The OSHA inspection story I’d like to relate happened at a former company where I worked as a safety director and I would be grateful if you withheld my name and the company’s name.

The Tale of the Rainy Day Inspection

I was a safety director for a molten metal manufacturing company and had only been in the job for a few months. The OSHA inspector arrived unannounced on a rainy day when there were no upper management people available. Since I was just getting settled into the job, I wasn’t aware of anything the company had done that could "provoke" an inspection.

So there I was meeting with the inspector, going through the credentialing process and getting an explanation of how the inspection would take place. He also told me that the inspection was in response to employee complaints. A lot of complaints. The list seemed endless. Some of the complaints were even a little strange. One employee complained that he had to stand in puddles of water to do drilling and sanding.

It’s a nightmare, I was thinking. What am I going to do? But I was also getting a sense that something wasn’t right. The things the inspector was talking about just weren't adding up. Finally, I asked to see a copy of the complaint.

He handed me the papers and I immediately realized what was going on. He was at the wrong address! The company he wanted was a few miles down the road. He said that he had waited for a rainy day to see if the employee had a valid point about standing in water using electrical equipment.

Conclusion

As the inspector was leaving, he told me that he was glad we weren't the place he was looking for because he appreciated the respect he was shown. I think that my relief eclipsed anything he could have felt. I wonder what ever happened when the inspector showed up at that other company...

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