TRADE NEWS RELEASE
Dec. 3, 2001
Contact: Susan Hall Fleming
Phone: (202) 693-1999

A recent Gallup survey of nearly 2,500 workers, employers and OSHA stakeholders who had direct contact with OSHA this past year found customers very satisfied or satisfied with their dealings with the agency.

"This survey clearly shows OSHA continues to strive to satisfy its customers by providing them with useful information and opportunities for involvement in inspections or in partnerships," said OSHA Administrator John L. Henshaw. "Our compliance officers and staff are useful resources on safety and health issues. The survey findings provide information that will help our customer focus and help us deliver on customer expectations.

The survey indicated that OSHA met the four interim customer satisfaction goals for Fiscal Year 2000 set by its strategic plan and achieved the final (2002) levels for two goals:

The Gallup Organization survey of OSHA customers also found that:

• 94% of workers and 84% of employers involved in inspections were either very satisfied or satisfied with OSHA staff professionalism.
• More than 95% of businesses that received free consultations were satisfied with the help they received.
• 98% of employers in OSHA partnerships found agency staff knowledgeable about OSHA rules and regulations.

Based on customer responses, OSHA has identified several areas to work on. The survey found that workers were less likely to be satisfied with phone/fax investigations, where OSHA contacts employers by phone to report complaints and receives a faxed response. If the response is satisfactory, the agency takes no further action. Instead, workers would prefer more on-site inspections, more follow-up visits and a swifter response. Both employers and workers wanted inspectors to be more familiar with their specific industries. Small businesses wanted a speedier response to their request for consultations and would prefer annual consultations. Other requests from those surveyed included calls for greater involvement of stakeholders, more partnership and more information, education and training.

"While this survey finds OSHA is doing many things right, we have many more challenges and opportunities ahead of us to improve our overall customer satisfaction," Henshaw said.

Survey results are drawn from nearly 2,500 responses from employers, workers and other OSHA stakeholders in late 2000 and early this year. A copy of the complete results of the survey is available on OSHA's website at www.osha.gov/about.html "About OSHA."

The text of this news release is available on the OSHA website at http://www.osha.gov. Information on this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 693-1999.