With the latest news of the Appeals Court case that could cause 50 years of OSHA standards to be unwound, the UK’s HSE weekly newsletter reminds us of how safety should be managed. OSHA’s old compliance model has run its course. I am NOT advocating we do away with OSHA standards, as I believe they have their role in society. But for most employers, we have to move beyond the old “what does OSHA require” if we have any hopes of putting a dent in the ≈ 5,000 annual workplace deaths and the ≈ 10,000 amputations. The answer, in my opinion, is that OSHA needs to finally adopt its Injury Illness Prevention Plan (I2P2) approach, as well as move more standards to the “performance-oriented” approach much like how the PSM standard functions (e.g., a 14-element SMS with the adoption of consensus standards to manage risks).
But this week, the UK’s HSE reminded us of their approach. It is not perfect, but it follows the Plan, Do, Check, Act approach:
