What It Is

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) enforces the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, codified in 29 CFR 1910 for general industry. It is a federal regulation establishing mandatory workplace safety and health standards. Primary purpose: assure safe conditions by reducing hazards via standards enforcement, inspections, and the General Duty Clause. Key approach: performance-based with hierarchy of controls (elimination to PPE).

Key Components

• Subparts A-Z covering walking surfaces, PPE, HazCom, LOTO, toxic substances.
• Over 30 subparts with substance-specific rules (e.g., lead, silica).
• Core principles: specific standards precedence, General Duty Clause, recordkeeping (Part 1904).
• Compliance via inspections, citations; no certification, but state plans and VPP voluntary.

Why Organizations Use It

Legal mandate under OSH Act; avoids penalties up to $165K. Reduces injuries, workers' comp costs, downtime. Enhances reputation, ESG alignment, talent retention.

Implementation Overview

Phased: gap analysis, written programs (IIPP, HazCom), training, engineering controls. Applies to most U.S. private employers; state variations. Ongoing audits, electronic ITA reporting; inspections enforce.

What It Is

ISO 19600:2014, titled Compliance management systems — Guidelines, is a Type B guidance standard from the International Organization for Standardization. Its primary purpose is to provide recommendations for establishing, implementing, evaluating, maintaining, and improving a Compliance Management System (CMS). It adopts a risk-based approach using the high-level Annex SL structure and PDCA cycle, applicable to all organization sizes and sectors.

Key Components

• Ten clauses: context, leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation, improvement.
• Core principles: good governance, proportionality, transparency, sustainability.
• No fixed number of controls; focuses on obligations identification, risk assessment, policies, training, monitoring.
• Non-certifiable benchmarking tool; predecessor to certifiable ISO 37301.

Why Organizations Use It

• Mitigates regulatory penalties, operational risks, reputational damage.
• Enhances decision-making, efficiency (10-20% cost savings), market access.
• Builds integrity culture, future-proofs for ISO 37301.
• Demonstrates governance to stakeholders, regulators.

Implementation Overview

Phased roadmap: leadership commitment, gap analysis, design/documentation, rollout, continuous improvement. Scalable for SMEs to multinationals, all industries. No formal certification; internal audits and self-assessments suffice. (178 words)