Safety Tidbit 2.32 – Special Emphasis Programs

Safety Tidbit 2.32 – Special Emphasis Programs

Reference: OSHA Field Operations Manual

In industries with potentially high injury or illness rates, OSHA coordinates custom inspections they call Special Emphasis Programs. SEPs are also based on potential exposure to health hazards. Special emphasis programs may also be used to develop and implement alternative scheduling procedures or other departures from national procedures. Special emphasis programs can include National Emphasis Programs, Regional Emphasis Programs and Local Emphasis Programs.

Below is a list of OSHA’s active National Emphasis Programs:

·      COMBUSTIBLE DUST      OSHA Instruction CPL 03-00-008 –

National Emphasis Program on Combustible Dust (Reissued) (Date: 03/11/2008)

·      HAZARDOUS MACHINERY       OSHA Instruction CPL 03-00-019 –

National Emphasis Program on Amputations (Date: 08/13/2015)

·      HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM      OSHA Instruction CPL 02-02-076 –

National Emphasis Program - Hexavalent Chromium (Date: 02/23/2010)

·      LEAD             OSHA Instruction CPL 03-00-009 –

National Emphasis Program on Lead (Date: 08/14/2008)

·      PRIMARY METAL INDUSTRIES          OSHA Instruction CPL 03-00-018 –

National Emphasis Program - Primary Metal Industries (Date: 10/20/2014)

·      PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENT     OSHA Instruction CPL 03-00-021 –

PSM Covered Chemical Facilities National Emphasis Program (Date:1/17/2017)

·      SHIPBREAKING     OSHA Instruction CPL 03-00-020 –

National Emphasis Program on Shipbreaking (Date: 03/07/2016)

·      SILICA          OSHA Instruction CPL 03-00-007 –

National Emphasis Program on Crystalline Silica (Date: 01/24/2008)

·      TRENCHING & EXCAVATION  OSHA Instruction CPL 02-00-069 –

Special Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation (Date: 9/19/1985)

Use of the Strategic Emphasis Programs gives OSHA probable cause to enter your company. Remember, the employer always has the right to request a warrant. However, requesting to see the emphasis program to understand why OSHA wishes to inspect your workplace and then reducing their scope to the nature of the emphasis program is prudent. Ultimately, OSHA only wishes to ensure the safety and health of the workers, not to make the employer’s life miserable.

Hope this was helpful and thanks for reading my Safety Tidbits ~ Bryan