Statement by Michael Belcher, President of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE):

“ASSE appreciates OSHA’s commitment to encouraging better employer management of workplace safety and health risks in the draft update of its Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines. Likewise, ASSE appreciates OSHA’s effort to engage stakeholders in the development of final guidelines and looks forward to sharing the views of its members who are the leaders in addressing workplace risks through safety and health management plans. While recognizing that updated guidelines are a step in the right direction,

ASSE is disappointed that this Administration has not pursued an OSHA standard that would require all employers to develop and implement such plans. A well-written OSHA standard could help every U.S employer move towards the safety and health management approaches that the best employers already use to protect workers and their profit margins. It could also bring the U.S. closer to more effective workplace safety and health regulatory approaches increasingly being used by our international competitors. 

We encourage OSHA not to let these guidelines be the agency’s last and best effort in moving the nation towards a more effective approach to protecting workers.”