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SHRM-SCP: OSHA Incident Reporting for High-Hazard Manufacturing

Learn about the legal compliance changes organizations must prepare for when relocating manufacturing to the US and entering a high-hazard industry under OSHA.

Table of Contents

Question

An industrial cleaning manufacturer is relocating its manufacturing operations back to the United States. Which legal compliance change should the organization prepare for?

Answer

New incident reporting responsibilities under OSHA as the organization enters into a high-hazard industry. As an organization starts operations in a high-hazard industry such as manufacturing, it must prepare to comply with OSHA incident and illness reporting requirements.

Explanation

When an industrial cleaning manufacturer relocates its manufacturing operations back to the United States, the key legal compliance change the organization should prepare for is new incident reporting responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Manufacturing is considered a high-hazard industry by OSHA. As the organization begins manufacturing operations in the US, it will be subject to OSHA’s stricter requirements around tracking and reporting work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.

Under OSHA regulations, the manufacturer will need to maintain records of serious work-related injuries and illnesses and report certain severe incidents to OSHA. Reportable incidents include work-related fatalities, inpatient hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye. Fatalities must be reported within 8 hours and the other severe incidents within 24 hours.

The manufacturer should put processes in place to track workplace incidents, determine which ones meet OSHA’s reporting criteria, and submit the required reports to OSHA in a timely manner when needed. Employees will need to be trained on how to report work-related injuries and illnesses internally.

Making the transition to complying with OSHA’s more stringent incident reporting rules is a key legal change the manufacturer must prepare for to avoid costly OSHA penalties as it relocates operations into a high-hazard industry. Proper preparedness is essential.

SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certification exam practice question and answer (Q&A) dump with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the SHRM-SCP exam and earn SHRM-SCP certification.