Sometimes employers in New York and elsewhere try to get out of random safety inspections by saying that the inspections are bad for business. However, according to a study recently published in the journal Science, random safety inspections not only lower the risk of work-related injuries, they cause no measurable negative effect on business.
The study compared 409 single-location businesses that were inspected California's Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 1996 through 2006 with 409 businesses in the state that were not subjected to random inspections. The businesses were all in industries with high injury rates, including woodworking and metal working.
Researchers concluded that the businesses with random safety inspections had 9.4 percent fewer accidents and injuries that the workplaces that were not inspected. Additionally, the businesses subjected to the inspections were not any more likely to have to cut jobs, lose profits or have their credit ratings go down, the study concluded.
Three professors from the University of California, Harvard Business School and Boston University had the idea for the study after OSHA has been criticized in recent years for both not doing enough and doing too much to regulate workplace safety. The professors said they didn't know what to expect out of the study since both sides seemed to make compelling arguments against OSHA.
The study suggested that random inspections are better for businesses than businesses might realize. For example, researchers found that workers' compensation claims were 26 percent lower at facilities that were inspected compared to those that were not.
Of course, there is still some disbelief from the business side. An official at the National Association of Manufacturers said the study focused on the wrong thing. He said regulations should have been the target of the study, not random inspections, which he said, come after the fact of any damage to businesses.
Source: Reuters, "Safety inspections don't hurt businesses-study," Scott Malone, May 17, 2012
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