Do employers need a visitor safety plan?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) doesn’t require employers to have a safety plan for non-employee visitors. It’s an industry best practice to have one, though. Here are five tips employers can use when creating a plan:

Conduct a risk assessment. Before employers can protect visitors, they first must assess the risks. Through this process, you’ll identify hazards posed to and by visitors;

Establish rules and restrictions. This aims to protect visitors and employees from employer site hazards; Many rules and restrictions may apply to visitors, such as signing in, reading and understanding safety rules, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), keeping out of restricted areas, and reporting injuries and illnesses;

Communicate. Plan to provide visitors with the rules, restrictions, and safety precautions they’ll need to stay safe. You should also have a process for notifying affected employees before a visit; Document visitor emergency procedures. If employees assist visitors during an emergency, they must review and follow all emergency procedures specified in the employer visitor safety plan; and

Report incidents. Should a visitor or employee be injured or become ill, employers must have a way for them to report the incident.