Midcoast Resident Publishes Book Series to Help Maine Businesses Meet OSHA Safety Standards

Each year in the United States, more than 4,000 workers don't make it home after the workday ends because of workplace accidents that resulted in their deaths. In 2011, 26 of these workplace fatalities occurred in Maine, and Maine had the highest injury and illness rate in the nation. (2011, Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Every workplace in America must comply with OSHA occupational safety and health standards for protection from workplace hazards - or face the possibility of large fines and legal actions. Yet many employers do not have formal safety programs or dedicated safety staff.

Now Dan Goldenson, long time resident of Bremen, ME, has published a series of handbooks to help small businesses meet the health and safety standards set by OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The manuals are available for $129.95 through the website OSHAhandbooks.com.

Making sense of OSHA regulations can be difficult, and wading through hundreds of web pages and forms can be overwhelming. Invaluable resources, programs, and even free services can be missed simply because employers don't know how to find and access them.

"I happened to have a conversation with one of the managers of a lumber yard in central Maine." said Goldenson, "The man knew I was a publisher, and said he wished there was a user-friendly manual to help companies navigate complex OSHA requirements." After this conversation, Dan recalled having read an article about a Maine facility fined by OSHA for hazardous working conditions. Then something clicked.

"That short conversation sparked many questions," said Goldenson. The deeper he dug, the more he became convinced that there was an opportunity hidden in the complex mass of health and safety regulations. "I have an interest in identifying niches with a need waiting to be filled, and it seemed to me that a plain-English guide to workplace health and safety could prove to be invaluable to small businesses." Thus Compliance Publications was born.

Compliance Publications, Inc. is the second publishing business created in Maine by Daniel Goldenson. The first, called Starting Out, focused on life skills education for young adults. The 'Starting Out' book series was inspired by the needs of Dan's two sons as they moved from high school, through college and graduate school and into careers and family life. After fielding numerous questions about banking, mortgages, insurance, and investing, Dan realized that there was a real need for life management information that is not commonly taught in high school or college. Starting Out, Inc. was acquired by McGraw-Hill, Inc. in 2010.

Dan has been a publisher for much of his life. While in his junior year of college at Princeton University, Dan published his first book, 'The New Jersey Index of Engineering Opportunity', which turned into a national series. Then, two years out of college Dan co-authored 'How to Succeed in Business Before Graduating' (Macmillan, 1968), which profiled successful student businesses and part-time work opportunities at 500 colleges. These early guides were followed by more than 100 reference books in medicine, education, and business.

Goldenson's latest venture, Compliance Publications, publishes state-specific guides that offer an overview of everything an employer must know and do to establish a safe and compliant workplace. At nearly 500 pages, each book provides a host of informational tools including safety assessment worksheets, a templated safety plan, sample forms, and step-by-step actions to achieve SHARP certification, a workplace safety designation that can lead to savings in liability insurance.

The first book in the series, The Maine Handbook on Occupational Safety and Health, supplements the national OSHA information with information about local Maine resources, contacts, and organizations.

David E. Wacker, CFPS, Director of the Workplace Safety and Health Division, Maine Department of Labor, has called the handbook "...the most complete and straight-forward introduction to OSHA and the 58 steps in the SHARP certification process."

From the first edition created specifically for Maine, Dan has expanded the series to include a national edition, as well as sixteen other state editions (to date).

Goldenson enjoys the contrast of living in Maine's rugged landscape and writing reference books. "I enjoy discovering opportunities to create useful self-help guides for businesses and individuals," he says. "As long as I keep finding information I feel needs to be shared more widely, I'll keep on publishing new books."

COMPANY INFORMATION

Compliance Publications, Inc. is a publisher of occupational safety and health manuals based in Damariscotta, Maine. Daniel R. Goldenson, President, is a graduate of Princeton University, with a degree in economics and public policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs. He has developed more than 100 specialized guides and directories in the fields of education, medicine, commercial real estate, business, and finance.

To post a comment, you must register and login.