Office of Occupational and Radiological Health

Consultation Program

The Consultation Procedure

As a condition to obtaining a consultation visit you, the employer, must agree to:

1. Correct all identified hazards that could result in injury and / or illness to your employees.

2. Post a list of identified hazards in a prominent location readily observable by all affected employees for at least 3 days or until the hazards are corrected, whichever is longer.

After agreeing to these conditions, the consultant will come to your business, or school, and help you determine whether any workplace safety and health hazards exist.

The following list explains what the consultation process involves, and what it covers:

1. First, an opening conference is held to inform you, the employer, of what the consultation visit will cover, describe the scope of this visit, present the qualifications of the consultant to be able to make any recommendations, and explain the employer's obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

2. A comprehensive Consultation consists of highly qualified consultants from the Office of Occupational Health studying your entire workplace or specific operations you request, and reference applicable OSHA standards. The Consultant also will point out other safety and health risks which may not be cited under OSHA standards, but still potentially pose a safety or health risk to your employees, and also may suggest or provide other measures such as self- inspection and safety and health training for you and your employees.

3. A brief closing conference is held to review any observed workplace safety and health hazards, suggest corrective measures, implement improvement, where necessary, and also point out what is currently being done effectively in the work environment, and in the employers safety and health programs. In rare instances, the Consultant may find an "imminent danger" situation during the walk through. If so, you must take immediate action to protect all employees. In certain other situations that would be judge as a "serious violation" under OSHA requirements, you and the Consultant are required to develop and agree to a reasonable plan and schedule to abate or control the hazard.

4. The consultant then prepares a technical report that summarizes the workplace safety and health plan, describes any observed hazards, referencing any applicable standards, and then makes recommendations for correction and/or control.