What is a Mock OSHA Inspection and How Can It Benefit Your Business?

The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) ensures employers provide employees with a safe work environment. This law sets standards for workplace safety, compliance, and best practices.

Why conduct a mock OSHA inspection?

Businesses might choose to conduct their own mock OSHA inspection for various reasons. A mock inspection can help prepare an organization for an upcoming accurate inspection. It allows them to make changes in a lower-stakes environment. An organization might also choose to conduct a mock inspection to improve its safety practices and understand improvements that the firm can make. Additionally, a mock inspection can help a business avoid citations for noncompliance by finding and addressing issues in advance.

How can a business prepare for an OSHA inspection?

In most cases, businesses will not know when an inspection will occur.

 OSHA inspections are either programmed or unprogrammed. 

A programmed inspection is scheduled and based on objective criteria. High-risk industries or businesses that work with dangerous substances rarely perform programmed inspections. 

Reports of hazards usually trigger an unprogrammed inspection. The priority of order for these incidents is imminent dangers, fatalities or catastrophes, and employee complaints/referrals. An additional unprogrammed inspection often follows these inspections to check that the business fixed any violations.

What does an average OSHA inspection include?

Inspector Arrival – The compliance officer will arrive at the organization during regular business hours and provide their credentials. The inspector must have the employer’s consent or a warrant to enter the premises. 

Opening Conference – The inspector, employer, and employee representatives gather to discuss the following:

• The purpose of the inspection
• Complaints against the employer
• The scope of the inspection and the plan
• Rights of all involved parties, including the inspector, employer, and employees

Walk-around – Employers and designated employee representatives can accompany the inspector as they walk around the workplace. The compliance officers will observe and document any violations they see. 

Closing Conference – The parties will discuss the inspector’s findings, including the strengths and weaknesses, violations, and any plans for follow-up discussions. 

How can a business use the results of a mock inspection to make improvements?

Predicting when OSHA inspectors might visit your business is challenging. That’s why being proactive with a mock inspection can be so helpful. Staying ahead of issues will help ensure your organization is within compliance benchmarks, protect you from citations, and protect your employees from accidents. 

 Are you interested in conducting a mock OSHA inspection? Contact our team HERE, or complete the above form, and someone will contact you to discuss this further. 

Source: Zywave “OSHA Inspections”