On March 4, 2016 from 2:00 to 5:00 the National Advisory Committee on Safety and Health will meeting in Room N–5437A, Conference Rooms A–B, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. to consider and make recommendations on OSHA’s draft Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines. The draft guidelines may be found at https://osha.gov/shpmguidelines/SHPM_guidelines.pdf Specifics are provided in the Federal Register at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-02-17/pdf/2016-03295.pdf

Workers’ Compensation Related Items
The Draft guidelines point to experience in Ohio as evidence of the value of implementing guidelines similar to those proposed by OSHA, including specific reference to a study of small employers in Ohio which found that workers’ compensation claims fell dramatically after working with the SHARP program to adopt programs similar to those described in the new OSHA draft guidelines.

The Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) recognizes small business employers who have used OSHA’s On-site Consultation Program services and operate an exemplary injury and illness prevention program. For more information see https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/sharp.html .

OSHA draft guidelines include tracking amounts paid to workers’ compensation claims as a lagging indicator of progress toward safety and health goals.
Action item 1: Monitor performance and progress
Define appropriate metrics and indicators to measure performance. Establish and follow procedures to collect, analyze, and review performance data. Progress or performance indicators should include both leading and lagging indicators.
Lagging indicators generally track worker exposures and injuries that have already occurred. Leading indicators reflect the potential for injuries and illnesses that have not yet occurred.

How to accomplish it

  •  Develop and track measures or indicators of progress toward established safety and health goals.

Track lagging indicators, such as:

  • Number and severity of injuries and illnesses.
  • Results of worker exposure monitoring.
  •  Amount paid to workers’ compensation claims.

In addition, track leading indicators, such as:

  • Level of worker participation in program activities.
  • Number of hazards and close calls/near misses reported, as well as amount of
    time taken to respond to reports.
  • Number and frequency of management walkthroughs.
  • Number of hazards identified during inspections.
  • Number of workers who have completed required safety and health training.
  • Number of days needed to take corrective action after a workplace hazard is identified or an incident occurs.
  • Conformance to planned preventive maintenance schedules.
  • Worker opinions about program effectiveness.
  • Keep track of monitoring activities and results and analyze trends over time.
  • Share results with all workers and provide ways for all workers to suggest how to further improve performance.

Comments, requests to speak, speaker presentations, requests for special accommodations and requests to attend the meeting by teleconference must be submitted to NACOSH by Wednesday, February 24, 2016.