If an OSHA code is violated, how is that dealt with?

I'm glad you asked about this – I assume you’re talking about construction projects. Not knowing what can happen if an accident occurs and someone’s hurt can be kind of scary, especially if you just happen to be standing at the wrong place at the wrong time. The metaphorical spotlight can suddenly turn on you and you can find yourself being asked questions that, depending on how you answer, could cost your company money or other penalties. I may be a bit melodramatic here, so I’ll add that the most common types of construction injuries (in the US) are falls, moving vehicles, and fires. Problems with preventative measures for those injuries are also the most common types of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations. The risk to a third-party being at the wrong place at the wrong time is very low, so just make sure that you’re never in the wrong place.

I know you asked about after a code is violated, but I wanted to start with the above to make the point that the best thing you should do to avoid the scary, not knowing part is to find out what parts of the OSHA code, or any other code, are in the contract between your company and the customer, or are applicable for any other reason, and read them. You might get chided a bit for being overzealous, and you may be overwhelmed by the number of pages, but read the parts that apply to you, and I’ll guarantee you that you will know more about the safety and other codes than most of the people out there (which can come in handy).

On big projects, there are usually individuals who work for OSHA that are assigned to areas of a city, or specific types of projects within a city, or maybe just one huge project (I have a cousin who did this his whole career). The OSHA person assigned to your project will have looked at most of the drawings and documents since the beginning of the project and will stay on site or come frequently to watch challenging operations. Just as examples, he may watch that vehicles stay a certain distance away from people walking, or that people stay out from under suspended loads, or that safety incidents are properly recorded every day.

If someone is injured for example, the OSHA guy would go over to the scene and along with other safety people, make sure the person is properly treated, review the scene and talk to witnesses and make a decision whether an OSHA rule was violated while the safety people do the same. If the machines are still running back at the worksite, somebody will decide if work has to stop. As the only OSHA person, he would make an immediate determination, but I’m sure he would talk to other safety people to exchange copies of reports or whatever was required per the rules in the contract or labor agreement or whatever. OSHA themselves have rules about how high up the OSHA ladder incidents of certain types would go. Other safety types, the contract manager, the customer liaison, and others would have their own rules to follow.

If it was determined that a major OSHA violation had occurred, they would meet with the customer, the contractor, lawyers, finance people, and they would argue and reach a final decision. Letters and checks and contract changes associated with the OSHA violation and any other fines or penalties would be written and mailed. If anyone had an issue with the final decision or cost, they would have to work that out with OSHA.

Once the violation is taken care of, the customer and contractor have to decide if something else needs to be done to prevent that type of accident from happening again, so they would meet separately with their customer and determine what went wrong, who’s to blame, and how much will it cost. If someone made an innocent mistake, the contractor and safety people would decide if another sign is needed or maybe the whole crew needed another scolding about safety. If a piece of equipment broke unexpectedly, then same deal. However, if something is found that is inherently dangerous either in the design or the construction process and it’s really expensive to fix, then there will be a lot of yelling.

If you were part of the cause, then this is where it really helps to know what the rules are. If the rules are pretty clear, try to make a judgment if you did anything wrong, but keep it to yourself for a bit. And remember that if a lot money is at stake, people are going to be upset and you might get yelled at or accused or both, but you need to stay cool and calm. My advice is to be completely open and honest. If you were clearly doing everything right even down to the most minor rules, then you tell them that while being cool and calm. If you clearly did something wrong then tell them that while being cool and calm. If the rules are unclear and you really don’t know, then tell them that while being cool and calm. The reason for cool and calm from you, the guy in the hot seat, is that everyone is watching you, and command of your emotions will be respected and will cool and calm many others, including those who have to decide what to do with you.

To coolness and calmness!

If cought by an employee with integrity towards the system, a thorugh report will be written and sent to osha for subsequent mitigation. If violation cought by an osha officer, cease and desist order may be emplimented with heavy fines. Either way, analysis is done to prevent hazards trends from occurring. Osha isnt geared towards punishment, they truly want a hazard free work environment and make steps towards that objective.

Refrence

Osha Acadamy website training