OSHA News

New OSHA Leader Promises to Lead

John Henshaw, the new head of OSHA for the Bush Administration, has identified four priorities for the agency:

• Leadership: "I want to see an OSHA that is a leader in the national dialogue on safety and health…. OSHA is perceived on the sidelines - enforcing the standards, issuing citations, but not leading the national discussion. I intend to change that."

• Enforcement: Henshaw said he believes in "strong, effective and fair enforcement." He said OSHA inspectors must have the skills, training and expertise to emerge as "experts with the credibility and authority needed to make a difference in the workplace."

• Compliance assistance: He said OSHA must expand its outreach, education and compliance assistance efforts, beginning with user-friendly education and guidance documents for the new recordkeeping rule, which takes effect January 1, 2002.

• Voluntary compliance: Henshaw said he is convinced that "achieving excellence in safety and health is well worth the benefit" for large and small businesses alike.

An industrial hygienist by training, Henshaw has 26 years of safety and health experience, mostly in the chemical industry, with Monsanto, Solutia and Astaris.