Section 12-60-2 - Safety and health programs(a) Scope and application. This standard shall apply to all employers with employees doing business in the State. (1) Every employer shall comply with the state laws, standards, and rules regarding a safe place of employment and safe practices, and shall do everything reasonable and necessary to protect the life, safety, and health of the employees.(2) Employers involved with construction or related activities shall provide safe and healthful work places and practices that protect the employees and the affected general public as well.(3) Every employer shall provide safe work places and practices by elimination or reduction of existing or potential hazards. Elimination of existing or potential hazards by design, process substitution, or other appropriate methods is preferred because it eliminates the need for further employee protection. When elimination is not feasible, reduction of existing or potential hazards to acceptable levels, using methods such as engineering or administrative controls, isolation, or guarding, shall be promptly used. When these methods are inadequate to reach acceptable levels, personal protective equipment shall be provided and used.Exception: Employers with less than 25 employees need not comply with (b)(1) below.
(b) Employer duties and responsibilities. An employer subject to this standard shall meet the following requirements: (1) Written safety and health program. (A) The employer shall institute and maintain an effective safety and health program to identify, evaluate and control workplace hazards. Employer safety and health programs which were developed prior to the promulgation of this standard may be used to satisfy this requirement so long as they meet the criteria for an acceptable program set forth in (B) below.(B) The program should (i) Set forth policies, procedures, and practices that recognize and protect employees from occupational safety and health hazards.(ii) Establish and communicate a clear goal for the safety and health program and the mechanisms which will be utilized in meeting this goal.(iii) Provide for visible top management leadership in implementing the program and ensure that all workers at the site, including contract workers, are provided equally high quality safety and health protection, so that all will understand that management's commitment is serious.(iv) Provide for and encourage employee involvement in the structure and operation of the program and in decisions that affect their safety and health, so that they will commit their insight and energy to achieving the safety and health program's goal and objectives. Involvement shall be accomplished through employee collective bargaining units, where appropriate.(v) Assign and communicate responsibilities for all aspects of the safety and loss prevention program to managers, supervisors, and employees so that they all know and understand what is expected of them in the implementation of the program.(vi) Provide a system to hold managers, supervisors, and employees accountable for their responsibilities under the safety and health program.(vii) Provide a reliable system for employees to notify management personnel or safety and health committee members of conditions that appear hazardous or of non-compliance with the terms of the safety and health program without fear of reprisal and provide a mechanism to ensure timely and appropriate responses to correct these conditions.(viii) Provide a mechanism to investigate accidents and "near miss" incidents, so that the root cause and means for preventing a recurrence are identified. For the purposes of this rule, the term "accident" means any unexpected happening that interrupts the work sequence or process and that may result in injury, illness, or property damage.(ix) Provide a means to review injury and illness trends over time, so that patterns with common causes can be identified and eliminated.(x) Establish a mechanism for the employer to conduct ongoing, periodic in-house safety and health inspections so that new or previously missed hazards or failures in controls are identified. Inspections shall be conducted with a frequency necessary to be effective.(xi) Address the impact of emergency situations and develop written plans and procedures to insure employee safety during emergencies. For the purpose of this standard, the term "emergency situation" means an unforeseen single event or combination of events that calls for immediate action to prevent, control or contain injury or illness to person or damage to property.(xii) Establish procedures for transmitting and enforcing safe work practices in the workplace through training, positive reinforcement, as a reward system, public recognition, etc., correction of unsafe performance, and, if necessary, reinforcement of work practices through a clearly defined and communicated disciplinary system.(C) The program shall be made available to the employees or their collective bargaining agent or both, upon request.(2) Safe work practices. (A) The employer shall eliminate or control all existing and potential hazards within the workplace in a timely manner, using one or more of the following: (i) Engineering and work practice controls designed to control employee exposures to safety and health hazards by modifying the source to reduce exposure.(ii) Administrative controls designed to control employee exposure to safety and health hazards.(iii) Requirements for the distribution and proper use of personal protective equipment.(iv) A program of medical examinations or evaluations conducted by a qualified physician or health practitioner when required by a standard.(B) The employer shall ensure that practices are understood by all employees and are underscored through training, positive reinforcement, correction of unsafe performance, and, if necessary, through a clearly defined and communicated disciplinary system.(3) Periodic inspections. The employer shall conduct periodic in-house safety and health inspections so that new or previously missed hazards or failures in engineering, work practice, and administrative controls are identified. The in-house inspections will be conducted by individuals who are trained to recognize hazardous conditions, as members of the safety and health committee or a person designated and trained by the employer for the facility's safety and health program.(4) Safety and health training. (A) The employer shall develop and institute a safety and health training program for all employees so they have an understanding of the hazards to which they may be exposed, and the procedures or practices needed to protect them from these hazards.(B) In addition, supervisors and managers shall be trained in the elements of the employer's safety and health program and in the specific responsibilities assigned to them under the program.(C) The employer shall ensure that the supervisors and managers understand their responsibilities under the safety and health program and their importance to the safety and health of the workplace. In particular, the training for managers and supervisors shall enable them to: (i) Recognize potential hazards;(ii) Maintain safety and health protection in the work area; and(iii) Reinforce employee training on the nature of the potential hazards and required protective measures.(c) The use of any machinery, tool, material, or equipment which is not in compliance with any applicable requirement of these standards is prohibited. The machine, tool, material, or equipment shall either be identified as unsafe by tagging or locking the controls to render them inoperable or shall be physically removed from its place of operation.(d) The employer shall permit only those employees qualified by training or experience to operate equipment and machinery.(e) For procedures in reporting accidents, consult section 12-52-8.(f) All safety devices and safeguards in use shall be kept sound and operable.(g) Any employee having knowledge of the existence of any unsafe device, practice, operation, safeguard, equipment, or condition shall promptly inform the supervisor or person in charge. A supervisor or person in charge to whose attention the existence of any unsafe device, practice, operation, safeguard, equipment, or condition is called shall take immediate steps to correct the unsafe condition or practice.[Eff 12/6/82; am 8/16/84; am 9/21/96] (Auth: HRS § 396-4) (Imp: HRS § 396-4)