OSHA Series 3 | Ace it on Accuracy

Sifting through the cluttered help@hudsonvalley.com email inbox, Marni is looking up her first OSHA claim follow-up. An employee, John Lockton reported a burn injury outside the Lodge restaurant, but as soon as the query is pulled up, she knows she has a problem. She sees two reports of burn injuries from the same John Lockton! It’s difficult to tell the level of severity of either event without contacting John directly. Trying to stay upbeat she opens the messy spreadsheet export from the public form. Her heart sinks when she sees there isn’t a recordability designation, and the notes are severely lacking. She knows she can figure out which incident it is by matching up the dates, but she rubs her forehead trying to remember if she still has a bottle of ibuprofen stashed in her desk.

In the story above you can see the challenge of working with self-developed processes and the drawbacks you may experience from an accuracy standpoint when completing your OSHA filing. Systems that require you to rekey data or information, look outside your OSHA tracking system, calculate data requirements, or lack proper follow-up guidance can leave organizations scrambling to finish their OSHA filings. 

Laying the groundwork for a seamless OSHA filing begins with gathering your OSHA data into one central location. Looking for a tool that integrates with HRIS (human resource information systems) or simply your email tools can help risk and safety teams have a holistic view of an incident when evaluating its recordability status. Also, integrated tools can help tackle the additional challenge of needing to rekey information or data by using look-ups to autofill information correctly the first time.

One of the most challenging aspects of the OSHA 301 form is needing to calculate complex date ranges for employees who miss work. While this is a simple calculation on a recordable incident level, finding a tool that can automate this process (especially as reports are updated) can ensure you are correctly reporting your information to OSHA.

Looking outside of the current system you use to manage OSHA recordables seems like a minor task for your team, but often leads to headaches and decreased accuracy. If you don’t have a tool where you can centralize notes, emails, contact information, etc. your team will be contending with more than just follow-ups to complete your OSHA filing on time. Your staff will be stretching their bandwidth to cover their everyday tasks as well as finishing your OSHA filing, putting them in the fast lane to burnout. 

Finding a tool that manages all of your OSHA recordable incidents in one place not only increases the accuracy and efficiency of your team, you get the added bonus of boosting team morale. Also, these additional efficiencies allow your team to develop strategies to combat further OSHA penalties and focus on training. 

Let’s break it down further. If you’re experiencing any of the below challenges, you may be a good candidate to learn more about a tool that helps you manage your OSHA filing:

• You depend on spreadsheets or self-developed tools
• You need technology to help improve or ensure compliance
• You experienced a compliance violation and worry about a recurrence
• OSHA compliance and excellence helps in customer attraction and retention
• You often re-key data, do manual lookups or wait for information

To learn more about the  Aclaimant platform, schedule a free demo with our team today.