Directorate of Technical Support and
Emergency Management
The Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management (DTSEM) includes offices located in the National Office along with the Salt Lake and Cincinnati Technical Centers. DTSEM provides special expertise in a number of areas to ensure that OSHA's capabilities are state-of-the-art with regard to occupational safety and health. These areas include:
- industrial hygiene,
- safety engineering,
- occupational medicine and nursing,
- sample analysis and equipment calibration and repair,
- emergency preparedness and response,
- ergonomics,
- statistical analysis, and
- technical data services.
Experts in these areas are used by the Agency to supplement other program staff by providing specialized technical expertise and advice. The wide range of expertise and services available in DTSEM results in our being involved in every major program area of the Agency, as well as in compliance assistance and outreach activities. Implementation of our Directorate's programs provides support, service, and solutions for the rest of OSHA.
Director and Office Information
- Lee Anne Jillings, Acting Director
- Kevin Robinson, Acting Deputy Director
- Directory of Offices and Personnel
Contact Us
- U.S. Department of Labor/OSHA - DTSEM
- 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Room N3653
- Washington, DC 20210
- (202) 693-2300
Winter Weather
Winter weather presents hazards from slippery roads/surfaces, snow removal, strong winds, and environmental cold. Employers must prevent illnesses, injuries, or fatalities, by controlling these hazards in workplaces impacted by winter weather. OSHA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are working together on a public education effort aimed at improving the way people prepare for and respond to winter weather. This page is designed to help businesses and their workers prepare for winter weather, and to provide information about hazards that workers may face during and after winter storms.
Injury Tracking Application
The deadline for covered employers to report from their OSHA Form 300A is March 2 of the year after the calendar year covered by form. Information must be reported electronically through OSHA’s Injury tracking Application. This can be accessed from the ITA Launch Page. To learn more about OSHA’s occupational injury and illness data reporting requirements, including who, what, and how, start here:
Recordkeeping
Keeping records of serious work-related injuries and illnesses helps employers to understand hazards in their establishments and to act to reduce and eliminate those hazards. Because OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements can be complicated, however, OSHA offers general and detailed guidance on the requirements; provides a question and answer tool; and has published Letters of Interpretation to help employers keep accurate records. To explore these pages and more, start here:
Severe Injury Reports
OSHA collects information about every work-related fatality and every work-related amputation, loss of an eye, or hospitalization.The information collected includes information about the time and place of the event as well as a description of the event itself. These data allow OSHA to focus its efforts more effectively to prevent fatalities and serious work-related injuries and illnesses. Federal OSHA data are also available to employers, employees, and researchers to use to make workplaces safer and healthier. Interested in learning more? You can access these data here:
Occupational Chemical Database
OSHA's simplified resource for occupational chemical sampling information. This new resource provides essential information to help CSHO’s collect chemical samples in the field for analysis at the Salt Lake Technical Center Industrial Hygiene Chemistry Laboratory. Basic chemical information, sampling methods and sampling media selection information are provided in the Occupational Chemical Database, making it a vital resource for collection of defensible air, bulk, and wipe samples.
Selected OSHA Products and Publications
DTSEM led the development of the following OSHA resources:
- Snow Removal – Know the Hazards. Pamphlet, (January 2019).
- Legionellosis (Legionnaires' Disease and Pontiac Fever). Safety and Health Topics Page (Updated), (August 2018).
- Avian Influenza. Safety and Health Topics Page, (June 2018).
- Oil and Gas Well Drilling and Servicing - Site Preparation. eTool Module (Updated), (April 2018).
- Preventing Hearing Loss Caused by Chemical (Ototoxicity) and Noise Exposure. Safety and Health Information Bulletin, (March 15, 2018).
- Avoiding Underground Utilities during Horizontal Directional Drilling Operations. Safety and Health Information Bulletin, (March 15, 2018).
- Oil and Gas Well Drilling and Servicing - Plugging and Abandoning Oil and Gas Wells. eTool Module (Updated), (January 2018).
- Confined Space Entry on a Farm. FatalFacts, (January 4, 2018).
- Avian Flu QuickCards™, (2017):
- Protecting Workers from Slips, Trips and Falls during Disaster Response. QuickCard™, (2017).
- Heat Stress. Technical Manual Chapter, (September 15, 2017).
- Anthrax. Safety and Health Topics Page, (August 2017).
- Worker protections against occupational exposure to infectious diseases. Supplemental Guidance, (June 2017).
- Hazardous Waste and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER). Safety and Health Topics Page, (May 2017).
DTSEM Programs
- Blood Lead Laboratories
Provides updated guidance on how to evaluate employers’ use of clinical laboratories for employee blood lead testing under the general industry [Lead Standard] (29 CFR 1910.1025(j)(2)(iii)) and the construction Lead Standard (29 CFR 1926.62(j)(2)(iii)).
- Chemical Exposure Health Data
Represents records of the Salt Lake Technical Center sampling information system from 1984 forward. Includes data on personal, area, and bulk samples for various airborne contaminants.
- Emergency Preparedness and Response
Provides information on how to prepare and train for emergencies and the hazards to be aware of when an emergency occurs.
- Graduate Nurse Internship Program
Eight week internship that blends current OSHA projects and issues with the theoretical bases of the intern's academic study into a practical occupational safety and health experience at the national level.
- Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
Discusses OSHA's recordkeeping requirements and provides information on how to prepare and maintani records of serious occupational injuries and illnesses, using the OSHA 300 Log.
- National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety & Health
Advises the secretaries of labor and health and human services on occupational safety and health programs and policies.
- Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL)
Recognizes private sector organizations to perform certification for certain products to ensure that they meet the requirements of both the construction and general industry OSHA electrical standards.
- Occupational Chemical Database
OSHA's premier one-stop shop for occupational chemical information. It compiles information from several government agencies and organizations. It includes chemical identification and physical properties, exposure limits, sampling information, and additional resources.
- Occupational Medicine Resident Elective
Eight week training rotation that provides an opportunity to see how occupational health policy is developed and applied at the national level and enhance their knowledge of workplace safety and health programs.
- Technical Data Center
Provides a full range of professional reference and research services primarily to OSHA employees throughout the nation who rely upon the Center to maintain and locate materials to support their research.
- Variances
A variance is a regulatory action that permits an employer to deviate from the requirements of an OSHA standard under specified conditions.