Today, OSHA Chronicle (“OC”) sits down with safety and health consultant John Bednarik (“JB”).
OC: Hi John. To start, can you share your safety and health background with our readers?
JB: Of course. Prior to starting my own safety and health consultant company which focuses on safety and accident investigations for OSHA compliance in the workplace, I spent 22 years working for OSHA of which 5 of those were as an Assistant Area Director. During my time with OSHA, I conducted approximately 1000 on-site inspections and supervised about another 1000. Approximately 130 of those investigations were fatality cases. I also have been consulting labor law attorneys with their construction cases. Prior to OSHA I was a tool and die maker, tool room manager, plant manager in machine trades for 30 years which served as a segue into Federal OSHA.
OC: As someone who has worked for both OSHA and assisting employers, can you talk about what value a safety and health consultant can offer employers, particularly smaller employees who may not have the resources of larger companies?
JB: There are various ways to look at this question. In my first profession I was a Tool and Die maker/Engineer/Plant Manager. In manufacturing it’s all about time and production, smaller companies tend to put the emphasis on productivity, this sometimes sacrifices safety. Fortunately, as a safety & health consultant and a former federal regulator I can speak to the fact that safety pays regardless of business size by reducing workplace accidents, and near misses which leads to increased worker morale and often increased productivity. Having a safety consultant visit your facility regularly to perform the required safety training and a monthly walkthrough to identify safety hazards may also help reduce insurance rates. As a former OSHA employee and plant manager I can identify hazards and suggest realistic abatements while still considering a competitive manufacturing process that is in compliance with OSHA standards.
OC: If an employer wants to strengthen its safety culture and policies and practices, where should they start and what resources are available to them?
JB: To strengthen a company’s safety culture, they should seek out a safety professional who has experience in the field in which they operate, such as manufacturing, baking etc. The safety professional will review the company’s existing S&H logs, programs, and records then follow through with an onsite physical inspection of the facility with a management official present. This is then followed by a report and recommendations. Usually, this process will also result in an insurance discount.
In some states there are state programs to help the employer with S&H information. A company may also call their local Federal OSHA Office for compliance information.
OC: Obviously, this Administration has been very aggressive about reducing the federal workforce and it does not look like DOL or OSHA will be exempted from those efforts. Assuming we see a reduction in force at OSHA, what do you think that will mean, if anything for employers?
JB: In my 22 years with the Agency, I had not experienced an overabundance of field personnel. We were always short compliance officers. As a manager I chose to go out in the field to follow up on every fatality possible to make sure as an office we did the best possible investigation for the family of the deceased and also to suggest reasonable abatements to the employers.
I think a reduction in OSHA will mean less onsite workplace inspections by regulators and more responsibility on the employer to comply with current regulations, e.g., more required self-reporting and potential self-inspection reporting to OSHA in the future.
OC: I understand safety and health issues industry and site-specific issues, but broadly speaking what type of hazards do you keep seeing at businesses?
JB: I commonly see falls from an elevated surface, ladder training, and struck-by and engulfment hazards in construction. In general industry, common hazards include amputations, powered industrial truck training and struck-by accidents, exposure to chemicals, electrocutions, shocks, and lack of or improper use of personal protection equipment.
OC: There’s a bill in Congress that seeks to abolish OSHA entirely and leave safety and health to the States. Do you think this is a good idea?
JB: I would think that would put more responsibility on the employer and if they are S&H conscious it may work. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, VOSH is the state Occupational Safety and Health plan. There is a small Federal OSHA Office with a few employees who oversee and ensure that the state plan follows Federal requirements.
OC: Can you tell us something you noticed during your transition from OSHA to private consulting?
JB: As an OSHA employee the employer was required to abate hazards. In private consulting, abatements are not always adhered to since there is no legal recourse.
OC: Most attorneys who practice OSHA law would probably say OSHA has an unwritten rule that if there’s a fatality that OSHA will always find a citation to issue during the inspection. Do you think there’s any truth to this?
JB: Yes, there is more truth to that than not.
The OSHA Act has a section called 5(a)(1) which requires the employer to provide a safe workplace for employees. To support citing a 5(a)(1) OSHA generally uses documents created by other recognized Safety experts such as, but not limited to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) which cover many working conditions and equipment that OSHA does not have regulations for. This is particularly true in fatalities because the investigations have more priority due to the seriousness of the event.
However, I have investigated Fatality cases where no citation was issued such as with unforeseen workplace violence, where an employee was killed by another, or an employee having a medical emergency at work as with a cardiac arrest.
OC: As a former assistant area director who conducted many informal conferences, what advice can you give employers at the informal conference to help them negotiate down the classification or penalties?
JB: Be prepared! Hire a Safety Consultant or an attorney like you or both in some cases to speak for you. They know how much reduction OSHA generally will agree to from experience. They can negotiate monthly no interest payments and/or have some of their fees incorporated in the agreement, such as hiring a consultant for 12 months to reduce the penalty. However more importantly are the abatements agreed upon, since if not understood can continue to cost the employer money over the long run. Abatements sometimes can be tricky, but also some can be very simple. Safety professionals know how to frame the settlement in the employer’s best interest.
OC: Thank you so much for your time, John. It was a pleasure speaking with you and I look forward to working with you again. John can be reached at jmbednarik@hotmail.com or 631-379-3359.