U.S. Department of Labor
Program Highlights
Fact Sheet No. OSHA 91-37
VOLUNTARY SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAM MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued
voluntary program management guidelines to encourage employers to do more
than just comply with regulations to prevent occupational injuries and
illnesses.
Although compliance with the law, including specific OSHA standards, is
an important objective, an effective program looks beyond specific
requirements of law to address all hazards. It seeks to prevent injuries
and illnesses, whether or not compliance is at issue.
The language in these guidelines is general so that it may be broadly
applied in general industry, shipyards, marine terminals, and longshoring
activities regardless of the size, nature, or complexity of operations.
Construction activities are not covered by this guideline because they
are already covered under OSHA's construction standards.
The guidelines, a distillation of successfully applied safety and health
management practices, are advocated by safety and health professionals
and consultants representing corporations, professional associations, and
labor unions.
The Guidelines
The guidelines call for systematic identification, evaluation, and
prevention or control of general workplace hazards, specific job hazards,
and potential hazards which may arise from foreseeable conditions.
The extent to which a program is described in writing is less important
than how effective it is in practice. As the size of a worksite or the
complexity of a hazardous operation increases, however, the need for
written guidance increases to ensure clear communication of policies and
priorities and consistent and fair application of rules.
Major elements of an effective occupational safety and health program include:
Management Commitment and Employee Involvement. This calls for:
- A worksite policy on safe and healthful work and working
conditions clearly stated so that all personnel with responsibility at
the site and personnel at other locations with responsibility for the
site understand the priority of safety and health protection in relation
to other organizational values.
- A clear goal for the safety and health program and objectives for
meeting that goal so that all members of the organization understand the
results desired and the measures planned for achieving them.
- Top management involvement in implementing the program so that all
will understand that management's commitment is serious.
- Employee involvement in the structure and operation of the program
and in decisions that affect their safety and health, to make full use of
their insight and energy.
Assignment of responsibilities for all aspects of the program, so
that managers, supervisors, and employees in all parts of the
organization know what performance is expected of them.
- Provision of adequate authority and resources to responsible
parties, so that assigned responsibilities can be met.
- Holding managers, supervisors, and employees accountable for
meeting their responsibilities, so that essential tasks will be
performed.
- Annual reviews of program operations to evaluate their success in
meeting the goal and objectives, so that deficiencies can be identified
and the program and/or the objectives can be revised when the goal and
objectives are not met.
Worksite Analysis. This includes:
Identification of all hazards by conducting baseline worksite
surveys for safety and health and periodic comprehensive update surveys.
Also included would be an analysis of planned and new facilities,
processes, materials, and equipment; and another of routine job hazards.
Regular site safety and health inspections, so that new or
previously missed hazards and failures in hazard controls are identified.
A reliable system to encourage employees, without fear of
reprisal, to notify management personnel about conditions that appear
hazardous and to receive timely and appropriate responses.
Investigation of accidents and "near miss" incidents, so that
their causes and means for prevention are identified.
Analysis of injury and illness trends over extended periods so
that patterns with common causes can be identified and prevented.
Hazard Prevention and Control. This calls for:
Procedures that ensure that all current and potential hazards are
corrected in a timely manner through engineering techniques where
appropriate, safe work practices understood and followed by all parties;
provision of personal protective equipment; and administrative controls,
such as reducing the duration of exposure.
Safety and Health Training. This includes training to:
- Ensure that all employees understand the hazards to which they may
be exposed and how to prevent harm to themselves and other.
- Ensure that supervisors and managers understand their
responsibilities and the reasons for them so they can carry out their
responsibilities effectively.
This is one of a series of fact sheets highlighting U.S. Department of
Labor programs. It is intended as a general description only and does not
carry the force of legal opinion. This information will be made
available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone:
(202) 523-8151. TDD message referral phone: 1-800-326-2577.
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