Health
& Safety Programs: Back Injury Prevention,
Ergonomics, First Aid/CPR, Managing Stress, Workplace
Violence, Injury & Illness Prevention
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Cal/OSHA
Workplace Injury and Illness Prevention Program, with
checklists for self-inspection
CS-1
revised March 2002 - Cal/OSHA Consultation Service
State
of California - Department of Industrial Relations
Division
of Occupational Safety & Health
In
California every employer has a legal obligation to
provide and maintain a safe and healthful workplace for
employees, according to the California Occupational Safety
and Health Act of 1973. As of 1991, a written, effective
Injury and Illness Prevention (IIP), Program is required for
every California employer.
The
term “employer” as used in the Cal/OSHA Act includes any
person or corporation, the State and every State agency,
every county or city or district and public agency therein,
which has any person engaged in or permitted to work for
hire, except for household services
Why
Have a Workplace Injury and Illness Prevention Program?
Taking
risks is a part of running a business, particularly for
small business owners. You take risks in product
development, marketing, and advertising in order to stay
competitive. Some risks are just not worth the gamble. One
of these is risking the safety and health of those who work
for you.
Accidents
Cost Money
Safety
organizations, states, small business owners and major
corporations alike now realize that the actual cost of a
lost workday injury is substantial. For every dollar you
spend on the direct costs of a worker’s injury or illness,
you will spend much more to cover the indirect and hidden
costs. Consider what one lost workday injury would cost you
in terms of:
Productive
time lost by an injured employee;
Productive
time lost by employees and supervisors attending the
accident victim;
Clean
up and start up of operations interrupted by the accident;
Time
to hire or to retrain other individuals to replace the
injured worker until his/her return;
Time
and cost for repair or replacement of any damaged equipment
or materials;
Cost
of continuing all or part of the employee’s wages, in
addition to compensation;
Reduced
morale among your employees, and perhaps lower efficiency;
Increased workers’ compensation insurance rates; and Cost
of completing paperwork generated by the incident.
Controlling
Losses
If
you would like to reduce the costs and risks associated with
workplace injuries and illnesses, you need to address safety
and health right along with production.
Cal/OSHA
Injury & Illness Prevention Program
In
California every employer is required by law (Labor Code
Section) to provide a safe and healthful workplace for
his/her employees. Title 8 (T8), of the California Code of
Regulations (CCR), requires every California employer to
have an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program in
writing that must be in accord with T8 CCR Section 3203 of
the General Industry Safety Orders.
Additional
requirements in the following T8 CCR Safety Order Sections
address specific industries:
Construction—Section
1509;
Petroleum—Sections
6507, 6508,6509, 6760, 6761, 6762; Ship Building, Ship
Repairing,
Ship Breaking—Section 8350; and
Tunnels—Section
8406.
What
is an Injury & Illness Prevention Program?
Your
Injury and Illness Prevention Program must be a written plan
that includes procedures and is put into practice. These
elements are required: Management commitment/assignment of
responsibilities; Safety communications system with
employees; System for assuring employee compliance with safe
work practices; Scheduled inspections/evaluation system;
Accident investigation; Procedures for correcting unsafe/
unhealthy conditions; Safety and health training and
instruction; and Recordkeeping and documentation.
If
you and your management team do not support and participate
in the program, you are doomed to failure from the start. It
is especially important for plant supervisors and field
superintendents to set a good example.
Safety
Communications
Your
program must include a system for communicating with
employees - in a form readily understandable by all affected
employees - on matters relating to occupational safety and
health, including provisions designed to encourage employees
to inform the employer of hazards at the worksite without
fear of reprisal.
include:
What
happened? What should be done? What action has been taken?
Safety
& Health Training
Training
is one of the most important elements of any Injury and
Illness Prevention Program. It allows employees to learn
their job properly, brings new ideas into the workplace,
reinforces existing ideas and practices, and puts your
program into action.
Your
employees benefit from safety and health training through
fewer work-related injuries and illnesses, and reduced
stress and worry caused by exposure to hazards.
You
benefit from reduced workplace injuries and illnesses,
increased productivity, lower costs, higher profits, and a
more cohesive and dependable work force.
An
effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program includes
training for both supervisors and employees. Training for
both is required by Cal/OSHA safety orders.
You
may need outside professionals to help you develop and
conduct your required training program
This
program must, at a minimum, provide training and
instruction:
To
all employees when your program is first established.
To
all new employees.
To
all employees given new job assign-ments for which training
has not been previously received.
Whenever
new substances, processes, procedures or equipment are
introduced to the workplace and present a new hazard.
Whenever
you or your supervisors are made aware of a new or
previously unrecognized hazard.
For
all supervisors to assure they are familiar with the safety
and healthhazards to which employees under their immediate
direction and control may beexposed.
Safety
& Health Recordkeeping
No
operation can be successful without adequate recordkeeping,
which enables you to learn from past experience and make
corrections for future operations.
Under
Cal/OSHA recordkeeping requirements, information on
accidents is gathered and stored. Upon review, causes can be
identified and control procedures instituted to prevent the
illness or injury from recurring. Keep in mind that any
inspection of your workplace may require you to demonstrate
theeffectiveness of your program.
For
most employers, Cal/OSHA standards also require that you
keep records of steps taken to establish and maintain your
Injury and Illness Prevention Program. They must include:
Records
of scheduled and periodic inspections as required by the
standard to identify unsafe conditions and work practices.
The documentation must include the name of the person(s)
conducting the inspection, the unsafe conditions and work
practices identified, and the action taken to correct the
unsafe conditions and work practices. The records are to be
maintained for at least one year. However, employers with
fewer than 10 employees may elect to maintain the inspection
records only until the hazard is corrected.
Written
documentation of the identity of the person or persons with
authority
and
responsibility for implementing the program;
Written
documentation of scheduled periodic inspections to identify
unsafe
conditions
and work practices; and
Written
documentation of training and instruction.
Keeping
such records fulfills your responsibilities under General
Industry
Safety
Order 3203. It also affords an efficient means to review
your current
safety
and health activities for better control of your operations,
and to plan
future
improvements.
Appendix
D: Title 8, Section 3203 and 1509
Title
8, Section 3203. Injury and Illness Prevention Program.
Effective
July 1, 1991, every employer shall establish, implement and
maintain effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program.
The Program shall be in writing and shall, at a minimum:
Identify
the person or persons with authority and responsibility for
implementing the Program.
Include
a system for ensuring that employees comply with safe and
healthy work practices. Substantial compliance with this
provision includes recognition of employees who follow safe
and healthful work practices,
training
and retraining programs, disciplinary actions, or any other
such means that ensures employee compliance with safe and
healthful work practices.
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