Study: OSHA inspections lead to less workplace injuries | Georgia ...

There have been long standing points of contention regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration between workers and big business. Many workers think that OSHA does not do enough to ensure worker safety, while many businesses think the federal agency brings on unnecessary expenses for companies.

However, regardless of what side of the fence people are on, a recent study compared the risk of injury for those companies that go through random OSHA inspections verses those who don't and found that those businesses that go through the inspections end up having lower risks associated with workplace injuries.

The study, which was conducted by three professors at three different colleges, looked at 409 single-location businesses. Woodworking and metalworking types of business were included, as those industries have high injury rates. Those businesses were then compared to 409 other similar businesses which had not gone through a random inspection.

Additionally, in those cases where injuries were reported, it turns out that workers' compensation-related costs were 26 percent lower for injuries that happened at businesses where there was an inspection by OSHA.

"What the study tells us is that protecting our workers on the job and keeping them safe is good for workers but is also good for business," one labor federation said after hearing of the study's results.

Sadly, when looking at this study, it does not necessarily mean that there will be more random inspections at Georgia businesses, and it also does not mean that workers will not still end up getting hurt on the job. But hopefully this study will result in more companies embracing the idea of keeping up to code with safety protocols in order to at the very least try and keep workers safe.

Source: Reuters, "Safety inspections don't hurt businesses-study," Scott Malone, May 17, 2012

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