Friday, February 1, 2013

Ten Most Common Mistakes Found on OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Forms

  
THE OSHA TRAINING BLOG HAS MOVED TO OUR NEW WEBSITE. VISIT US AT https://oshatraining.com/osha-training-blogs/

13 comments:

  1. Great article, especially as a temporary service provider, some employers “develop” inventive ways they think do not require them to record injuries . . . Virgil

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the information Curtis. It is quite timely.
    - Scott Lemmons

    ReplyDelete
  3. I appreciate this very comprehensive and timely article! Just what I need to inform my clients about the OSHA requirements pertaining to the 300/300A and 301logs. Thanks again for the time you spent putting this together as well as the link to where we can access the logs!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Flash-burn is a quick event involving an injury to the eye. I, as a safety person, see injury, not illness. All the other examples you listed are health related.

    I also tell my students and clients who keep the OSHA 300 logs that they need to have the highest ranked person possible to sign the 300A. I call it the "go to jail signature" if there is fraud perpetrated from the bosses.
    By Barbara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara. Open this link to the OSHA recordkeeping forms & instructions (http://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/new-osha300form1-1-04.pdf), look on the fourth page (titled Classifying Illnesses), then go down to the lower-center part under the heading "All Other Illnesses". There you will see welding flash (same thing as flash burn) listed among the illnesses to be listed; the light from the arc it is a form of non-ionizing radiation.

      Also, from my personal experience as a welder many years ago (my dad had a welding shop when I was in high-school), it was my experience that flashburn is typically cumulative. A single exposure may temporarily blind you for a few seconds, but the burns are due to long-time exposure over a period of time (like a sunburn).

      Delete
  6. Thanks for the excellent information on an important topic. However, your third bullet is unclear. You start with "The employer does 'NOT' enter both the number of days away from work (in Column K) AND number of days with job transfer or restriction (in Column L)..." and then later state correctly that "...you would still list the corresponding number of lost workdaysin Column K AND days with job transfer or restrictions in Column L."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The violation is the fact they are not entering numbers in both columns. The last scentance just retates what the proper procedure is in this case (recording numbers in both columns). Hope this helps to clarify.

      Delete
  7. Curtis, very good information. Keep up the good work. Harry

    ReplyDelete
  8. I can think of two common mistakes. First, the employer uses the 300 log as an incident log, and enters cases either to keep track of them, or in the mistaken belief that a doctor visit is the same thing as medical treatment (the visit itself is not). The end result iis over-reporting. Give OSHA exactly what it asks for, neither more nor less.

    The second common mistake is a lack of relevant information in Column F. While OSHA doesn't want the same level of detail required on the 301, entries such as "back pain" or "twisted ankle" are not sufficiently descriptive.

    ReplyDelete
  9. There are some exclusions to this recordkeeping requirement, but it is required for most companies with more than 10 employees.

    ReplyDelete
  10. 2nd and 3rd bullets from the end should read OSHA Form 300A...

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've seen an increase in OSHA scrutinizing and citing the column F description in the last few years. If you use a claim TPA or carrier system to pull your OSHA logs be very cautious of this as they are pulling data fields which may not provide the three required items.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment. We review all comments for appropriate content and to filter out Spam, and post them as soon as possible.