Industrial Hygiene

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) advises and encourages employers to institute and maintain a health and safety program that provides systematic policies, procedures, and practices to identify workplace hazards and protect their workers from injury and illness. Section 5(a) of OSHA Act 1970 states:

It is the employer’s obligation to furnish each employee a place of employment free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Benefits of a Health and Safety Program

Implementing a comprehensive safety and health program will likely produce cumulative benefits to your company by:

• increasing production efficiency and worker morale
• reducing injury and illness rates
• reducing worker compensation claims and costs
• reducing potential fines from regulatory agencies

An Effective Health and Safety Program

An effective program includes provisions for the systematic identification, evaluation, and prevention or control of workplace hazards, and potential hazards that may arise from foreseeable conditions.

Although compliance with the law, including specific OSHA standards, is an important objective, an effective program looks beyond specific requirements of the law to address all hazards. It should seek to prevent injuries and illnesses, whether or not compliance is an issue.

An occupational safety and health program should include the following four elements:

1. Management Commitment and Employee Involvement
2. Worksite Analysis
3. Hazard Prevention
4. Safety and Health Training

These elements are summarized in an Occupational Safety and Health Checklist.  Contact Bharti Ujjani, CIH, if you have questions pertaining to your Industrial Hygiene, Health and Safety needs.