An unannounced inspection by the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Program, known as VOSH, is something more and more Virginia public entities are experiencing. These inspections focus on identifying hazards in the workplace that could lead to employee injuries, and come with the risk of citations and monetary fines.
To help members prevent and reduce injuries in the workplace – and ace those VOSH visits – VRSA risk services staff often conduct site inspections at the request of members to help them identify and remediate hazards.
For the City of Williamsburg and Hanover County, who both invited Senior Safety Consultant Fonda Craig to conduct inspections in their facilities last year, these proactive measures helped them to avoid monetary fines during a recent unexpected visit from VOSH.
“The inspectors were very complimentary,” said Hanover County Safety and Risk Manager Matt Phillips. “On a number of occasions, they mentioned they were pleased with the environment and efforts to maintain safety. It gave validation of all the work and effort we had put into addressing these issues before someone showed up.”
Superintendent John Marr with the City of Williamsburg’s Water Treatment Plant, says that without having VRSA’s assistance with self-inspections and making the recommended changes, the inspection would not have gone as well.
“It was a better experience than I was expecting,” said Marr. “Going through and updating things that Fonda had showed us – had we not done that and they came out here – we would have gotten hit for multiple violations.”
Risk Manager Travis Dill with the City of Williamsburg concurred.
“My goal is to every six months bring Fonda out,” said Dill. “Playgrounds, filter plants, and public works shops, my goal is to semi-annually work with Fonda to better help us as a city be prepared.”
In addition to site inspections, VRSA safety consultants work with cities, counties, towns, schools, and authorities to help prevent and reduce losses in a variety of ways. These include in-person training, virtual engagements, and workshops on topics from fall protection to confined space, and more. For assistance, contact us at: 800-963-6800.
Learn more about Hanover and Williamsburg’s experience in the video below.