subject: The Importance Of An Osha Safety Plan [print this page] An OSHA safety plan contains all the information regarding the process through which the hazards on a project are identified and assessed. Furthermore, the plan should go on and detail the measures that will put in place so that workers, visitors and the public are out of harm's way.
Why you need to have a written OSHA Safety Plan
An OHSA Safety Plan which is also known as a construction safety plan is written to implement OSHA programs or similar other programs (eg. Injury and Illness Prevention Program in California) required by federal and state OHS legislations
Federal OSHA and at least 24 states require written safety plans for specific workplace activities. Many states require written safety and health plans under workers compensation rules and many organizations implement safety plans to increase productivity, reduce work-related injuries and save costs in workers compensation insurance premiums.
In the US state of California, every employer has the legal obligation of providing and maintaining a safe workplace for their employees, as stipulated in the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973. As of 1991, a written, effective Injury and Illness Prevention (IIP), Program is required for every California employer.
Contents of OSHA safety plans in the construction industry
An acceptable construction OSHA safety plan needs to be:
- specific to your organization and specific to each project,
- simple to understand and put into place,
- made through consulting with the team that is going to head the project, and
- a reflection of your organization work practices.
The most important elements of an effective construction OSHA plan are indicated below:
- OSHA management responsibilities
- Hazard analysis, ie hazard identification, risk assessment and safety control measures
- Emergency and accident response
- Training, consultation and communications, and
- Recordkeeping
Where To Get A construction OSHA safety plan
There are a couple of resources you can use to come up with your own plan:
The first one involves state government OSHA websites. Depending on what state you live in, you should get access to your corresponding government website as they have valuable and helpful information to help you come up with your own safety plan.
Instead, if you are not willing to come with your own safety plan, you always have the option of getting a pre-written and pre-structured one which will cost less and save you a lot of time.
Whatever you do as a contractor in the construction industry, make sure that a Construction OSHA Safety Plan is your number one priority before commencing work.
