Impact of enforcement inspections and consultation visits on claims rates in Washington State

Enforcement inspections encourage safe workplaces and prevent injuries and illnesses through deterrence. States also offer consultation services in response to employers' requests for help to correct potential hazards and rule violations without the threat of penalty. The effectiveness of these activities in reducing injuries and illnesses remains an important issue to not only state OSHA programs but also to the businesses and workers they serve. Using claims rates as a measure of health and safety performance, we evaluated the effectiveness of Washington State Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) activities at the individual business level. We examined changes in lost time workers compensation claims rates for Washington employers who had 1) no DOSH activity, 2) enforcement, 3) consultation, and 4) both types of visits. Compensable claims rates, hours, and DOSH activity were extracted for each employer account with a single business location that existed throughout 2002-2005 and had more than 5 employees. Controlling for previous claims rate and average size, claims rates for employers with DOSH enforcement activity declined 15.9% in fixed site industries compared to a 0.4% rise among employers with no DOSH activity, and in non-fixed site industries claims rates declined 14.2% for employers with enforcement activity compared to a 5.0% decline for those with no DOSH activity. DOSH consultation activity was not associated with any statistically significant change in compensable claims rates. DOSH activity did not adversely affect business survival rates through the study period.