OSHA Reveals Benefits of Its On-Site Consultation Program

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) On-Site Consultation (OSC) program has been around for more than 40 years. As the name suggests, it's designed to provide advice and other related consultation services to businesses located in the United States. From retail stores and local restaurants to commercial construction companies and manufacturing facilities, businesses in all industries can take advantage of OSHA's OSC program to protect their workers from injury and illness. Recently, though, OSHA published a report highlighting the benefits of its OSC program.

About the Report

The report, titled "Benefits of of the OSHA On-Site Consultation Program," is designed to encourage U.S. businesses to use OSHA's OSC program. The 14-page report provides a basic overview of the OSC program while also revealing its benefits to employers, workers and the society in general.

In the report, OSHA explained that it tracked businesses which opted to use its OSC program for four years. Throughout this four-year period, more than 28,000 businesses in the United States -- with a cumulative workforce of about 1.26 million workers -- had entered the voluntary program. So, what did OSHA find? According to the report, OSHA found that using the OSC program can lower a business's worker injury rate by approximately 25% during the first year alone. Based on this statistic, OSHA says its OSC program can prevent more than 9,400 worker injuries each year.

Perhaps the most eye-opening statistic of OSHA's report is the cost-savings benefits offered by its OSC program. According to OSHA, the program saves employers more than $1.3 trillion per year. These cost-savings benefits comes from increased worker productivity, lower Workers' Compensation costs, fewer claims and various indirect costs being avoided.

OSC vs OSHA Enforcement

Some employers are reluctant to use the OSC program, believing that they could be penalized for failing to comply with OSHA's safety rules. OSHA explains, however, that its OSC program operates independently of its traditional enforcement actions. With that said, employers must correct any serious hazards identified during an OSC inspection.

If you're interested in using OSHA's OSC program to create a safer working environment for your business's workers, check out OSHA's official website here. Using this portal, you can find the contact information for a local OSC program office in your business's state of operation. And remember, it's completely free to use the OSC program.