Look for New Safety and Health Management Guidelines

During a discussion with OSHA at the Society for Chemical Hazard Communications’ 2015 Fall Conference the agency stated it is planning to update its Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines that was issued back in 1998 as means to encourage employers to do more in regards to preventing occupational injuries and illnesses. In other words, OSHA intended the guide to help employers seek ways to prevent injuries and illnesses, even beyond compliance requirements voluntarily. The voluntary guidelines call for the systematic identification, evaluation and prevention or control of general workplace hazards as well as the hazards of specific jobs and tasks. The new guidelines will still be voluntary and will be developed more into a “how-to” format designed to be easier for companies to understand, adopt and implement the elements, as well as fall in line with any injury and Illness prevention program proposed in the future. While there was no specific dates announced, OSHA did say they will be looking to send out a request for comments on a draft of the updated guidelines sometime this fall and then hopefully have the new guidelines published sometime in 2016. SGIA will remain close to this issue and report on any new developments as they become available.