OSHA Announces New Tiered Inspection Platform

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced plans to use a new multi-tiered inspection platform. The principle belief behind this new system is that not all inspections are equal, and as such, some of the larger and more complex inspections should be given more weight.

So, how exactly does the new inspection platform work? In an statement made by OSHA Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels, it was revealed that the new platform will assign Enforcement Units to each inspection. A standard, routine inspection will count as a single Enforcement Unit, while the more extensive and complex inspections (e.g. those involving muskuskeletal disorders, chemical exposures, etc.) will count as up to nine Enforcement Units.

In other words, if an inspection is deemed complex, such as those involving work-related exposure to hazardous chemicals, OSHA will give it additional Enforcement Units. And when an inspection is given additional units, there's a greater emphasis on conducting a more thorough inspection and investigation.

OSHA says this new tiered platform will allow for greater strategic planning when conducting inspections to ensure that all workers are given a safe, fair environment in which to work. Simple inspections are typically cut and dry, often requiring just a single OSHA enforcement officer to perform the inspection. When the inspection involves a large facility in which several workers have been exposed to a hazard, however, it may require half a dozen or more inspection officers. The purpose of this new multi-tiered the

"The new system will allow for more strategic planning and measurement of inspections, and ensure that all workers are equally protected, regardless of the industry they work in. The system assigns Enforcement Units to each inspection," wrote OSHA when announcing the news.

Of course, there's a good reason why OSHA is placing such an emphasis on muskuskeletal disorders: because MSDs are responsible for more than 70 million doctors' visits each year, subsequently costing workers billions of dollars in lost wages. The Administration says this new multi-tiered inspection platform will cut down on MSDs by allowing enforcement officers to perform more thorough inspections of workplaces in which MSDs have been reported.

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