In a recent press release, OSHA announced that it has implemented a new OSHA Weighting System (OWS) for their 2020 fiscal year. The change will better help OSHA allocate their resources where needed.

The new system will allow OSHA to continue to support their “balanced approach of promoting safe and healthy workplaces, and continue to develop and support a management system that focuses enforcement activities on critical and strategic areas where the agency’s efforts can have the most impact,” the agency said in the release.

Under the previous system, which was released in 2015, OSHA weighted inspections based upon the amount of time they took to complete, in most cases, and the impact the inspection had on safety and health in the workplace, in other cases.

The new OWS adds other factors to the calculation, including Site-Specific targeting, agency priorities, and impact of inspections. It officially replaced the 205 system on October 1, 2019.

According to Safety+Health Magazine, the new system comes on the heels of OSHA’s announcement of a slight decline in total “enforcement units” from FY 2016 to FY 2018. OSHA recorded 42,900 in 2016, 41,829 in 2017, and 41,796 in 2018.

Full story: U.S. Department of Labor Implements New Weighting System For Workplace Safety and Health Inspections | OSHA

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