New National Emphasis Program for OSHA

On May 1, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration released a new National Emphasis Program to help prevent falls. The new initiative is an attempt to reduce the number of falls from elevation at the workplace. These falls occur across every industry and have been a constant issue for employers and employees alike. This new emphasis program does not just affect the higher fall risk industries such as construction, but every industry that works at height. The BLS data from 2021 says that 13 percent of all workplace deaths were from falls from elevation.

The news release 23-834-NAT states that “OSHA compliance safety and health officers [can] open inspections whenever they observe someone working at heights” and how it is not limited to specific industries, or specific sites. This means that anytime an OSHA officer witnesses someone working at height the inspector can come and immediately start an inspection of the worksite and the safety measures in place. A large part of the program is meant to be outreach about the safety hazards present or possible at their worksite and be more informative to these companies who are working at height.

The compliance safety and health officer can either begin an inspection once they arrive at the worksite, or they can provide more information and give outreach about fall protection systems without starting an inspection. This gives the officer the opportunity to inspect companies who are far behind on their safety protocols so they improve working conditions for their employees, while giving the officers the flexibility to give advice, guidance, and information to workplaces that may be slightly off program without starting a full inspection.

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