Due to high turnover, cost issues, and ignorance of the law, the small business sector (less than 500 employees) lags OSHA compliance. We propose a web-based interactive program that will act as the safety officer for small companies. Phase I will develop a prototype focusing on small businesses subject to the laboratory standard (est. 72,000 companies, I.4M U.S. workers). Phase II will complete, pilot test and refine the prototype and will expand the program to other small business sectors. The prototype capabilities will include: determining applicable OSHA regulations; generation of chemical hygiene and other safety plans; policy formulation such as chemical purchase, storage and disposal; medical record keeping; and accident and event reporting archive; chemical inventory and waste disposal cost tracking; formation and operation of a safety committee and emergency response team; forms generation; and an advisor on pollution prevention and risk minimization. The program will be written in a web-based format for hosting on a company Intranet. A general access safety web page will be produced to provide all employees with important safety information. This research will be a collaborative developmental and commercialization effort between Mission Research Corporation and the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
Small businesses (less than 500 employees) represent 99% of the 5.5M U.S. businesses with 89% having 20 employees or less. The """"""""Small Business Safety Officer"""""""" product will help small businesses become OSHA-compliant by establishing the required safety infrastructure in a cost-effective manner.
