KANSAS CITY, MO. – The Missouri On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program was honored with a national award from OSHA for its exceptional outreach, promotion and marketing efforts at the annual Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Conference.
“This honor is well deserved by the men and women of the Missouri On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program whose efforts help improve safety for workers around the state,” said Ryan McKenna, department director.
OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Achievement Recognition award recognizes state consultation programs each year for outstanding achievements connected with a special project that was not part of the Consultation Annual Project Plan.
The On-Site program aims to help make high hazard workplaces safer for Missouri workers while cutting costs for Missouri businesses through lowered workers’ compensation insurance premiums and is marketed in a number of ways.
“The Missouri On-Site Consultation program benefits businesses that want to improve safety,” said McKenna.
“The program provides free, confidential inspections that are aimed at correcting hazards and providing the best safety practices for specific industries.”
The award recognized continual efforts to make employers aware of the program and its benefits. In the past year alone, those efforts included promotional materials sent to more than 5,000 small employers within OSHA’s Strategic Plan and High Hazard List, 37 in-person presentations to groups and associations and successful use of weekly video newsletters that reach more than 20,000 Missouri businesses.
The Missouri On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program previously won an OSCAR in 2013 for its mobile Hazard Lab. The Hazard Lab educates small businesses and workers on identifying workplace safety and health hazards. The exhibit includes electrical, machine guarding, compressed air, welding in confined spaces, oxygen-fuel cutting and other hazards. After completing the walkthrough of the lab, a presentation is provided to discuss each hazard found in the lab, including the identification of specific OSHA standards violated by the observed hazards.
The Missouri On-site Safety and Health Consultation Program offers free and confidential safety and health advice to small and medium-sized businesses across the state, with priority given to high-hazard worksites. Consultants work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice on compliance with OSHA standards, and assist in establishing injury and illness prevention programs. In 2014, Missouri’s On-Site Consultation Program conducted more than 500 visits to small business worksites and identified more than 5,000 workplace hazards across the state.
Sign up for a free consultation today by visiting labor.mo.gov/onsite.