State's small-business safety program exceeds federal standards

The program works with Missouri employers with 250 or fewer employees, helping them to locate and remove existing hazards in the facility, thereby reducing injuries and illnesses among employees, and possibly help keep workers’ compensation insurance costs down.

Exceeding OSHA standards means that the Missouri program’s performance in the last quarter either tied with or surpassed other programs in Region VII, which comprises Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

“This achievement reflects the Department’s dedication to safe and healthy workplaces in Missouri,” said Rod Chapel, director of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, in a news release. “This Missouri program is a great resource to all the small businesses in our state.”

Robert Simmons, program manager for the Missouri On-Site Consultation Program, noted that nearly 8,000 business consultations – resulting in the identification of more than 62,000 workplace hazards – have been completed in the last 20 years.

Consultations are available on request to employers. Trained industrial hygienists and safety consultants visit the businesses and inform and educate employers about hazards found. Recommendations for correcting problems also are provided. All services, which include chemical or noise sampling, are free of charge.

On-site consultations may include:

• Review of an employer’s written standard safety and health programs;

• Review of an employer’s written safety and health management program;

• Review of an employer’s OSHA 200 and 300 logs for injury and illness trends;

• Evaluation of engineering controls as necessary;

• Exposure monitoring for fumes, dusts, mists, vapors, noise and other potential hazards; and

• Identification of hazards in the workplace and a timetable to eliminate those hazards.

Information about the Missouri On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program is available at www.dolir.mo.gov/ls/safetyconsultation.