As an employer or health and safety leader, you know how vital it is to adhere to OSHA roof fall protection by deploying safety guard rails, warning line systems, and industrial safety railing. Since 2010, OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) has been enforcing and improving compliance with workplace safety and reducing staff injuries and illnesses. So far, the program has been doing a splendid job.
However, OSHA recently updated the program's policies and procedures effective Sep 15, 2022. The changes – Directive Number CPL 02-00-169 – focus on organizations and employers who fail to mitigate hazards they've been cited for. The changes also allow OSHA to include other industries under its scope.
The specific areas that the updates emphasize include:
Program placement for employers who've been cited at least twice for willful or repeated violations or received notices for failure to implement the required corrective action for cited existing high-gravity serious violations.
The agency will conduct referral or follow-up inspections one to two years after issuing the final order.
Removing the employer from SVEP three years after the date the agency verifies that the employer has lessened all program-related hazards. Before the update, potential removal was three years after the date of the final order.
An employer can reduce time spent in the SVEP to two years. They must agree to an enhanced settlement that includes adhering to a safety and health management system containing safety requirements that comply with a minimum of seven essential elements in OSHA's Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs.
OSHA is broadening its net away from the manufacturing and construction industries that have always been dominant.
These updates now allow OSHA to include many employers across the economy. If you were previously not in SVEP, you might receive a thorough health and safety inspection sooner rather than later.
With OSHA expanding its scope, any employer can be added to the SVEP list if:
Fatality/Catastrophe assessment where OSHA finds at least one deliberate or repeated violation or issues a failure-to-abate notice based on a severe violation directly related to an employee fatality or incident leading to three or more employee hospitalizations.
Non-Fatality/Catastrophe assessment where OSHA finds at least two deliberate or repeated violations or issues failure-to-abate notices (or both) after finding high gravity serious violations, such as roof fall hazards.
Intentional enforcement actions after OSHA establishes instance-by-instance violations, leading to employer citations.
Once you appear on the SVEP list, OSHA must conduct a follow-up or referral assessment within one year before the citation becomes the final order. The inspection will still happen even if you submit an abatement verification. This way, the agency can ensure you've decreased the cited violations and are addressing similar or related hazards.
Congress has pushed to boost OSHA's enforcement and hiring budget. President Joe Biden requested the agency's budget be revamped by $664.6 million. While Congress denied this request, it illustrates the administration's intent to boost the agency's enforcement.
The Senate Appropriations Committee proposed an additional $68 million, while Congress proposed adding $100 million.
These steps should be alarming to organizations, particularly those with failure-to-abate hazard mitigation notices. Such considerable budgets mean:
Additional OSHA officers and inspectors
Additional and detailed inspections
Steeper citations and penalties for any OSHA standards violations
The SVEP changes have one primary mission, to reign in on organizations and employers who have shown disregard for OSHA regulations by repeating similar violations for which they've been previously cited or failed to abate violations.
These changes translate to implementing new health and safety protocols or revamping the existing ones to ensure they become OSHA-compliant. Further, employers should familiarize themselves with these and other updates to insulate themselves from appearing in the SVEP list.
"Employers need to evaluate their workplaces to identify and abate fall hazards on a continual basis – not just once at the beginning of a job or process," Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OSHA's Directorate of Enforcement Programs to Safety Magazine, on OSHA's most cited violations.
These SVEP changes will force employers to re-strategize on how to adhere to OSHA roof fall protection regulations and maintain the highest health and safety standards for employees' safety.
Fall protection across all industries is the top most frequently cited OSHA standard. As such, every employer or health and safety officer should prioritize the well-being of their employees by addressing these hazards and becoming OSHA compliant.
There are several ways to address these hazards:
Conduct a thorough assessment to identify all the roof fall hazards.
Install the mandated warning line systems, industrial safety railing, and safety guard rails on the roof and every open-sided floor or platform four feet or more above the adjacent floor or ground level.
Train and sensitize employees, especially those working on rooftops. Employers should organize regular workshops, training, and sensitization campaigns on rooftop safety. They should also provide Personal fall arrest systems (PFAS), such as safety harnesses, safety nets, and ladder safety systems.
Create an effective rescue plan. In the unlikely or unfortunate event of a fall, the employer should have a plan as part of emergency planning. The plan should be clear on hazardous areas, protocols to follow in case of a roof fall, and contact information for rescuers and local emergency personnel.
Keep yourself updated. OSHA regularly updates its regulations and violations. Staying on top of these changes will ensure you stay compliant and avoid any citations or being listed in SVEP.
Maintaining an injury and illness-free workplace should be a key performance indicator for any organization. SVEP is profound but beneficial to companies willing to comply with OSHA regulations. The agency's goal is not to punish organizations but to help them improve their safety practices.
The changes to SVEP will ensure organizations comply with OSHA roof fall protection regulations. You can achieve this by installing an industrial safety railing, warning line systems, or safety guard rails from BlueWater. We help organizations achieve the highest standards of safety and OSHA-compliance with our industry-leading guardrail systems. Contact us today, and one of our trained fall protection specialists can help get your facility aligned with the current SVEP updates.
