Complete Health, Environmental & Safety Services (C.H.E.S.S.): Are You Ready for an Inspection?

by Carol Keyes, CSP, CCM, CRC

Do you feel prepared if Minnesota OSHA shows up at your door? Does your staff know what to do? A word of advice: Hiding is not an option.

Minnesota OSHA has recently inspected several automotive repair and tire shops, either because of complaints or as part of programmed inspections. A typical inspection has resulted in about $1,500 in penalties, but we know of one as high as $8,000. And, if you fail to abate the citations and file your paperwork on time, that $8,000 can easily balloon to over $40,000!

Here are some (relatively) easy pointers:

Be prepared before OSHA arrives.

•  Keep records of all safety training. Know where your safety records are located.

•  Make sure employees have – and use – the proper personal protective equipment. The primary items will be safety glasses, face shields (for transferring chemicals and grinding) and hearing protection.

•  Have written safety programs and know where to find them. Do the same with preventive maintenance ‘records (hoist inspections, eyewash maintenance…).

•  Keep your OSHA 300 logs of injuries up to date.

•  Keep records of safety committee meetings. Any opportunity you give employees to provide feedback on safety and that you document could be considered a safety committee meeting.

•  Make sure your front office folks know what to do when OSHA shows up. And that they know to notify the shop owner or manager immediately.

When OSHA arrives:

•  Ask for their business card and why they are at your shop (was it a complaint, or your site just came up for inspection).

•  Offer them a cup of coffee. Ask what records they will want to see and start gathering those. If you have a break room or office where you can meet with them, set them up in there.

•  Be polite. You can refuse to let them in, but they will just come back with a warrant. We don’t recommend that.

•  The inspector will hold an opening conference to review the purpose of the visit.

•  Provide the documents they request, if you have them. Most inspectors will also give you 24 hours to email the records to them.

The walk around

•  Never allow the inspector to go into your shop unaccompanied. If you aren’t available, have a manager go with them. Make sure whoever goes along knows what to do.

•  The inspector will walk through your shop. Go with that person. Take notes. Take pictures – anything the inspector photographs, you also need to photograph. You won’t be able to see the inspector’s records, so you want to make sure your records are thorough. 

•  If the inspector points out a concern, such as a damaged extension cord, fix it immediately if you can. Cut the cord and put it in the trash.

•  The inspector will interview employees. That is a private conversation, so stand aside during this.

OSHA has had a lot of staff turnover, with experienced inspectors retiring. That means the inspector you get may have never been in your type of shop. You don’t have to volunteer information but do explain your processes and operation.

After the inspection

•  Don’t wait for the inspection report to start correcting issues that the inspector pointed out. If they mentioned the need for correct labeling on containers, get your containers labeled. If they said you need forklift training  and evaluations, get that scheduled. Once the report arrives you may have very little time before the abatement date, the date by which violations must be corrected.

•  Read the whole packet. It’s long, even if you get just one citation. Look for these parts:

            •  Citation and Notification of Penalties. This spells out what problem was found, what standard was violated, how much you’ll be penalized and the date by which you must correct the problem. 

            •  Invoice. You need to pay this promptly, unless you are contesting the citations.

            •  Mandatory Progress Report. You have to send this in. This tells OSHA that you are correcting the problems. It is mandatory.

            •  Petition for Modification of Abatement Date: if you can’t get the fixes made by the abatement date, OSHA will issue an extension only if you request it. Use this form to request more time. Extensions are usually only for 30 days, but you can submit additional requests if needed, as long as you can show progress toward completing the abatement.

            •  Notice of Contest: if you are going to contest the citation, the abatement date, or the penalties, you will need to complete this form and have it notarized.

            •  Expedited Informal Settlement Agreement (EISA): if you only have one or two serious citations, MNOSHA may offer a discount if you do not contest the citations. It is almost always worth taking if offered.

•  Pay attention to dates! You only have 20 calendar days from the date on the citation packet to contest.

•  Pay attention to instructions! If you contest and forget to have the form notarized, OSHA will reject it. They are not at all forgiving on these procedures or deadlines.

Should you contest citations? Yes. 

OSHA doesn’t get upset if you contest citations. You won’t end up on a hit list.

You can contest the citation, the amount, the abatement dates, the type of violation or the entire citation. Even if you agree you were in violation, we always recommend contesting at least the amount. You can usually get at least a 30 percent, up to a max of 40 percent, reduction in penalties if you contest. But you still need to correct any hazards that were found.

If you are offered an Expedited Informal Settlement Agreement, it usually is worth accepting that and not contesting the citations (unless you think they were wrong). 

Penalties

While OSHA penalties seem to be a mystery, they follow a very specific formula. The maximum penalty per violation (other than fatalities) is currently $15,625. The actual penalty is discounted from that based on probability (how many people are exposed to the hazard, how close and how often employees are exposed) and severity (how bad could an injury from that hazard be).

You can get up to 95 percent credit off the penalty: up to 30 percent for good faith (you have a safety program, you do annual training, you have safety committee minutes), 55 percent for size of company and 10 percent for not having been cited for the same violation within the last three years. 

The best prevention against OSHA violations is having a strong safety program. Don’t think you’re doing okay just because you’ve had a few injuries. That might be due to luck. As any gambler will tell you, luck isn’t very reliable.

For more information, contact Carol Keyes at carkey@chess-safety.com or 651-481-9787.

Want more? Check out the September 2024 issue of AASP-MN News!