OSHA Recordkeeping Q&A

Clare Epstein, Chief Operating Officer, has over 15 years’ experience managing the operations of the IndustrySafe.  IndustrySafe assists over 400 clients manage their OSHA recordkeeping requirements and safety data with its easy to use safety management software.

1. OSHA requires all work-related incidents be recorded on “applicable recordkeeping logs.” What exactly does this mean?

OSHA requires (with some exceptions) organizations to record work related injury and illnesses on three recordkeeping logs: the OSHA 301 (or equivalent) which is a form that includes basic information about the incident; the OSHA 300 which is log of all OSHA recordable incidents that occur at a given location for a given year; and the OSHA 300A which summarizes all recordable incidents at a given location for a given year and must be posted for employees to view.

2. What exactly is an “OSHA recordable incident” that must be logged?

An OSHA recordable incident is a work-related incident that results in any of the following:

• Death
• Missed a Day of Work or Next Shift
• Restriction of Work or Transfer to Another Job
• Medical Treatment Beyond First Aid
• Loss of Consciousness
• Occupational Illness

Of course, OSHA has provided guidance and definitions for some of the types on this list.

3. What is the ideology behind IndustrySafe’s recordkeeping software? In other words, what niche or need are you filling with this technology?

IndustrySafe allows organizations to easily achieve OSHA recordkeeping compliance but OSHA’s regulatory compliance is a small part of the ideology behind the IndustrySafe Software.  Our mission is to provide the most user friendly and cost effective environmental, health, and safety software for our clients, so that our clients can utilize our software to improve the environmental, health and safety of their stakeholders.

4. How does IndustrySafe Safety Software help employers generate recordkeeping logs?

As users enter incidents into the IndustrySafe Software, users are asked key questions which help determine if the entered incident results in an OSHA recordable.  The software automatically alerts the user if an incident is OSHA recordable and when the user generates the applicable 301, 300 and 300A logs the incident and all of the applicable incident information will automatically be included on the logs.

Without a software tracking tool, employers are often pulling information from different forms and documents to accurately track their OSHA recordables and can spend significant time calculating the loss time /restricted days and hours worked information required for the logs.

5. Does this software include guidelines on OSHA compliance for employers to easily access?

Yes, as users are entering incidents into the Incident module of the software, they can easily access help and guidelines on OSHA definitions regarding OSHA recordable incidents.

6. Is it important for employers to also keep track of injuries and illnesses that don’t have to be recorded on recordkeeping logs? If so, why?

Yes, employees should keep track of injuries and illnesses that don’t have to be recorded on recordkeeping logs.  Best safety practices focus on prevention and understanding the causes of incidents. An organization’s review of more minor incidents enables them to determine changes to procedures or operations that can prevent more serious incidents from occurring later.

7. If a company subscribes to the software, will it automatically keep them up to date with changes to OSHA or other injury-recording or related regulations?

Yes, the IndustrySafe team updates the software as applicable OSHA regulations change.  For example, we updated the software last year to allow our Customers to generate a CSV file of their 300A form data that they can upload into the OSHA injury tracking application to meet the OSHA electronic submittal requirements launched in 2017.

8. What’s the latest on OSHA’s ruling requiring the electronic submission of recordkeeping data? Has a final rule been published?

Yes, on January 24, 2019, OSHA announced they had published a new final rule to Protect the Privacy of Workers. This rule rescinds the requirement for covered employers to electronically submit data from Forms 300 and 301.

With this final ruling, covered employers only need to submit data electronically from form 300A to OSHA by the agency’s March 2, 2019 deadline.

9. How can employers learn more about IndustrySafe Software—is there a demo or trial available for employers to try?

Our website, industrysafe.com has a large amount of information about the software, OSHA recordkeeping requirements and more. We offer a free demo trial available to anyone who wants to explore or checkout the software here: https://www.industrysafe.com/demo

10. What other recordkeeping resources are available to employers?

OSHA has detailed recordkeeping resources available on its website: https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/

For more help, we’ve also put together a comprehensive guide that answers many of the common questions that employers have about OSHA recordkeeping.