Consultation Services

Knowledge of workplace hazards and ways to eliminate them can only improve the company’s operations – and the management of the firm. Employers receive professional advice and assistance on eliminating or preventing workplace hazards via the on-site hazard survey or the onsite training from the consultant. The consultant can help establish or strengthen an employee safety and health program, making safety and health activities routine considerations rather than crisis-oriented responses. Improving workplace safety and health also results in fewer accidents, lower injury and illness rates, decreased workers’ compensation costs, and limits product losses. Consultations will also help the entire company comply with the OSHA standards.

Since consultation is a voluntary activity, employers must request it. A telephone call or letter sets the consulting process in motion. The consultant will discuss specific needs with the employer and set up a visit based on the priority assigned to the request, the employer’s work schedule, and the time needed for the consultant to prepare for the visit. OSHA encourages a complete review of a firm’s safety and health situation; however, an employer may limit the visit to specific problems.

Certain obligations, including agreeing to correct all serious hazards found during the visit in an agreed-upon time frame, must be met.

• Meet with the employer on site and, at times, employees or employee representatives;
• Walk-through the worksite with the employer and employees;
• Review company injury and illness rates;
• Help identify hazards in the workplace;
• Identify kinds of help available for further assistance;
• Give detailed findings in a closing conference;
• Provide a written report summarizing findings;
• Assist the development or maintenance of an effective safety and health program;
• Provide training and education for the employer and employees;
• Recommend the site for an exemption from OSHA programmed inspections, when SHARP criteria are met.

In rare instances, the consultant may find an “imminent danger” situation during the walkthrough. If so, the employer must take immediate action to protect all employees. Other situations - those which would be judged a serious violation under OSHA criteria – require the employer and the consultant to develop a plan and a schedule to eliminate or control the hazard.

• Issue citation or propose penalties for violations of OSHA standards;
• Report possible violations to OSHA enforcement staff;
• Guarantee that your workplace will “pass” an OSHA inspection.

The consultant will send to the company a detailed written report in about 20 days after the closing conference that explains the findings and confirms agreed upon correction dates. A list of hazards is included in the report and must be posted electronically or in an easily observable area by employees for three days or until the listed hazards are corrected. Consultants may also contact the business from time to time to check progress, and employers may always contact them for assistance. Employers using the consultation service are deferred from OSHA’s scheduled inspections while the consultation remains “in progress.” This period excludes the time between the onset of the consultation and the final correction dates, including any extensions.

Ultimately, OSHA does require hazard correction so that each consultation visit achieves its objective – effective employee protection. If there is a failure to eliminate or control identified serious hazards (or an imminent danger) according to the plan and within the limits agreed upon, then the situation is referred to the Nevada OSHA office for appropriate action.

Employers may participate in OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) or a similar state program. This program is designed to provide incentives and support to employers to develop, implement and continuously improve safety and health programs at their worksite(s). SHARP provides for recognition of employers who have demonstrated exemplary achievements in workplace safety and health by receiving a comprehensive safety and health consultation visit, correcting all workplace safety and health hazards, adopting and implementing effective safety and health management systems, and agreeing to request further consultative visits if major changes in working conditions or processes occur which may introduce new hazards. Employers who meet these specific SHARP requirements may be exempted from OSHA programmed inspections. Learn more about the SHARP program.