Fifteen workplaces. Eighty-seven hazards corrected so that companies were not fined $609,000 in enforcement penalties. Approximately 3,197 employees made safer.
Those were the numbers behind one month’s worth of free, on-site visits made by Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health (the Labor Cabinet) to employers across the state in April.
Is it working? According to a recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Kentucky employers recorded the lowest incident rate for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in the state’s history last year.
No penalties
Proactive efforts to improve workplace safety are conducted through the Labor Cabinet’s Division of Occupational Safety & Health Education & Training, which provides free consultative surveys to employers in an effort to increase workplace safety by improving injury and illness rates. Employers who make use of the Division’s consultative surveys do not face penalties unless violations are not corrected.
Employers and employees all across Kentucky and the nation also have access to cost-free safety and health eLearning programs on the Labor Cabinet’s eTrain website. The Division also offers cost-free OSHA training courses, or “Population Center Training” throughout the state. The goals: to reduce workplace injuries and reduce workers’ compensation premiums paid by employers.
Resources, partnerships
In addition to consultative surveys and OSHA training, cost-free assistance from the Division consists of publications, required workplace posters, and information on injury/illness recordkeeping requirements. The Division is also responsible for overseeing the Partnership Programs as well as conducting the Annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and the OSHA Data Collection.
Along with the Kentucky Safety and Health Network, the Division of Education and Training also co-hosts the Governor’s Safety and Health Conference and Exposition each year. The 33rd annual conference will take place at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington from May 8-12, 2017. For more info and to register for the conference, please visit kshn.net.
Additional information is available at http://labor.kentucky.gov.
