from heat-related illnesses, which can range from heat rash and heat cramps to heat exhaustion and, in extreme cases, heat stroke — a potentially fatal condition.
Employer Responsibilities
OSHA requires employers to provide a safe working environment, and this includes protecting workers from extreme heat. Employers are responsible for providing water, rest, and shade for their workers when working in hot environments. They are also expected to develop a comprehensive heat illness prevention program that includes providing training to workers about the dangers of heat, the symptoms of heat illness, and how to respond to heat-related emergencies.
Moreover, the employers should plan for emergencies and act promptly if a worker falls ill from the heat. OSHA recommends that employers should acclimatize workers by exposing them to work in hot conditions for progressively longer periods. Employers should also modify work schedules as necessary to reduce the impact of heat on their workers.
OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool App
In a move to leverage technology to prevent heat illnesses and fatalities, OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) collaborated to create the OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool smartphone app. This valuable resource provides a real-time heat index and hourly forecasts, specific to the user’s location.
Designed to be easy-to-use, the app offers protective measures that should be taken based on the heat index, such as taking sufficient breaks, drinking enough fluids, and adjusting work operations. It also provides the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses, offering workers and employers critical information at their fingertips.
Take OSHA Seriously
How does OSHA Enforce its standards? This organization is serious about the health and safety of workers, which is why they take such steps to enforce the code.
Getting a violation can be a costly setback, and most importantly, it’s one that is entirely avoidable. Find the help that you need so that your company stays in compliance with OSHA regulations.
Property Manager Insider has the information that commercial managers and owners need. Get in touch with us using our contact form and we will get back to you as soon as we can!
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Aaron Hockel is a Partner and the VP of Digital Marketing at AltaVista Strategic Partners. A University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) alumnus, Aaron expertly crafts digital marketing strategies that drive success for clients, leveraging his deep industry knowledge and innovative approach.
