Imagine this hypothetical situation. A petite secretary working at Joe's Nuts & Bolts needs some envelope labels, which are located on the top shelf of a tall file cabinet. In order to retrieve them, the secretary stands on a chair with wheels. As she reaches for the labels, the chair rolls out from under her and-in a futile attempt to cushion the fall with her right hand-she breaks her wrist.

This is where OSHA enters the picture. Because the accident will cause a restriction of work or motion, and a positive X-ray will result-two parameters that represent just a sampling of OSHA's list of guidelines-this injury should be reported through what is called a log 200.

The preceding example could have been prevented through safety training for employees, or providing an appropriate and safe step stool or ladder for reaching high places. However, since the company in this hypothetical example did not undertake such preventive measures, it could be found liable-which could bring about fines, penalties or citations.

"Many OSHA citations result from lack of a safety training program in the workplace, which could easily be harmful to a business," warns Chris Lee, a deputy regional administrator for OSHA's region #9 office (which includes California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada and Guam). Lee urges all businesses to be educated and trained about federal and state OSHA standards for safety.

Some Background on OSHA

According to Lee, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was established in 1970 to improve safety standards in the workplace. This demonstrated Congress' recognition of the cost of injuries and fatalities, in terms of both money and lives, which have been borne by industries. OSHA's professed mission is to "save lives, prevent injuries, and protect the health of American workers."

And that's not a small challenge, considering that every year there are 6,000 workplace deaths, six million injured employees, and 500,000 workers with occupational illnesses. To fulfill its mission, OSHA has a federal staff 2,209 people strong, with 1,113 inspectors making checks on businesses. In addition, 25 states have their own state-run OSHA programs.

And the results are impressive. By 1996, the workplace death rate had been cut in half. And typically, in the three years following an OSHA inspection, a firm's number of injuries and illnesses decreases by an average of 22 percent.

Among the services OSHA provides is a consultation program aimed at small businesses. It consists of a confidential "walk-through" of the premises by an inspector, followed by recommendations on steps that should be taken to ensure compliance with OSHA regulations. During this consultation, the inspector cannot and will not issue any citations.

To quantify the popularity of this service, in the 1997 fiscal year, OSHA performed 21,596 free consultation visits.

Many states also offer SHARP (the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program), which provides rewards and incentives to smaller, high-hazard businesses for complying with OSHA regulations. For example, in the name of Susan Harwood Training Grants, OSHA awarded in 1998 alone more than $3.9 million to 37 organizations that developed training programs for safety and health.

OSHA also offers the Cooperative Compliance Program (CCP), aimed at reducing illnesses and injuries at the most hazardous workplaces. According to Art DeCoursey, small business liaison for OSHA, there has been a strong response in the small business sector to this particular program.

Cooperative Partnerships Encouraged

In an effort to improve relations with the nation's businesses, especially small ones, OSHA initiated an agenda in 1995 to encourage cooperative partnerships among business owners, employees and OSHA-working toward the common-sense goal of fewer injuries and illnesses in the workplace. As proof of the success of this approach, in June 1998 OSHA eliminated 1,081 pages of regulations that were estimated to save employers $10 million and thousands of hours of paperwork. Says Charles Jeffress, OSHA's assistant secretary, "We serve Americans better when we communicate simply about worker safety and health."

OSHA hosts a variety of conferences, many of which are aimed at small businesses, such as its 1998 Regional Conferences on Ergonomics (repetitive stress injuries). OSHA's Web site (www.osha.gov) contains helpful information on understanding its regulations and services.

As a first step, Lee suggests obtaining OSHA's handbook for small businesses, which provides information on OSHA services, publications and offices. It also has a list of Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), which offer counseling, technical assistance and training to entrepreneurs. To obtain a copy, call (202) 512-1800, or fax (202) 512-2250 [reference Order #029-016-00176-0].

OSHA also publishes a "Keeping Your Workplace Safe" pamphlet that outlines the primary components of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), which is aimed at simplifying compliance regulations for small companies and increasing their input and rights concerning OSHA and EPA regulations. SBREFA also created a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel that gives OSHA more input on the perspective of entrepreneurs. DeCoursey says the panel "gives small businesses a voice at the table that they never had before."

Determine Which Regulations Apply to You

OSHA expects business owners to know and follow all the safety regulations that apply to their operations, which admittedly can be a difficult feat because its safety orders comprise nearly 4,000 pages. While no entrepreneur has the time to read all this material, smart ones can narrow the scope of their compliance efforts by focusing on the regulations that pertain to their particular industry.

