OSHA Compliance

My brother, a small business owner, told me that he was recently contacted via telephone by a salesperson claiming to be selling log books required by OSHA. He explained that the salesperson was insisting that these logs and checklists would be his protection upon an OSHA inspection. “Just give me your address, we’ll mail them and then we will bill you.” Being more familiar with plastering than government safety standards, his only saving grace were his instincts. “It felt like a scam,” he said.

Most business owners are familiar with the saying, “knowledge is power”. In this case, I would recommend going to the source of these standards: OSHA! They have an entire website designated to helping small businesses understand what they need to be compliant; http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/index.html, complete with a handbook http://www.osha.gov/Publications/smallbusiness/small-business.html which, in their words, “should help small business employers meet the legal requirements imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act), and achieve an in-compliance status before an OSHA inspection”. It includes an extensive self-inspection checklist, which can be tailored to meet your own business environment and guidelines for work-related injuries / illness recordkeeping. This handbook, along with the logs for recordkeeping, are all on the website and available at no cost.

So, was it a scam? I would say “no”. Like your business, this company is charging a fee for a service. But, we’ve all heard that saying, “don’t buy the cow, if you can get the milk for free…” .