In the industrial sector, the most valued asset is people, and the most coveted goal is to ensure safety for all. With this asset and goal in mind, the industry will continue to improve its workplace safety requirements, despite complex dynamics that can change in a split second.
According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016), there were 118,050 illness and injury cases that year, resulting in an incident rate of 94.9 cases per 10,000 fulltime workers. With this in mind, the industry has to strive for improvements and raise the bar for all industry players.
• Trend 1: Compliance. OSHA standards are the minimum requirement, but employers’ compliance must go beyond what is required to effectively protect their employees.
“There isn’t a specific standard for every workplace hazard,” commented George Perrett, vice president of business development, Industrial Safety Training Council, at the 2018 Society of Maintenance & Reliability Professionals (SMRP) Maintenance & Reliability Symposium (MaRS) held in Galveston, Texas. “When employers focus primarily on complying with regulations, they develop a static, rigid safety culture, rather than one that is dynamic and constantly learning and improving, able to respond to changing conditions and hazards.”
As events unfold, compliance within the industry will continue to evolve yearafter- year.
• Trend 2: Positive identification. The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program is still facing issues, Perrett commented. Specifically, the Transportation Security Authority (TSA), which governs the program, does not provide sufficient oversight and guidance to ensure the program operates effectively.
“There is a risk that someone with major criminal or immigration offenses maintains access to secured areas of industrial facilities, resulting in ongoing issues that the agency has not ironed out,” he stated.
Another issue he pointed out about positive identification is the biometrics screening that many employers are using to increase benefit offerings, improve employee health and decrease plan costs. Around 74 percent of U.S. employers include a biometric screening as part of their workplace wellness program.
“As pending legislation in Congress continues to roll out changes to federal rules governing workplace wellness programs, this trend will continue to change biometric screenings and its place in the workforce,” he added.
• Trend 3: Personnel surety program.Personnel surety, which is the vetting of facility personnel and unescorted visitors seeking access to restricted areas and critical assets at high-risk chemical facilities, will witness changes in the near future.
“The industry will see changes to how inspections are performed, compliance with CFATS [Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards] 12, if contractor compliance is achievable and recurrent vetting,” Perrett stated.
These four issues are the most important that employers and employees should focus on.
• Trend 4: Background screening. This trend involves bringing contractors into compliance, Fair Credit Reporting Act issues and real-time screening.
“Real-time vetting will continue to evolve as more and more employers subscribe to federal and state ‘Rap Back’ programs,” Perrett said. “Employers receive instant, up-to-date information that pertains to law enforcement encounters or protests, even if the encounter doesn’t result in an arrest.”
As the digital transformation continues, real-time information that employers will have access to will continue to evolve.
• Trend 5: Contractor fit for duty. The fitness- for-duty examination will gain popularity, especially in the industrial sector, as more and more employers require their employees to be able to perform the requirements of the stated job.
“If your physical condition impairs your ability to perform a job, then an employer can require a fitness-for-duty examination,” Perrett stated. “I don’t see this trend going away, only amplifying in the future.”
This screening also includes drug and alcohol use and will continue to be implemented by employers prior to making a job offer or as a contingency for an offer.
For ongoing industry updates, visit BICMagazine.com.