I have two matters involving OSHA that are currently ongoing. One a fall and the other an explosion. One involves a fatality. I've had others involving fatalities and serious injuries.
Overall, my experience is that the regulations make sense and do promote a safe workplace. The investigators also generally seem to be genuinely concerned about worker safety.
Management doesn't like the regs because it costs money to comply, and the fines can be very expensive. And, you need to be on your toes when OSHA pays a visit because the investigators are always looking for an opportunity to levy a fine or issue a citation. During my last inspection a couple of months ago, the inspector told me that he only saw one very minor and isolated issue that had nothing to do with why he was there, and told me that he would not write it up but we should fix it. That was a first. Usually you just get the citation.
Knowing what I know, I would not want to see the OSHA regs repealed, and that's coming from a guy who works with management on these things.