In occupational safety and health, there are a lot of opportunities for businesses to stumble and fall right out of the gate. Although many folks like to claim “anyone can do safety,” this myth drives these mistakes. Untrained/Uneducated persons are attempting to manage an OSH program and stumbling at step one, leaving hundreds/thousands of employees at untold risks.
Take, for example, a confined space/permit-required confined space site assessment. It is the first step in even meeting the OSHA minimums. When this site assessment is done poorly/inaccurately, the ability to control risks associated with entry into a PRCS can be lost, placing many workers at life and death risks.
Another example we see often centers around noise exposures. A facility takes a single sample and a badly flawed sample at that and determines from that single-badly flawed sample that noise is not a problem and therefore takes no actions to reduce noise exposures. When in fact, there is a noise exposure issue that goes unchecked for years.
These assessments and sampling are critical paths to managing OSH, and far too many unqualified persons are handed the keys to Pandora’s box. These assessments and sampling are the frameworks for managing the risks that are intended to be Identified, Analyzed, Assessed, and Controlled; however, when they are done poorly, it creates a sense of safety/security that the risk is low or non-existent, which can be a distinct difference from the reality of the situation.
I have a BS in OSH and an MS in SE, and I know my limitations in this field. No one can do it all, but together we can cover all our bases, ensuring the workers who do the dirty and dangerous work have the best safety we can provide. So when it comes to performing a site assessment for hazards of which you may not be educated or trained in or establishing a sampling program to establish baselines and continuing exposure data, know your limitations and reach out to qualified friends who can assist in either performing the work or putting you in touch with someone who can help.
Your workers deserve the very best, even when we aren’t the ones providing it!
