OSHA releases FY 2017 enforcement summary
Posted May 23, 2018
On May 22, 2018, OSHA released its inspection activity for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. The Agency reports that in FY 2017, it conducted 32,408 inspections, including 18,031 unprogrammed inspections (about 56 percent). Unprogrammed inspections include responses to other agency referrals, employee complaints, and employer reports of severe injuries and fatalities.
Of the total inspections conducted, 14,377 were programmed inspections (about 44 percent). Programmed inspections concentrate on the industries and operations where known hazards exist (e.g., combustible dusts, chemical processing, ship-breaking, falls in construction.)
The following table lists the inspection statistics from FY 2012 to FY 2017, including programmed and unprogrammed inspections.
| OSHA Inspection Statistics | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | FY 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Inspections | 40,961 | 39,228 | 36,163** | 35,820 | 31,948 | 32,408 |
| Total Programmed Inspections | 23,078 | 22,170 | 19,222 | 16,527 | 12,731 | 14,377 |
| Total Unprogrammed Inspections | 17,883 | 17,058 | 16,941 | 19,293 | 19,217 | 18,031 |
| ~ Fatality/Catastrophe Inspections | 900 | 826 | 850 | 912 | 890 | 837 |
| ~ Complaints Inspection | 9,573 | 9,505 | 9,570 | 9,037 | 8,870 | 8,249 |
| ~ Referrals* | 4,864 | 4,024 | 3,829 | 6,569 | 6,691 | 6,286 |
| ~ Other Unprogrammed Inspections | 2,546 | 2,703 | 2,525 | 3,686 | 2,766 | 2,659 |
| *As of FY 2015, referral inspections encompass all subtypes of referrals, such as those received from compliance safety and health officers, safety and health agencies, other city/county/state/federal governments, media, and employer-reported. ** The October 2013 Government shutdown occurred during this time | ||||||
OSHA began to use the Enforcement Weighting System (EWS) in 2016. The EWS assigns a value, known as an Enforcement Unit (EU), to specific categories of inspections or investigations. All inspections receive an EU value of at least one. The Agency says the new system focuses attention on some of the most hazardous workplace issues, such as ergonomics, heat, chemical exposures, workplace violence, and process safety management.
The following table lists the FY 2017 Inspection Summary information using OSHA’s EWS.
| Enforcement Weighting Values | OSHA Enforcement Weighting – FY 2017 Inspection Summary | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inspection Category | EU Value | Inspection Category | Inspections | EUs |
| Federal Agencies | 2 | Federal Agencies | 771 | 1,542 |
| Process Safety Management | 7 | Process Safety Management | 133 | 931 |
| Combustible Dust | 2 | Combustible Dust | 422 | 844 |
| 5a1 Ergonomic | 5 | 5a1 Ergonomic | 47 | 235 |
| 5a1 Heat | 4 | 5a1 Heat | 106 | 424 |
| 5a1 Non-PEL Exposures | 3 | 5a1 Non-PEL Exposures | 9 | 27 |
| 5a1 Workplace Violence | 3 | 5a1 Workplace Violence | 57 | 171 |
| Fatality/Catastrophe | 3 | Fatality/Catastrophe | 812 | 2,436 |
| Personal Sampling | 2 | Personal Sampling | 1,501 | 3,002 |
| Significant Cases | 8 | Significant Cases | 67 | 536 |
| Phone/Fax Complaints | 1/9 | Phone/Fax/Complaint | 21,244 | 2,355 |
| Rapid Response Investigations | 1/9 | Rapid Response Investigations | 7,627 | 843 |
| Non-Weighted Inspections | 1 | Non-Weighted Inspections | 28,483 | 28,483 |
| Total | 32,408 | 41,829 | ||
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