OSHA’s Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs provide a step-by-step approach to implementing a safety and health program and are designed to be used in a wide variety of small and medium-sized business settings.
The main goal of safety and health programs is to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths, as well as the suffering and financial hardship these events can cause for workers, their families and employers. The recommended practices use a proactive approach to managing workplace safety and health, recognizing that finding and fixing hazards before they cause injury or illness is a far more effective approach.
The idea is to begin with a basic program and simple goals and grow from there. If you focus on achieving goals, monitoring performance and evaluating outcomes, your workplace can progress along the path to higher levels of safety and health achievement.
Safety and health programs help businesses:
- Prevent workplace injuries and illnesses
- Improve compliance with laws and regulations
- Reduce costs, including significant reductions in workers’ compensation premiums
- Engage workers
- Enhance their social responsibility goals
- Increase productivity and enhance overall business operations