In the past OSHA has used the number of inspections performed during a fiscal year as a target and generally performs around 40,000 inspections a year.  According to an article on www.ehstoday.com the Assistant Secretary of Labor, David Michaels, announced on September 29, 2015 that OSHA will begin to change the way they do inspections in the fiscal year 2016.

Instead of only focusing on the number of inspections performed they will focus more on completing complicated complex inspections.  Inspections that require more in-depth research and review such as workplace violence issues, chemical exposures and ergonomic issues will be sought out and concentrated on.  Michaels believes that these types of inspections will be more impactful in the long run.

This is not a decision that they are making without doing research.  According to the article OSHA has been running this new measuring system at the same time as their current system and has compared the data.  This will be an interesting way to perform inspections and may help solve more complex workplace problems as well as teaching companies how to be proactive in preventing injuries in complex situations.

Christ, Ginger. “NSC 2015: OSHA Cuts Number of Inspections, Changes Strategy.”  www.ehstoday.com. September, 29, 2015.  October 2, 2015