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.