Workplace Safety and Health: OSHA Can Strengthen Enforcement through Improved Program Management

In response to GAO's recommendation, OSHA created a Construction Targeting Task Force that gives guidance to area offices on selecting small construction sites for inspection. In OSHA's 2003-2008 strategic plan the agency includes approaches that emphasize local efforts to inspect smaller worksites. In order to achieve this goal, each OSHA Regional Office has established Local Emphasis Enforcement Programs, many of which address hazards associated with small construction sites.

In May 2004, OSHA solicited public comments on a proposal to update its Site Specific Target Program, including the underlying data. In August 2005, after reviewing the comments it received, OSHA issued a new directive that, among other things, seeks to strengthen the validity of the data used to identify worksites for targeting. OSHA states that it took into consideration the findings and recommendations contained in GAO's November 2002 report on OSHA enforcement practices in developing this new directive.

In fiscal year 2003, OSHA had begun an evaluation of its Site-Specific Targeting Program. OSHA issued the results of this evaluation during the summer of 2004.

In developing its fiscal year 2006 Operations Plan, OSHA prepared an assessment of supervisory competencies. The agency's goal in doing this was to promote more effective agency operations. OSHA's action is responsive in that its assessment of supervisory competencies would reflect best practices and would be disseminated throughout the agency.

OSHA's Training Institute has redesigned the curriculum of its training program to better prepare compliance safety and health officers with the core competencies and skills needed to do their jobs. In concert with this redesign, OSHA updated its training directive, per GAO's recommendation. In doing so, OSHA's expectations and policies regarding inspector quality are consistent.

As of June 2003, OSHA has gained access to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM) training database. OSHA managers now place information on employee training onto that database and have access to the information and reports available through that database. All regional offices are required to use the OASAM training database, although OSHA acknowledges that some regional managers may also maintain separate stand-alone computer files.

In response to GAO's recommendation, OSHA and BLS have had ongoing discussions about the tYpes of data BLS can provide to OSHA to help it better assess the success of its enforcement program. For example, BLS now provides data to OSHA for state-plan and OSHA states separately, which allows OSHA to see differences between states under its authority and those under state authority. Although BLS and OSHA explored other alternatives for collecting data (for example, to take out establishments or industries with little OSHA authority), they determined that, in this current environment, such changes would be too costly or prohibitive, and would affect the validity of the information collected.