12 Tasks for Safety Managers Working From Home

Many in the U.S. are under stay at home orders, encouraged to work from home where possible. Although many manufacturing facilities are considered essential and still open, safety managers and their support staff do not always need to be onsite. With your routine disrupted, this may actually be a great time to accomplish safety projects that your normally crazy busy days do not allow you to do.

⚡ TL;DR: Remote work periods are ideal for completing safety program reviews, pandemic planning, and documentation projects. Use this downtime to audit compliance gaps before OSHA inspections resume, update emergency plans, and ensure all safety training is properly documented.

Here are 12 ideas for tasks that safety managers working from home can do themselves, or can assign to their safety team members to keeping teams busy and productive during this time: 1. Develop Your Pandemic Plan What better time than now to develop a plan for dealing with a pandemic? What actions did your company take? What has worked and what didn’t? As a contractor, a number of clients have asked to see our plan. What will you do about your own vendors and contractors next time? What about visitors? Read our article on pandemic preparedness plans to get some ideas on how to get started.

⚠️ What’s at stake: An inadequate pandemic plan can lead to facility shutdowns, worker illness, OSHA citations for inadequate disease control protocols, and regulatory fines. Employers without formal pandemic protocols face potential liability for employee exposures and can be cited under OSHA’s General Duty Clause.

Review/Develop Cleaning Procedures The events of the past month have shown a spotlight on the way we handle the spread of germs from person to person. What are your procedures for cleaning and disinfecting respirators? What about your other personal protective equipment? What are the proper protocols? How often should they be cleaned? What cleaning products are EPA-approved and most effective on the PPEs’ materials? 3. Review Your Emergency Plans We are entering wild weather months of spring and summer. How would your company deal with the effects of tornadoes, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, hail storms, high wind events, heat waves, etc.? What are your business continuity plans if one of these events would occur at your facility? How would you be affected? Electricity powers the lights, your computers, and your machines. What would you do about electrical service interruptions? Did you know that there are EPA regulations for emergency power generators? What other regulations would come into play?
Review Your Written Safety Programs Written safety programs need to be reviewed on a regular basis, and some of them actually have OSHA rules about how often they are to be reviewed. Take a look at all of your plans. What do they commit you to doing, and is your company doing what it says you are supposed to be doing? Who else in your company is affected by these programs and needs to review and be aware of what they require? Remember that if it’s in writing that your company will do it, you will be held to that in a regulatory inspection. Are your programs compliant with OSHA standards? Are you missing a plan? Visit SafetyPlans.com to purchase one you can edit and expand upon. 5. Take Advantage of Web Conferencing for Safety Training Many companies have been using web conferencing software to hold online meetings or to just check in with each other. Take this time to get some of your general safety training out of the way. You could do weekly toolbox meetings or even longer sessions. Just make sure that you document what was held, on what date, who was the trainer, and who attended. You could even take a screenshot of the online attendees list, or a screenshot of the webcams of the persons in attendance to add to your documentation. iSi can help you facilitate/setup this training.

Is your current safety program keeping pace with your facility’s evolving risks? iSi Environmental helps industrial facilities close compliance gaps through comprehensive audits, policy reviews, and targeted training. Get started →

💰 The cost of non-compliance: OSHA penalties for written safety program violations range from $10,000 to $160,000 per violation depending on severity. Failure to document training can result in fines of $13,000+ per instance, and inadequate pandemic preparedness protocols can trigger General Duty Clause citations of $16,000+ each.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the key OSHA requirements for written safety programs?

OSHA requires employers to develop, implement, and maintain written safety programs that address workplace hazards specific to their facility. These programs must be reviewed and updated regularly, and iSi Environmental recommends a formal annual review to ensure compliance with current OSHA standards and to reflect any changes in your operations or regulatory environment.

Q: How often should pandemic preparedness and business continuity plans be reviewed?

While OSHA does not specify an exact frequency, best practices recommend reviewing pandemic preparedness and business continuity plans annually or whenever there are significant changes to your facility, workforce, or supply chain. iSi Environmental advises clients to treat these reviews as part of their routine safety management cycle to ensure they address current threats and operational realities.

Q: What EPA regulations apply to emergency power generators at industrial facilities?

The EPA requires facilities using emergency generators to comply with the Clean Air Act and specific NESHAP standards depending on the generator’s size and usage. Facilities in Kansas, Oklahoma, and surrounding regions must verify their generator registration and emissions compliance with the EPA. iSi Environmental can help facilities assess whether their emergency generator setup meets EPA requirements and current regulatory deadlines.

Q: Are there OSHA requirements for documenting remote safety training and virtual toolbox meetings?

Yes, OSHA requires that all safety training be documented with the date, trainer name, attendees, and topic covered. For virtual training sessions, screenshots of participant lists or attendee rosters serve as acceptable documentation. iSi Environmental recommends maintaining records in a centralized system to demonstrate compliance during OSHA inspections.

Every satisfactory compliance program starts with knowing where the gaps are. iSi Environmental helps industrial and manufacturing facilities identify and close safety vulnerabilities through audits, training, and policy development. Schedule a compliance review →

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