OSHA’s 2006 Site-Specific Targeting (SST) plan will focus on approximately 4,250 high-hazard worksites in its primary list for unannounced comprehensive inspections over the coming year, the agency announced May 31.

"This program gives us the opportunity to focus our enforcement efforts where it will have the most benefit for workers and employers," said OSHA Administrator Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.

Over the past eight years, OSHA has used a site-specific targeting inspection program based on injury and illness data. This year's program (SST-06) stems from the agency's Data Initiative for 2005, which surveyed approximately 80,000 employers to attain their injury and illness numbers for 2004.

This year's program will initially cover about 4,250 individual worksites on the primary list that reported 12 or more injuries or illnesses resulting in days away from work, restricted work activity, or job transfer for every 100 full-time workers (known as the DART rate). The primary list will also include sites based on a "Days Away from Work Injury and Illness" (DAFWII) rate of 9 or higher (9 or more cases that involve days away from work per 100 full-time employees).

Employers not on the primary list who reported DART rates of between 7.0 and 12.0, or DAFWII rates of between 5.0 and 9.0, will be placed on a secondary list for possible inspection.

The national incident DART rate in 2004 for private industry was 2.5, while the national incident DAFWII rate was 1.4.

OSHA will again inspect nursing homes and personal care facilities, but only the highest 50 percent rated establishments will be included on the primary list. Inspections will focus primarily on ergonomic hazards relating to resident handling; exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials; exposure to tuberculosis; and slips, trips and falls.

The agency will also randomly select and inspect about 175 workplaces (with 75 or more employees) across the nation that reported low injury and illness rates for the purpose of reviewing the actual degree of compliance with OSHA requirements. These establishments are selected from those industries with above the national incident DART and DAFWII rates.

OSHA will also include on the primary list some establishments that did not respond to the 2005 data survey.