This service is jointly funded by the DLS and the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It is mostly targeted for smaller businesses (less than 250 employees per establishment or 500 employees nationwide) in high-hazard industries; such as manufacturing, healthcare, and construction. It is a confidential service in which your firm's name, and any other information you provide and any unsafe or unhealthy working conditions found, will not be reported routinely to the OSHA inspection staff.
OSHA Consultation Summary
This consultation service is made available at no cost to employers to assist them in establishing effective occupational safety and health programs. The overall goal is to prevent the occurrence of injuries and illnesses which may result from exposure to hazardous workplace conditions and from hazardous work practices. The principal assistance will be provided at the employer's worksite, but offsite assistance may also be provided.
The OSHA Consultation Program is primarily targeted for small high hazard industries in the private sector. The OSHA Consultation Program is a confidential service in which your firm's name, and any other information you provide and any unsafe or unhealthy working conditions found, will not be reported routinely to the OSHA inspection staff. If you fail to eliminate or control identified "serious" or "imminent danger" hazards it may result in a referral from consultation to an OSHA enforcement office. However, OSHA referrals from consultation are very rare. The OSHA Consultation Program consists of highly trained safety and health professionals. The OSHA Consultants will:
- Conduct a walk through survey of your plant to help you recognize hazards in your workplace. Areas of consultation may include machine guarding, chemical exposure, electrical safety, flammable storage, fall protection, and more.
- Suggest control measures and options for solving a safety or health problem.
- Assist you in writing and implementing OSHA-required written programs such as Hazard Communication, Bloodborne Pathogens, Permit-Required Confined Spaces, Lockout/Tagout, Respirator and more .
- Help you establish or strengthen a safety and health program.
- Provide a detailed written report summarizing all findings.
- Provide training and education for you and your employees.
- Monitoring-health consultants can perform air testing, noise testing and ventilation measurements.
- Discuss applicable OSHA standards and procedures to implement them.
Technical Support
Although the principal assistance the Consultation Program provides is on-site surveys, other assistance is also available. DLS Consultants can provide training seminars to your employees or at multi-employer groups, help you establish or strengthen your safety and health program, or provide technical support in any safety and health related area. Offsite technical assistance, regarding OSHA standards, guidelines, or interpretations, can be provided by contacting the Program. The Consultation Program has model programs for many of the OSHA-required written programs; such as hazard communication, lockout/tagout, emergency action plan, confined space entry, and bloodborne pathogens.