Employers in high-hazard industries or those involved in hazardous operations receive priority. Largely funded by OSHA, consultation programs are run by state agencies and offer an array of services.

  • Key services offered by consultation include:
    • Help in recognizing hazards in the workplace.
    • Suggested approaches or options for solving a safety or health problem.
    • Sources of help available to a company needing further assistance.
    • Written reports that summarize the findings of on-site reviews of safety and health.
    • Assistance in developing or maintaining an effective safety and health management system.
    • Training and education for a small business, its employees at the workplace and, in some cases, away from the worksite.
    • Recognition by OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP).

An effective workplace safety and health management system at a small business worksite(s) will enable the small employer to:

  • Recognize and remove hazards from the worksite.
  • Protect workers from injury and illness.
  • Prevent loss of life.
  • Cultivate informed employees who take responsibility for their own safety, their coworkers’ safety and for worksite safety as a whole.
  • Improve employee morale.

An increased understanding of workplace hazards and remedies will put small business managers in a better position to:

  • Comply with federal and state safety and health requirements.
  • Become more effective at their jobs.
  • Increase productivity rates and assure product quality.
  • An exemplary workplace safety and health management system is good business sense that also makes

Financial sense because it will allow a small business to:

  • Learn first-hand that the cost of accident prevention is far lower than the cost of accidents.
  • Improve the bottom line by lowering injury and illness rates, decreasing workers’ compensation costs, reducing lost workdays and limiting equipment damage and product losses.

OSHA’s Office of Small Business Assistance can be contacted by the following:

  • By phone – 202-693-2220
  • Write to the Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs at 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-3660, Washington, DC 20210.
  • On the Web at osha.gov/dcsp/osba/index.html

More OSHA initiatives for small business can be viewed in the brief presentation prepared by OSHA:

To learn more about Lawley’s small business programs and risk management, click here.