OSHA Compliance Program

OSHA Compliance Program

Part 1-Background

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

The Occupational Safety and Health Act covers 6 million workplaces and 90 million employees in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and other U.S. territories and commonwealths. The conditions of the act do not apply to workplaces that have specific state or federal agency-prescribed occupational safety and health standards. To comply with OSHA requirements, employers must follow the act's two provisions: (1) to keep the workplace free of hazards likely to cause death or serious harm and (2) to abide by the implemented OSHA standards that include maintaining safe conditions and adopting safe practices to reduce workplace hazards.

The act empowers employers and employees in the creation of a safe, hazard-free environment. Employers are required to inform employees about their numerous rights under OSHA. Across the country, OSHA informational posters are tacked onto lunchroom bulletin boards, in coffee rooms, or in visible, high-traffic work areas. Employees have numerous rights under OSHA, including petitioning for a new standard, serving on a standards advisory committee, seeking judicial review of OSHA standards, filing a complaint with OSHA, having an employer post copies of citations, and having the employer's annual summary of injuries and illnesses posted (Watson, 2011).

Part II- Implementation

Objective

The main objective is to support the labor department by describing the job descriptions along with the safety tools provided by the employer. This act also aims to provide safety of the employee at the work place and ensure that every measure is taken to guarantee the employees safety at the workplace.

Program Management Instructions

Meanwhile, the primary responsibility for instituting protective measures in the manufacture of nanotechnology products has fallen upon individual companies. Many of these companies have attempted to adapt the best practices for handling larger-sized (macro) particulates and aerosols to the nanotechnology context. As a result, health and safety practices are likely to vary from firm to firm, according to the company's location, particular business practices and size. At the same time, manufacturers are bringing novel nanotechnology-related products to the market at an ever-quickening pace. According to the Woodrow Wilson International Center's Project on Emerging Technologies (PET), which maintains an inventory of nanotechnology-related products, manufacturers are placing products on the market at a rate of three to five per week (Holst, 2004). Indeed, the National Nanotechnology Initiative now maintains that private industry investment in nanotechnology already surpasses government funding.

Extensive Training for Quality Assurance

OSHA inspectors also underwent extensive training and had to operate within quality assurance systems; they strived to nurture a culture that fostered collaboration and cooperation with employers, such as the Voluntary Protection Programs, the Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, the “Safety Health Program Management Guidelines,” the “OSHA Technical Manual,” the OSHA Training Institute Education Centers, and the OSHA Outreach Training Program (Nelson & Grubbs, 2000).

OSHA also worked very closely with other government agencies, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the Department of Energy (DOE), sharing expertise and experience to enhance its service. The relationship with the DOE resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding in 1992 to ...