OSHA PROVIDES NEW ADVISOR SOFTWARE FOR BUSINESSES
Businesses and workers have two new tools available to help identify job
hazards and realize the financial impact of occupational injuries and
illnesses.
The Hazard Awareness Advisor and Safety Pays are the latest additions to
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) line of
interactive software advisors downloadable from the agency’s Web site at
http://www.osha.gov/oshasoft.
The Hazard Awareness Advisor is designed to help employers and
employees, especially those from small businesses without a professional
safety and health consultant, locate potential hazards in their specific
work environments. After questioning users extensively about their
activities, practices, policies, materials, and equipment, the program
narrows the list of hazards that may be present. The software then
prepares a customized report that briefly describes the likely hazards
for that particular business.
The program is not a substitute for safety and health professionals. It
is merely an introduction to hazard recognition. The need for this
advisor was brought to OSHA’s attention by the National Federation of
Independent Business. Many trade associations and labor organizations
suggested improvements to early versions of the software. OSHA now hopes
to get more suggestions from the public for later versions.
Safety Pays software is designed to illustrate to employers the impact
occupational injuries and illnesses have on the company’s bottom line.
Using data from the insurance industry, the program analyzes a lost
workday scenario selected by the user and reports the average direct and
indirect costs associated with that particular case. The software, using
the company profit margin, estimates the amount of sales necessary to
cover the costs of the incident.
An interactive DOS version of Safety Pays has been in use by OSHA
regional and state-plan offices. The Windows version is almost identical
to it, however there are some significant improvements. By using Windows
technology, the creators made the information easier to read and print.
They also added explanations of the costs the program used to formulate
its report.
Safety Pays was downloaded more than 220 times in the first day and a
half after its release. In its first 24 hours on the Web site, Hazard
Awareness Advisor was downloaded 100 times.
Other software advisors available on OSHA’s Web site are:
-Lead in Construction
-Fire Safety
-Confined Spaces
-Asbestos
-GOCAD