Template: Injury and Illness Prevention Program starter for a small electrical contractor (8 CCR 3203)
In one paragraph
The written program every California employer must have from the first hire, built element by element from Cal/OSHA's own list in section 3203: who is responsible, how compliance is ensured, how safety is communicated, how hazards are found (with the scheduled inspections), how injuries are investigated, how hazards are corrected, when training happens, and how employees get a copy. Written for a one-truck electrical shop with one to nine employees, using the small-employer exceptions the regulation allows, with the electrical safe practices (lockout, energized work, ladders, overhead lines) written in as the shop's rules. Beside the blank, the program filled in for a two-person shop the week it hired its first helper.
The rule
Every employer shall establish, implement and maintain an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program, in writing, that at a minimum identifies the responsible person, includes a system for ensuring compliance, a system for communicating with employees including a way to report hazards without fear of reprisal, procedures for identifying and evaluating hazards with scheduled periodic inspections, a procedure to investigate injuries and illnesses, methods for correcting hazards in a timely manner, training at the specified times, and employee access (8 CCR 3203(a)); inspection and training records are kept at least one year, with the exceptions for employers of fewer than 10 (3203(b)).
Why it matters
The IIPP is the first document Cal/OSHA asks for at any job site with an employee, and not having one is a citation before anyone looks at the work. The regulation tells you exactly what goes in it; this template is that list turned into two pages you can finish in an afternoon and hand to your first hire.