Page 191 - Safety Memo

June 2019

OSHA Inspections Guidelines

OSHA: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an
agency of the US government under the Department of Labor with
the responsibility of ensuring safety at work and a healthful work
environment. OSHA's mission is to prevent work-related injuries,
illnesses and deaths.

The following guidelines are to be used when OSHA arrives for an announced or unannounced site visit:

 Be sure the visitors really are OSHA representatives. Require them to show proper identification.
If they don't, escort them off your site.

 Verify the OSHA Officer is who they say they are by contacting their OSHA Office.
 Request time to contact your Supervisor and Director of Safety. Do Not start the OSHA Inspection
Process until given permission to begin.
 The OSHA Officer is required to give you the following information:

o The purpose of the site visit. Is it a complaint-based inspection, fatality-based inspection,
targeted inspection (government focus on specific industries), media-based inspection
(from a press report of a fire, explosion, incident, etc.) or random inspection?

o A copy of any complaint
o A description of what, exactly, they are requesting from the visit.

o Notification of the type of inspection; Health or Safety
If the OSHA representative does not give you the required information or you are not satisfied that
the OSHA representative has a legitimate reason to be there, then ask for a warrant.

 If possible, record the conversation with the OSHA Officer.
 Always keep a copy of your Company Safety Program and OSHA 300 Logs on site and readily
available.

 If you are not absolutely certain that every Employee is working within OSHA standards, Stop
Work while OSHA is on site, and have Employees focus on cleaning up the site.

 Walk with the OSHA Representative during their tour of the site.
 Duplicate all the information OSHA gathers. When the inspectors take photos, you take photos (the
more the better, and from multiple angles, if possible). When the inspectors write something down,
you write down the same thing.
 If OSHA talks to someone working on site, inform the employee that they are under no obligation
to answer the question. If the interview continues, write down the questions, the answers and the
name of the person.