What is the Future for OHS?

Where will the focus be for Occupational Health & Safety Professionals? When I first started in the profession in the mid-80's, the focus was clear--compliance. OSHA was churning out new regulations regularly, and with each new regulation, came a predictable set of tasks that "the safety guy" (sorry ladies) needed to do. (1) Set up the written program. (2) Install the required elements of the program. (3) Design and perform training. (4) Monitor the program for effectiveness. Just a couple new regulations could keep you busy for a year. But OSHA seems to have lost its appetite for issuing new regulations. Partisan wrangling has made even common-sense updates and new programs almost impossible to pass.

The next driver for OHS programs seems to be the "systems" approach. OSHA's VPP program and the not-yet-adopted OHSAS 18000 stress the management system in ensuring a comprehensive process to ensure safety and health in the work place. But acceptance of these processes is far from universal. The actual number of participating companies in either of these programs is tiny compared to the total number of companies.

So again I ask, where is the future focus of OHS, and perhaps more importantly, how does a practicing OHS professional prepare for it? Will it be the disappearance of the line between work-related injuries and illnesses and off-the-job issues, with a focus on wellness? Will the political landscape change enough for OSHA to release a flood of pent-up rule making? Will an industrial disaster shake the public apathy and force major changes? I do not know the answer to these questions, but I'd love to know what you all think.