OSHA has implemented a new weighting system for safety and health inspections for the fiscal year 2020. The new system will help agency employees better allocate limited resources and focus on critical areas that have the most impact, according to OSHA. The weighting system was designed to better recognize that time is not the only factor to assess when considering the potential impact of an inspection. Construction Dive suggests the new areas of emphasis in the program could lead to more inspections in the construction industry.
The memo that would contain any new directives or more details about the OWS to area offices has not yet been released to the public, but in discussions with OSHA officials, Edwin Foulke, former assistant secretary of labor for OSHA under President George W. Bush and partner in the Atlanta and Washington, D.C., offices of Fisher Phillips, said, it is his understanding that some high-hazard emphasis areas, like the Fatal Four, might come into play.
The Fatal Four for construction—falls, caught-in-or-between, struck-by and electrocution accidents—are the major causes of death for workers in the private construction industry and account for almost 60% of jobsite deaths.
If those hazards in the Fatal Four, or any other construction focus areas are given high enough weighting, Foulke said, that could prompt area offices to put more emphasis on them, meaning more inspections.
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