OSHA has issued its annual inspection plan under the Site-Specific Targeting 2012 program to direct enforcement resources to workplaces where the highest rates of injuries and illnesses occur.

The SST program is one of the agency’s main programmed inspection plans for high-hazard, non-construction workplaces that have 20 or more workers. It is based on data collected from a survey of 80,000 establishments in high-hazard industries.

“Through the SST program, we can prevent injuries and illnesses, and save lives by focusing our inspection resources on employers in high-hazard worksites where workers are at greater risk,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels.

As part of the SST-12 program, OSHA is conducting a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the program based on 1,260 randomly selected establishments.

For the 2012 SST, OSHA’s Nursing and Personal Care Facilities National Emphasis Program will conduct programmed inspections of nursing and personal care establishments, unlike previous years when these inspections fell under the SST program.

In addition to the SST program, OSHA implements both national and local emphasis inspection programs, which include programmed inspections, to target high-risk hazards and industries. OSHA currently has 11 National Emphasis Programs that intensify inspections on hazards or industries such as lead, silica, shipbreaking, trenching/excavations and process safety management, and approximately 140 Regional and Local Emphasis Programs.