In 1st Year, South Dakota OSHA Office Handles 105 Inspections

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in South Dakota plans to add another inspector after its first year of operation because of the volume of inspections it’s handling.

The five-person office conducted 105 inspections in the last fiscal year, which runs from October to September. OSHA area director Shelia Stanley says for a relatively new crew, that’s a significant amount of inspections.

The Argus Leader reports 74 percent of inspections involved the construction industry. And more than four out of five inspections resulted in citations for violations considered serious, willful or repeated. The majority of incidents involved falls, or amputations.

Stanley says she suspects some employers are likely failing to report employee injuries to federal authorities. She says a worker fatality must be reported within eight hours, while an inpatient hospitalization, amputation or eye loss must be reported within 24 hours. The employer faces a fine if it fails to do so.