WWW.OSHA.GOV

Recently someone who had been assigned the task of developing a safety program for her employer attended one of my workshops. Her questions made me realize that there are still individuals who don’t know which employers OSHA covers and what OSHA expects of an employer. A dental laboratory and a dental practice with an in-house laboratory definitely must have a safety program. Most small businesses find it economical to hire a consultant to provide this information, however, if you want to undertake this on your own, then the first step is to familiarize yourself with the information available from OSHA.

Go to the home page of OSHA’s website www.osha.gov. On the right side of the page is a list of topics: Compliance Assistance, Laws & Regulations, Cooperative Programs, State Programs, Newsroom, Safety/Health Topics, Statistics, and International.  Here’s a general description of how you might use each of those sections.

State Programs should be the first topic you review to find out if your state operates under a State OSHA Program.  If it does, then you need to continue under your State Program’s website.  Simply click on the name of your state and it will then take you to a page that allows you to access your State Program.  Each state plan website differs so you will need to learn how to maneuver through the information.  Many state plan websites will have a section that explains the difference between the state plan and the federal OSHA plan.  Some state plans will refer you back to the federal OSHA information for the Federal Register and Standards that the state adopted under their state plan.

The next topic you can explore is Statistics.  Following the directions under this section you can research all of the OSHA visits that have occurred nationally or by state and by SIC code.  Dental laboratories are classified under the Standard Industrial Classification Code (SIC) of 8072 and under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) of 339116.

Compliance Assistance provides eTools and grants available from OSHA, information for Spanish-speaking employees, posters, recordkeeping information, small business information, and Training assistance.

Newsroom provides an archive of OSHA news, publications, speeches and testimonials of companies who have used OSHA’s partnership or voluntary protection programs.  The home page changes frequently and lists OSHA news, articles under the In Focus section, and Items Open for Comment.

Safety/Health Topics will provide information specific to safety and health issues such as ergonomics, emergency preparedness and construction issues.

Cooperative Programs details alliances that OSHA has established with other agencies and opportunities for employers to participate in OSHA programs such as SHARP and VPP (Voluntary Protection Program).

Laws and Regulations is where you will find the Federal Register, Standards, Interpretations, Directives, Dockets and Comments.  Read the parts of the Federal Register that cover OSHA requirements and the specific OSHA Standards such as Hazard Communication and Bloodborne Pathogen.  Then interpret how that information applies to your work setting and develop the written plans required under them.  OSHA does provide examples of written programs for some of the documentation that you should develop to be specific to your worksite.  If you decide to attempt this on your own without assistance from OSHA or a consulting firm, then it would be advisable to attend classes provided by OSHA consultation services in your state.  These can range from one day programs to week long certification programs.

It has been helpful to me when researching an issue to search for the topic under Interpretations in the Laws and Regulations section.  An example of the use of these interpretations is:  Does OSHA allows electronic access to Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs)?  You’ll find a couple of letters that OSHA has written to employers answering this question.  If you want the answer to a question in writing, you can submit it to OSHA and they will write a letter giving their interpretation.  This then goes into this section so other employers and employees can have access to the interpretation.

Good luck with your research.  Remember Safelink is here to assist you in development of your safety program.