If that national statistic holds true for South Carolina, that would mean that you have more than 85,000 small businesses here in the Palmetto State. At small companies, everyone has multiple roles and juggles a variety of responsibilities. And most handle it well. But a few need extra encouragement. It's our job to see that safety and health isn't one of the balls that gets dropped.
Enforcement is, of course, one tool.
Yet inspection resources are very limited. Last year SC-OSH conducted about 1,800 inspections. In other words, fewer than 2 percent of South Carolina employers saw an OSHA inspector last year. Clearly enforcement alone is insufficient to address workplace safety and health concerns. Fortunately, there are other ways.