Quiero saber acerca de...

khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES2

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 116 / Monday, June 21, 2021 / Rules and Regulations OSHA enforcement policies and procedures, which recognize the rights and roles of workers and their representatives in matters of workplace safety and health OSHA, 2005; OSHA, January 2012; OSHA, October 18, 2016.
The third core element of a safety and health program approach is hazard identification and assessment. To be most effective, hazard assessments must be conducted as a team approach with management, coordinators, and employees involved in the hazard assessment process e.g., identifying potential hazards and the development and implementation of the COVID19
plan. An assessment to identify safety and health hazards can include surveying the facility to observe employee work habits and evaluating employee input from surveys or meeting minutes. Specifically, the risk of exposure to biological hazards, such as the COVID19 virus, can be assessed by determining if workers could be exposed e.g., through close contact with patients, co-workers, or members of the public; contact with contaminated surfaces, objects, or waste and if controls are present to mitigate those risks OSHA, 2005; OSHA, October 18, 2016. While a standard can specify controls applicable to particular hazards, the hazard assessment can help identify where controls are needed in specific areas of a particular worksite.
The fourth core element of an effective workplace safety and health program approach is hazard prevention and control, which involves teams of managers, coordinators, and employees assessing if a hazard can be eliminated e.g., by working at home to eliminate potential virus exposure in the workplace. When hazards cannot be eliminated, the hazard prevention process considers which hazards can be controlled by implementing work practices e.g., regular cleaning, disinfecting, physical distancing or controls e.g., physical barriers, improvements to the ventilation system. Additionally, the process of hazard prevention and control determines if PPE is required as part of a multi-layered strategy to protect workers from infectious biological agents OSHA, 2005; OSHA, October 18, 2016. The controls may function more effectively when implemented in the most targeted manner following a hazard assessment and team-based evaluation.
The fifth core element of an effective safety and health program approach is evaluation and improvement. Safety and health programs require periodic evaluation to ensure they are implemented as intended and continue
VerDate Sep<11>2014

21:53 Jun 17, 2021

Jkt 253001

to achieve the goal of preventing injury and illness. This re-evaluation can reduce hazards, or result in improvements in controls to help reduce hazards. Managers have the prime responsibility for ensuring the effectiveness of the program but managers should work as a team with coordinators and employees to continually monitor the worksite to identify what is and is not working and make adjustments to improve worker safety and health measures OSHA, January 2012; OSHA, October 18, 2016.
The sixth core element of an effective safety and health program approach is communication and coordination between host employers, contractors, and staffing agencies. Because the employees of one employer may expose employees of a different employer to a hazard, this communication is essential to protecting all employees. An effective program ensures that before employees go to a host worksite, both the host employer and staffing agencies communicate about hazards on the worksite, procedures for controlling hazards, and how to resolve any conflicts that could affect employee safety and health e.g., who will provide PPE. The exchange of information about each employers plans can help reduce exposures by identifying areas where one employer may need to provide additional protections barriers, timing of workshifts, etc. to its employees. Additionally, exchanging contact information between employers can facilitate worker protection in case they need to report hazards or illnesses that may occur OSHA, October 18, 2016. In order to reduce COVID19
transmission in the workplace, it will be particularly important for employers to have clear plans about how they can quickly alert other employers if a worker at a multi-employer site subsequently tests positive for COVID
19 and was in close contact with workers of other employers.
The seventh core element of an effective safety and health program is education and training. Education and training ensures that employees, supervisors, and managers are able to recognize and control hazards, allowing them to work more safely and contribute to the development and implementation of the safety and health program OSHA, 2005; OSHA, January 2012; OSHA, October 18, 2016. Later in this Need for Specific Provisions section there is a detailed explanation about the need for training as a separate control to minimize COVID19 transmission.
The effectiveness of a safety and health program approach in preventing injury and illnesses is recognized by a
PO 00000

Frm 00055

Fmt 4701

Sfmt 4700

32429

number of authoritative bodies. In its Total Worker Health program, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health NIOSH lists a number of core elements that are consistent with OSHAs safety and health program approaches, including demonstrating leadership commitment to safety and health, eliminating or reducing safety and health hazards, and promoting and supporting employee involvement NIOSH, December 2016.
The International Organization for Standardization ISO developed ISO
45001, a consensus standard to help organizations implement a safety and health management system ISO, 2018.
ISO notes that key potential benefits of the system include reduced workplace incidents, establishment of a health and safety culture by encouraging active involvement of employees in ensuring their health and safety, reinforcement of leadership commitment to health and safety, and improved ability to comply with regulatory requirements.
The American National Standards Institute ANSI and American Society of Safety Professionals ASSP also developed a health and safety management systems standard for the purpose of reducing hazards and risk in a systematic manner, based on a team approach that includes management commitment and employee involvement, with an emphasis on continual improvement ANSI/ASSP, 2019. ANSI/ASSP note the widespread acceptance that safety and health management systems can improve occupational safety and health performance. Id. They further highlight OSHA reports of improved safety and health performance by companies who implement programs that rely on management system principles e.g., the Voluntary Protection Program, and that major professional safety and health organizations support management systems as effective in improving safety and health. As further proof that safety and health management systems are valuable, they note that many large and small organizations within the U.S. and internationally are implementing these systems.
Based on the best available evidence, OSHA concludes that a COVID19 plan that is modeled on the safety and health program principles discussed above, implemented by a COVID19
coordinator, influenced by employee input, and continuously evaluated, is an effective tool to ensure comprehensive identification and mitigation of COVID
19 hazards. As a result, OSHA
concludes that a COVID19 plan will reduce the incidence of COVID19 in
E:FRFM21JNR2.SGM

21JNR2