Hello everyone!
My name is Larry Ringy, a board member with the National Association of Occupational Health Professionals (AOHP), and today I’d like to guide you through the intriguing world of OSHA recordable injuries.
OSHA record-keeping is a regulation that, with recent COVID mandates, everyone’s gotten an inkling of its importance. It initiated in 1971, essentially requiring employers to maintain safe workplaces. It covers almost eight million worksites in America. A critical subset of employers must maintain records of occupational injuries and illnesses.
What Is Considered A Recordable OSHA Injury or Illness?
Injuries and illnesses embody a myriad of conditions which could range from cuts, fractures, sprains, skin diseases to respiratory disorders. Any subjective symptoms such as aches or pains are also regarded as an injury or illness.
When a report of an employee injury or illness comes to your attention, it’s crucial to establish if this resulted from a work accident or exposure in the work environment. If ‘yes,’ then we proceed further.
An injury that leads to death, occupational hearing loss, loss of consciousness, days off from work, restricted work assignments, or medical treatments classifies as an injury or illness recordable on the OSHA 300 log. If it involves none of these, it doesn’t have to be recorded.
OSHA Stats
According to OSHA, 40 percent of total work-related injuries and illnesses are strains and sprains, while muscular skeletal disorders account for an additional 29 percent. These disorders result in lost workdays and substantial spending, with employers spending as much as $20 billion a year on work-related musculoskeletal injuries.
How to Avoid Recordables
It’s essential to understand your clients and their job descriptions as an occupational health professional fully. This will guide appropriate work restrictions should there be an injury. For example, if an injury results in a worker being unable to perform one of their standard tasks (which they perform more than once a week) then this results in a recordable incident.
Understanding of this close-link can differentiate your practice. It can facilitate better client partnerships, instigate insightful conversations with clients to avoid any recordable incidents, and create actionable steps to mitigate further instances.
Conducting Provider Tours and Assessing Risk
A cornerstone of mitigating recordable injuries is proactive action and a keen awareness of your client’s work environment. Provider tours offer an invaluable insight into real work scenarios. Identifying common injuries, conducting chart reviews, consistency checks across different providers, and regular ergonomic and safety training contributes to a robust safety program.
Furthermore, it’s wise to peel back common misconceptions. For instance, full duty with caution is not regarded as restricted work. Rather, employees perform all functions normally but at a slower pace.
In summary, with competent knowledge of OSHA record keeping, an aligned understanding between providers and companies, and proactive measures, we can optimally serve our clients while ensuring safety and health at the forefront of occupational practices.
References: Occupational Health and Safety – OSHA Regs, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Feel free to reach out if you have questions or need further clarification on the topic. It is upon us, the occupational health professionals, to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for everyone. Let’s network, share knowledge, and help each other improve the occupational health field.
