Consultation Services
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Occupational Safety
and Health Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
www.osha.gov
Serving the Business Community
![Serving the Business Community](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120917042329im_/http://www.osha.gov/images/3357consult.jpg)
OSHA provides free consultation services to businesses committed to improving safety and health, but who perhaps may be unsure of how to proceed.
CONSULTATION PROGRAM
An OSHA Cooperative Program
Designed for small high hazard businesses, the Consultation Program offers customized feedback on potential hazards at worksites and recommendations to improve occupational safety and health management systems.
Confidential and completely separate from OSHA's enforcement efforts, consultation services are delivered at the worksite by state governments using well-trained consultants. Limited services away from the worksite are also available.
Benefits
Knowledge of workplace hazards and ways to eliminate them improves day-to-day operations and management of a business.
- Receive professional advice and assistance to correct workplace hazards;
- Benefit from on-site training and assistance;
- May be deferred from OSHA inspections during the course of the consultation; and
- Make safety and health activities routine rather than crisis-oriented responses.
The Consultation Visit
Consultation is a voluntary activity conducted at the request of a business. The employer's only obligation is to correct serious, unsafe or unhealthful working conditions discovered by the consultant within a reasonable time frame.
- Request for services. The consultant discusses specific needs and sets a date for a visit that is convenient to both the employer and consultant.
- Initial meeting. The consultant arrives at the worksite for the scheduled visit and conducts an opening conference with the employer to explain the consultant's role and the obligations of the employer.
- Walkthrough. Together, the employer and the consultant examine conditions in the workplace and the consultant evaluates potential hazards, physical work practices and the employer's job safety and health program. The consultant will also request employee participation in the walkthrough.
- Closing Conference and Follow-up. The consultant reviews detailed findings with the employer in a closing conference. The employer will learn not only what improvements are needed but what is being done right, as well.
Following the closing conference, the consultant sends the employer a detailed written report explaining the findings and confirming any abatement periods. The consultant may follow-up to check on the employer's progress. Likewise, the employer may contact the consultant at any time for assistance. - Correcting Hazards. In rare instances, where the consultant finds an "imminent danger" situation during the walkthrough, the employer must take immediate action to protect employees. When a situation is judged as a "serious violation," the consultant will assist the employer to develop a specific plan to correct the hazard within a reasonable time frame.
If the employer fails to eliminate or control serious hazards, the situation must be referred from consultation to enforcement for appropriate action. This type of referral is infrequent, however.
Role of Consultant
Consultants will:
- Help employers recognize hazards in the workplace.
- Assist employers in developing or maintaining an effective safety and health system.
- Suggest general approaches or options for solving a safety or health problem.
- Identify resources available if an employer needs further assistance.
- Provide employers with a written report summarizing findings.
- Provide safety and health training.
Consultants will not:
- Issue citations or propose penalties for violations of OSHA standards.
- Guarantee that a workplace will "pass" any OSHA inspection.
Donald Kirsch, Administrator Good Shepherd Nursing Home Wheeling, West Virginia
For more information on receiving a free consultation visit, contact your State Consultation Office at www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/consult.html.
SAFETY AND HEALTH
ACHIEVEMENT RECOGNITION
PROGRAM
The Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) provides benefits and support to employers who develop, implement and improve safety and health management systems at their worksite.
SHARP participants are recognized for their exemplary performance in correcting all workplace safety and health hazards and adopting and implementing effective safety and health management systems. Participants must request additional visits if major changes in working conditions or processes present new hazards. Employers accepted into SHARP may receive an exemption from OSHA programmed inspections – but not from OSHA investigations of complaints or accidents – for one year.