• The OSHA makes a safety checklist for small business employers.Kreuz image by Michael S. Schwarzer from Fotolia.com
  
  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) publishes a safety inspection checklist designed to help employers look over their workplaces and make sure they meet OSHA safety requirements. Before getting a safety inspection employers should go over the checklist to make sure they will pass. The checklist covers many standard OSHA regulations that apply to a variety of businesses, such as sanitation requirements, aisleway requirements and record keeping requirements.
  
  

Postings

• The OSHA checklist reminds employers to have an OSHA job safety poster visible, emergency contact numbers visible, posted information about nearby toxic substances, radiation or hazards, exit route signs and a summary about work-related illnesses and injuries that should be reported to the OSHA.
  
  

Records

• According to the OSHA checklist, the employer should check to make sure work-related injuries and illnesses are getting recorded on the OSHA 300 log form. Employers should also record employee exposure to harmful substances and training records, and should allow employees to view their own records.
  
  

Fire Saftey

• The OSHA safety checklist reminds employers to make sure the local fire department is aware of the business and any fire hazards that come with it; inspect standpipes, valves, fire alarm systems and fire sprinkler systems regularly, maintain fire hydrants, keep fire doors in good condition, maintain clearance underneath fire sprinkler heads and inspect and recharge fire extinguishers regularly.
  
  

Walkways

• The OSHA checklist includes several items about safe maintenance of walkways. It reminds employers to keep walkways free of debris, keep their surfaces safe to walk on by getting rid of slippery spots, providing enough clearance for equipment and workers that pass through hallways and identifying elevation changes.
  
  

Sanitation

• The OSHA has quite a few workplace sanitation requirements. The OSHA small business safety inspection checklist reminds employers to keep work spaces as clean and sanitary as possible, keep floors dry and remove waste regularly.
  
  

Guards

• According to the OSHA safety checklist, moving machine parts and gears should have guards, stairways should have handrails, floor openings should have guards, and grates should cover floor drains.
  
  

Inspections

• Employers should inspect lots of equipment around the workplace to make sure it is in safe condition for employee use. The OSHA tells employers to inspect ladders, hand tools, power tools, powered equipment, air compressors, overhead forklift protection equipment, ventilation near chemical fumes, lighting and the identification of hazardous materials.