Many Companies Make The Mistake of Believing They Can Outsource Their OSHA Compliance to OSHCON

Throughout the years I’ve had many small business owners and managers tell me something like, “we don’t need your help, we use OSHCON and they manage all of our OSHA compliance.

Don’t get me wrong, OSHCON is a fantastic and free resource for helping small companies to build safety programs, but they can’t do it all for you nor can they protect your company from OSHA inspections and resulting fines and penalties.

It’s a very common misconception that OSHCON can somehow manage all of a company’s OSHA compliance requirements, but it’s impossible and this blog post will briefly explain why.

– No legal mandate:  OSHCON has no legal requirement to manage safety for any given company, and that’s because their services don’t allow for this level of service.

– Annual Inspections: OSHCON is only authorized to visit your company once per year to audit your facility and make recommendations.  But once that’s done and they hand over the report, now the ball’s in your court.

–  Managing Health and Safety Compliance: Once OSHCON hands over the report, now it’s your company’s legal obligation to fix all of the problems, implement all recommendations and then manage them on an ongoing basis, from week to week, and month to month and year to year.  But that’s exactly what most companies fail to do and it’s due to the overwhelming requirements and complexity of safety regulations. I’m referring to all of the recurring employee safety training requirements, conducting routine inspections to identify and correct health and safety hazards, record keeping requirements, lockout/tagout programs and procedures, managing Hazard Communication requirements and the list goes on and on. OSHCON cannot and will not do all of this for your company.

– Generic Safety Resources:  OSHA requires that companies build customized health and safety programs to address company specific health and safety hazards, however OSHCON only provides generic resources which don’t meet this standard.  This includes generic training videos and program templates.  In other words, companies must figure out which resources apply, and then update and customize them to meet OSHA standards.  This can be a very complicated and difficult process.

– No Protection from OSHA fines and penalties:  There’s also a very common misconception from companies who work with OSHCON, that they’re somehow protected from OSHA inspections and resulting fines and penalties.  Other than during the initial inspection and the short time period following the inspection while OSHCON is preparing the report, companies have no protection from inspections, citations and fines.

In summary, don’t get us wrong, they’re a great resource but you can’t outsource your compliance to OSHCON. In reality, they’re nothing more than a good starting point. Managing the rest is up to your company.

We have been contacted by many companies over the years who worked with OSHCON but ultimately figured out that it wasn’t enough and that they needed more help.

For small companies who are worried about their OSHA compliance condition, and aren’t sure where to begin, we have created a free guide called How To Build A Safety Program From Scratch which will get you well on your way towards achieving these objectives and is a must-read for companies who don’t have a full time and experienced health and safety compliance manager.  By the time you’ve finished reading this document, you’ll have gained a much better understanding of what the Occupational Health & Safety Administration demands of your company and can then begin to use the knowledge gained to assess your company’s current compliance condition, determine what needs to be fixed, and hopefully begin work on making improvements.

For companies who already know they need help managing compliance, checkout our Virtual and Turn-Key OSHA compliance consulting services.

CALL US TODAY AT 512-457-0374 TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE CONSULTATION

Most small businesses lack the expertise and time needed to navigate the complicated mess of OSHA & EPA regulations, leaving them vulnerable to costly injuries, fines, and lawsuits.

Berg Compliance Solutions offers turnkey programs to help businesses get peace of mind knowing they are fully compliant and positioned for success.