FORT RUCKER, Ala. (April 21, 2015) -- Providing a safe work environment is every employer's responsibility, and Fort Rucker and its facilities are no exception.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration rolled out a new regulation that took effect Jan. 1 requiring that work-related injuries and fatalities are more quickly reported to the organization, according to Rebecca Ghostley, garrison safety director.
"The major requirement that changed was that if you have one individual who is hospitalized from an injury sustained in the workplace, then you must contact OSHA and report the incident," said Ghostley, adding that organizations and units on post should report injuries to the safety office immediately. "It used to be if you had hospitalization of more than three individuals, you had to contact OSHA. In the past, we've rarely had injuries that were serious enough to where we had to contact OSHA, but with the new requirement we could see an increase in the amount of reports that must be filed."
The injuries that fall under the category to be reported are all work-related inpatient hospitalizations; all amputations, which could be as small as the loss of the tip of a finger; and loss of an eye. Additionally, all work-related fatalities must be reported within eight hours.
OSHA exists to "assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance," according to the OSHA website, www.osha.gov.
The change allows OSHA to focus its efforts more effectively to prevent fatalities and severe work-related injuries and illnesses, all while educating and bringing about awareness to workplace safety and health, according to the website.
It's imperative that Fort Rucker and its organizations adhere to the new regulation because the consequences for not doing so can be severe and costly, said Ghostley.
"We just had an incident where we had an individual who was admitted (to the hospital) on a Sunday and we did not notify OSHA until the following Wednesday. When we did notify them, because we were late to do so, it was an automatic visit and we were given a citation," said the safety director.
The citation was an other-than-serious citation, but within the next five years, if there is a repeat offense, the installation will receive a more serious citation. There are several citations that could be issued, but the installation could receive a willful citation. Ghostley said this is one of the worse citations that an organization can receive because it shows that the infraction was known to be wrong, but was carried out anyway, and can generally carry heavy fines.
"I don't think any unit or directorate wants to be the one to cause Fort Rucker to receive a more serious citation and possible fines," said the safety director. "It can also open us up to increased scrutiny by OSHA. Whenever OSHA visits your facility or installation, they can look at whatever they want."
Ghostley said she feels the new regulation will help people in the workplace be more vigilant about safety and more aware of their health in the workplace.
"When people see how serious the issues are taken, then they really look hard to see what they did wrong and how they can correct it. That's the attitude everyone needs to take," she said, adding that if repeated offenses continue to occur, it's possible that OSHA could shut down the organization, deeming it an unsafe work environment.
The change also updates the list of industries that are exempt from the requirement to keep OSHA injury and illness records because of low occupational injury and illness rates, according to the OSHA website.
For more information or a full list of exempt industries, visit www.osha.gov/recordkeeping.
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