9,106 workplaces were inspected by the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) during the last 2 years, the authority said in a statement.

These varied from micro to large enterprises in the manufacturing, construction, and services sectors amongst others.

OHS officers who carry out these inspections look at the various aspects of work activity being carried out and take action according to the levels of risk present. In situations where the danger is significant but not high, improvement notices are issued, instructing employers to remedy the situation within a reasonable period of time.

Improvement notices were issued between January 2020 and December 2021 to nearly a third of the workplaces visited (3,045). In 1,025 workplaces visited, the hazards present were deemed serious enough to potentially cause death or serious physical harm. In these instances, OHS Officers issued orders for work activities to stop immediately until the situation was remedied.

These cases will continue to be followed up to ensure that the workplaces become compliant. In all these instances, administrative fines are issued or judicial proceedings commenced once OHSA’s investigations are finalized. During the same period, 1,152 entities and individuals were issued administrative fines for breaches of occupational health and safety legislation committed during the preceding months.

The most common infringements were the lack of provisions to prevent falls from heights, construction site project supervisors not adhering to OHS general principles of prevention and construction site clients not following the recommendations of the project supervisor.

During the same period of time, OHSA also vetted 8,906 equipment examination reports and 3,873 construction notification forms, amongst others, the authority said.