"The purpose of the notification process in to alert
employers that their injury and illness rates are above average," said
OSHA Administrator John Henshaw. "This process not only raises awareness
among employers of their higher than average injury and illness rates,
but it also affords them a golden opportunity to take steps to reduce
those rates."
OHSA identified establishments with the nation's
highest lost workday injury and illness rates for 2001, based on data
from 93,000 employers. These workplaces had at least six injuries or
illnesses for every 100 full-time workers. The average U.S. workplace
had just under three lost-time instances for every 100 workers.
The list does not include employers earmarked for
programmed inspections and applies only to industries covered by federal
OSHA. The list does not include employers in the 21 states and two
territories that operate OSHA- approved state plans for the private
sector.
Henshaw suggested employers turn their high
injury/illness rates around by hiring
outside safety and health consultants and using OSHA's
free safety and health consultation services.
"The data collection initiative, which is conducted
each year, gives us a clearer picture of those establishments with
higher than normal injury and illness rages," Henshaw said. "Armed with
this information, we'll not only be able to place our inspection
resources where they're most needed, but we can also use the information
to plan outreach and compliance assistance programs where they will
benefit the most."
This was the first year the data collection initiative
included the construction industry with surveys from 13,000 construction
employers. It's also the first time the construction industry was
included in the notification.
The 14,200 work-sites on the notification list are
posted alphabetically, by state, on
OSHA's web site.
