OSHA to Launch Injury Record-Keeping App

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced plans to launch a injury and illness record-keeping app. Dubbed the Injury Tracking Application (ITA), the new app will be available to employers beginning on August 1, 2017. Its primary focus is to allow employers to submit the necessary information about injuries and illnesses that occur in the workplace to OSHA, as per form 300A.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nearly three million workers were injured on the job in 2015. To put that number into perspective, the rate of work-related injury is roughly 14.6 per 100,000 full-time workers. Of course, some industries carry a higher risk of injury than others, with construction and commercial fishing topping the list as being the most dangerous. Regardless, though, all occupations have at least some risk of injury and illness.

In an effort to curb these numbers, OSHA requires employers to report all work-related injuries and illnesses. Using this data, OSHA can make better decisions regarding safety requirements. And thanks to the new ITA, employers can now submit injury reports to OSHA using the ITA, which will be available by visiting https://www.osha.gov/injuryreporting/index.html effective August 1, 2017.

"The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will launch on Aug. 1, 2017, the Injury Tracking Application (ITA). The Web-based form allows employers to electronically submit required injury and illness data from their completed 2016 OSHA Form 300A. The application will be accessible from the ITA webpage," wrote OSHA on its website.

According to a press release by OSHA, the new record-keeping app requires the following four steps:

1. Create an establishment
2. Add the 300A summary data
3. Submit data to OSHA
4. Review confirmation email

Furthermore, the ITA offers three options for submitting injury data to OSHA. Employers can either enter the data manually, upload a CSV file, or transmit data automatically using a programming interface.

Earlier this year, OSHA proposed a new rulemaking to essentially push back the deadline for which employers are required to submit the Form 300A. Under this new rulemaking, employers now have until December 1, 2017 to submit the Form 300A. OSHA made this change to allow employers ample time to educate themselves with the new electronic reporting system. Additionally, the push back allows allows provides the administration with an opportunity to analyze the new requirements before they are live.

What do you think of the ITA injury reporting app?