OSHA maintains an interactive map of enforcement cases with initial penalties above $40,000, which is updated on a weekly basis. Keep your facility off this map!
The type of violation and the standard that was violated for each offense is summarized for each case. During training sessions, we sometimes talk about the bad publicity that would result from a major incident or unsuccessful inspection. In the event of a major incident, the likelihood of the local news stations reporting on the situation is fairly high. Depending on the severity of the incident, OSHA would likely conduct an inspection to investigate the incident, which would lead to a deep dive into the EHS program. Incidents are not the only trigger for OSHA inspections. Disgruntled employees can call OSHA at any point in time to request an investigation into their concerns about workplace safety. And of course OSHA can request information and conduct inspections as they deem necessary.
Be sure to proactively implement work practices to create a safe work environment and prevent incidents from occurring.