OSHA standards are sets of guidelines and requirements enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to minimize health and safety risks in workplaces. They regulate companies to maintain safe and healthy working conditions and provide suitable training and assistance to their employees before doing their jobs. OSHA standards are also known as OSHA regulations or OSHA requirements because they are stipulated in Part 1910 Title 29 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
OSHA operates through a number of regional offices across the country and even abroad, each of which oversees the implementation and enforcement of OSHA standards within its area. Some of these offices include:
Or EU-OSHA is a European Union agency that provides information, support, and resources to improve occupational safety and health across Europe.
This California OSHA arm, also known as Cal/OSHA, is a state-level agency in California that operates under the California Department of Industrial Relations.
Oregon OSHA, meanwhile, is a state-run program responsible for enforcing occupational safety and health standards, conducting inspections, providing education and training, and promoting safe and healthy working conditions for all workers in Oregon.
An OSHA safety standard is a list of material and equipment requirements along with guidelines and instructions for employers to minimize employee risk in the performance of work. Adherence to OSHA standards protects workers from fatal hazards and health risks. It is organized into four major industries, specifically OSHA standards for construction and general industry, maritime, and agriculture.
This section outlines OSHA’s occupational safety and health requirements, covering businesses that do not fall strictly under the agriculture, construction, and maritime industries. Employers must do the following standard examples:
To help improve the safety of workplace officers, listed below are OSHA standard checklists for the general industry.
This section talks about some of the most prominent employer responsibilities in the construction industry:
Browse these OSHA standard checklists for the construction industry.
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In the maritime industry, meanwhile, employers should do the following:
The following OSHA standard checklists for the maritime industry can help employers ensure a healthy environment for their employees.
Lastly, for the agriculture industry, employers must:
Browse these OSHA standard checklists for the agricultural industry:
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Essentially, OSHA operates with two main functions—as a safety enforcer and as a safety consultant:
OSHA’s most prominent function is to ensure that employers and employees all over the United States comply with their safety standards. Failure to comply with OSHA’s standards can lead to hefty fines, legal consequences, and a tarnished reputation. OSHA’s compliance safety and health officers visit workplaces and perform on-site inspections to identify and point out potential safety hazards to employers and employees.
OSHA provides free safety consultations to employers upon request. Through this function, an OSHA consultant will perform a walkthrough inspection with the employer to identify workplace hazards, provide suggestions on how to eliminate safety issues, and assist employers in maintaining an effective safety and health program. OSHA consultants can also provide safety training for both the employer and employees on-site or off-site, subject to approval.
OSHA covers all private-sector workers in all 50 states. State and local government workers only have OSHA coverage if they work in states that have OSHA-approved programs. Self-employed workers and workers protected by other federal agencies, such as the Mine Safety and Health Administration, are not covered by OSHA.
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The four main categories of the OSHA standards are general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture. Each of these categories has specific regulations designed to address the unique hazards and safety concerns associated with that industry.
OSHA violations range from serious to other-than-serious, willful, and repeated. Each of these violations has a corresponding penalty determined by OSHA.
There are nearly 1,000 standards across OSHA’s four main industry categories. However, most workplaces will find that the applicable standards fall under the general industry category.
Jona Tarlengco is a content writer and researcher for SafetyCulture since 2018. She usually writes about safety and quality topics, contributing to the creation of well-researched articles. Her years of experience in one of the world’s leading business news organisations helps enrich the quality of the information in her work.
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