I’ve been through three different OSHA inspections. I’d like to describe my most recent experience and what I learned from it.

The Opening Conference

One day an OSHA inspector from the high hazard office showed up unannounced to do a planned inspection of our plant. Our SIC code was targeted for inspection this year, he explained, and our company was randomly chosen among local businesses of that SIC.

I checked his credentials, escorted him into the conference room and politely told him that he was wasting his time. We had no high hazards at our facility and we were on the “tame side” of industries with that SIC code as far as hazards were concerned. I stated this matter-of-factly to put him at ease, not as a stalling or defensive tactic.

We settled into the opening meeting. I wanted one of our directors to attend. The only director onsite was Bob, our comptroller. Bob recognized the logo on the polo shirt the OSHA inspector was wearing. As fate would have it, the logo came from a place Bob had once worked. Having discovered that they had both worked for the same employer, the two men began sharing war stories and remembrances of the people they both knew. I finally steered the conference back to official business.

Touring the Plant

When we entered the plant, one of the first things the inspector checked were the three electrical panels along a back wall. He opened each one looking for labeled circuit breakers and ensuring there were no missing circuit breaker slots. When he came to the third one, he found an open circuit breaker slot. “Dammit,” I said and called the maintenance manager. “Dammit,” said the maintenance manager when he arrived. He returned to his shop for a blank but couldn’t find any. Later, after consulting with the manager, I informed the inspector that the blanks were on order.

As we were walking away, our CEO arrived. He walked out onto the plant floor and extended his hand to the inspector. “Good morning,” he said in a cordial manner, “I’m Jim. Thanks for coming by and if there’s anything you need, please come see me.”

As the inspector and I toured the entire facility, we discussed all of his findings openly and honestly. I didn’t try to engage in any denials or cover-ups. In fact, I even pointed out some of the problems we were having and explained how we were working to make our plant a safer place.

The Closing Conference and Appeal

The CEO was present at the closing conference. We bombarded the inspector with questions on each citation. We didn’t dispute their legitimacy but asked questions on abatement.

We needed more time to abate one of the citations. So we filed an appeal. Before the appeal, we attended an informal conference with the inspector and his supervisor and described what we had done to abate each of the other citations. We also presented photographs proving that all of those other problems had in fact been abated.

Because of our openness, willingness to assist the inspector, strong safety program and proof of abating all of the other citations, our fines were greatly reduced. Both sides left the informal conference table comfortable with the results.

Conclusion

The moral of my long-winded story is this. Always treat OSHA inspectors with respect. Speak honestly to them about your problems and what you’re doing to remedy them. At the end of the day, you and the inspector share a common goal: to identify and abate hazards.

And one more thing. If you’re half the safety professional you profess to be, you’ll be aware of all of the problems at your facility—and what’s being done to remedy them—at all times. No safety professional should ever have to rely on an OSHA inspector to point out the hazards in their facilities.

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