As Mike Rubel, certified safety inspector and founder of the National Compliance Institute, explains: "Each process that your company employs has a regulation that applies to it. Do you use a forklift? Do you do welding? Do you have machines that need guarding? Does your company use chemicals? For each process, OSHA requires a written hazard communication program."

Too often, businesses fail to recognize all the processes they use and the potential problems inherent in them. If left unchecked, these processes spell OSHA violation and may cause an accident. According to the National Compliance Institute, OSHA issued 3,243 violations last year to companies for not having a written hazard communication program. "Contract someone with fresh eyes, who knows the regulations, can do a facility walk-through, and put something in writing," advises Rubel.

In addition to federal and state OSHA consultants, insurance carriers, auditors-for-hire, and industry associations all offer on-site inspections to help detect problems that might otherwise be overlooked. In fact, OSHA grants can sometimes pay the bill for professional consultations performed by professionals other than the agency's own.

Document, Document, Document

As OSHA's strict standards require companies to keep thorough records, be sure to document everything. "Don't waste time searching for exceptions or exemptions, because in the regulator's mind, if it is not in writing, you didn't do it," Rubel warns.

Essential documents OSHA expects include a log 200, safety inspection results, safety training documents, and corrective action records. For more information about each of these documents, contact OSHA.

While establishing an injury record keeping and reporting system helps satisfy OSHA requirements, it also makes good business sense. Often, a complete report and analysis about an incident helps prevent such accidents from happening again.

Advises Karen Johnson, the president of Roughneck Concrete Drilling and Sawing Company in Morton Grove, Illinois: "Never put 'not applicable' or 'unknown' on reporting forms. Look into it; there is always a reason, or the accident would not have happened." Johnson's employees work on ladders, walk scaffolds, operate core drill rigs, and handle slab saws. The danger involved in the industry motivates her to comprehensively record injuries and their surrounding circumstances, and subsequently implement necessary changes in workplace procedure (which are also recorded), so the same mistakes do not happen twice.

Understanding and Complying with OSHA Standards

Although understanding the regulations that apply to your company makes compliance much easier, many of them may seem more like bureaucratic legalese than practical steps to follow. Rubel suggests considering worst-case scenarios. "Don't think why it doesn't apply, but why it does. Regulators see themselves as enforcers, not teachers. The excuse 'no one told me' doesn't hold up because you're supposed to know."

Sometimes, however, even OSHA does not have answers to specific regulation questions, because new safety concerns may arise before agencies and industries have time to investigate the problem adequately. As a result, many small firms such as Roughneck rely on industry associations for help in understanding salient safety issues. Johnson, for instance, receives updates from her local association about a major concern to her company, silicosis-the ingestion of tiny, dry dust particles into the lungs. "Educate yourself as much as you can," she urges.

In addition to tapping into associations as a resource to better understand compliance and safety issues, education could consist of attending informative seminars, subscribing to newsletters, reading publications, or simply becoming connected. Ask other companies in your industry about their safety plans, concerns and advice. You might be surprised how much simple dialog can help.

Train Your Employees about Safety

Needless to say, no business owner wants to lose a valuable employee, especially to an avoidable, on-the-job accident. To prevent workplace injuries, and minimize worry about potential OSHA citations, make an ongoing effort to remind and train employees about safety.

Effective training demands the involvement of both workers and assigned management, so make the training sessions entertaining and interesting. Encourage communication and feedback by creating a relaxed atmosphere where employees can comfortably speak about safety concerns. Consider offering safety initiative programs in which workers earn points for accident-free hours that can be redeemed for mail-order catalog goods or other incentives.

Remember, 60 to 70 percent of OSHA inspections result from employee complaints. Rubel suggests working with simple written guidelines that employees can use and follow. "Build employee confidence in your response to safety concerns, and motivate them to call their own safety coordinator, not OSHA," he advises.

Business owners such as Laurie Carlson, president of Lukas Auto Paint in Portland, Oregon, realize workers sometimes focus so much on production that they forget to take precautions. "So I consider always looking and reminding my employees about safety as positive parts of my job, because I don't want to end up losing really good people," she says.

OSHA is not out to get you and your business. It only tries to ensure safety in the workplace. So to escape the fate of Joe's Nuts & Bolts, use OSHA's information and services to help ensure your firm's compliance, avoid needless inconvenience and lost time, eliminate penalties and, more importantly, save your employees from harm.

Excerpted with permission from Small Business Success, Volume XII, produced by Pacific Bell Directory in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration.