Have you ever wished you could make your work injuries disappear? Do you dream of the day when you’ll proudly post next year’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 300A summary with a better result than you’ll post in 2022?
Hold that thought, we’ll get back to it in a minute. First, let’s go over the posting requirements that start on February 1.
Post Your OSHA 300A Starting February 1
According to the OSHA standard “1904.32 – Annual Summary,” businesses subject to OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements must create and post an annual summary of injuries and illnesses recorded on the previous year’s OSHA 300 log. When performing this task, remember these tips:
- Use OSHA Form 300A – Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. Do not post the OSHA 300 log, as it contains personally identifiable information.
- Ensure the summary is signed and dated by a company executive, such as an owner, officer, or a high-ranking company official.
- Post the summary in one or more areas visible to all employees, such as break rooms or informational bulletin boards.
- Post the summary by February 1 and ensure it remains posted through April 30.
How to Make Workplace Injuries Disappear
Now, back to our discussion on making your injuries disappear. The good news is that it’s not magic. There are no wands, and no rabbits are required. The only hat you’ll need is your thinking cap. Sure, there are dozens of things you can do to reduce workplace injuries, but let’s uncover a few of them that are often overlooked.
Use Your OSHA 300 Log to Shape Your Strategy
Be the wizard of your injury trends. Reviewing the OSHA 300 log and preparing the annual summary is an excellent time to understand more about what happened in the previous year. Did injuries tend to result from a common cause, in a similar work area, to employees of a certain seniority, etc.? A wise man once said, “a problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.” Understanding your trends will allow you to focus your efforts in the right areas this year.
Reference the Hierarchy of Hazard Control
Remember the hierarchy of hazard control? If you do, that’s great.
Unfortunately, a lot of people forget this tool and choose a quick and easy solution that feels like it should work, but often doesn’t, and results in injures recurring. Keeping in mind the Eliminate-Substitute-Engineering Controls-Administrative Controls-Personal Protective Equipment hierarchy is much more likely to result in solving a problem at its root cause — and making similar injuries disappear.
Remember Safety Benefits All Business Areas
Sometimes, your review of the OSHA log will remind you of an unexpected injury that you wish you could have prevented, but you’re afraid the solution (especially if it comes at a financial cost) may be met with responses like, “are you sure we need this; it only happened once?”
Remember that solutions that benefit safety almost always have a positive productivity, quality, morale, or other benefit as well. Calculate your return on investment considering all of these, not just the reduction in injury likelihood.
Work Together
Are you seeing a trend but don’t know where to turn? A problem new to you might be a code someone in your network has already cracked. Never be afraid to reach out to peers, industry associations, or your Holmes Murphy risk management team for advice. Working together is often the potion for continuous improvement.
Best wishes on a safe and productive 2022! And, like I said, if you need any help, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
