Technotics, Inc., a small electronics components manufacturing firm, began operations several months ago. The firm is owned and operated by two young entrepreneurs who know very little about occupational safety and health issues. The company has fifty employees, several of whom operate the heavy equipment needed to packrge, warehouse, and ship the products.

The firm's owners hired a safety manager, Jim Strong, to develop and administer an industrial safety program. Unfortunately, before Strong could implement a formal safety program, the state Occupational Safety and Health Agency compliance officer entered the facility and conducted a tour, unaccompanied by either management or employees. At the end of the compliance officer's tour, Technotics was cited with one serious violation and two other-than-serious violations. The serious violation involved a forklift operator who was not wearing a seat belt, which is considered life threatening, and the employer should have known of the hazard. The owners want to contest the citations, claiming they have made a good faith effort to establish a safety and health program but have not been able to implement such a program. They ask Strong for his suggested course of action.

What steps would you recommend if you were the safety manager for this firm? Why?