OSHA Inspection Preparation Checklist

Is the official OSHA poster displayed where notices to employees are customarily posted?

Has upper management commitment to workplace safety been obtained and is the commitment statement displayed?

Has an internal or external safety audit and hazard assessment of the facility been conducted to spot and correct apparent safety and health hazards? Have these hazards been addressed or corrected in a timely manner?

Has a management official been assigned responsibility for safety and health compliance and for dealing with employees, OSHA, and other individuals on the subject of workplace safety and health?

Have the OSHA standards and regulations that apply to the facility been determined, and are all required written programs, plans, training, and recordkeeping complete and updated on an annual basis? Has the facility's personal protective equipment hazard assessment been completed?

Have designated management personnel been trained on how to properly handle and respond to an OSHA inspection, as well as approaches by law enforcement officials, building or fire inspectors, and inspectors from other safety regulators?

Has the company policy on requiring OSHA to have a warrant prior to allowing an inspection to be conducted been determined?

Is employee participation in safety and health management fostered, and is commitment instilled in employees to safe work practices?

Is the compliance officer's proposal primarily listened to, and are the initial proposed findings not argued or debated with during the closing conference?

Is the compliance officer reminded of the scope of the inspection as stated in the opening conference?

If directed by OSHA counsel, is additional information and documentation that is relevant and supportive of the company's position provided, along with any information showing abatement of any alleged violation?

Is an acknowledgment of receipt of the documents provided obtained from the OSHA compliance officer during the closing conference?

Are detailed notes taken on the alleged hazards identified and the problem areas indicated by the compliance officer, along with the applicable standards and suggested abatement procedures?

Is the OSHA compliance officer provided with the name, title, full address, and phone and fax numbers of the person to whom all OSHA correspondence should be directed?

Are OSHA compliance officers referred to the company's designated safety officer upon arrival on the premises?

Is communication with OSHA compliance officers limited to the facility manager and/or the designated management safety officer prior to the opening conference?

Are safety officers asked to provide credentials and contact information to ensure they are on an official inspection?

Has the purpose, scope, and circumstances of the visit to the facility been determined? if the inspection is based on a complaint, has a copy of the complaint and an attempt to limit the inspection to those areas listed in the complaint been obtained?

Is it determined if the compliance officer has a warrant to conduct the inspection, and if yes, what is the scope of the warrant?

Has the company's OSHA counsel been notified?

Has the designated employees' representative (if applicable) been notified of OSHA's presence?

Has an opening conference with the OSHA compliance officer been established on various aspects of the inspection such as: - the focus areas of the inspection; – the scope and route of the walk-around inspection; – the designated trade-secret areas or processes; – the procedure for conducting employee interviews and producing documents; – the schedule of interviews; – the documents for review by OSHA; – the procedure for requesting copies of any employee complaints; and – the facility’s rules and procedures OSHA will be expected to follow. – the procedures for conducting air or noise monitoring.

Are safety and health advising/training of OSHA compliance officers conducted prior to access to restricted areas? Are necessary personal protective equipment and company safety and health policies followed?

Does a designated safety officer or manager stay with each OSHA compliance officer at all times during the inspection except during hourly employee interviews?

Are detailed notes such as date(s) of inspection, areas inspected, items discussed and employees interviewed taken during the inspection?

If the compliance officer deviates from the area(s) covered by the complaint then does the company safety officer inquire as to the reason for the deviation?

When appropriate, are photographs taken of areas inspected by the OSHA?

compliance officer as well as all items photographed by the compliance officer? Are videos also utilized, if used by the compliance officer?

Has the designated safety officer immediately corrected any concerns identified by the compliance officer to the extent possible, but should not acknowledge that there is any violation or that citation is appropriate?

Does no management or supervisory employee give information or make statements to the compliance officer without approval from the designated safety officer or the company’s OSHA counsel? Is the designated safety officer or the Company’s OSHA-counsel present at all management or supervisor interviews conducted by the OSHA compliance officer?

Are all work rules and safety procedures enforced and applicable to the compliance officer and walk-around team during the inspection?

The compliance officer should be asked to put all requests for company information and/or documents in writing.

Does the company’s OSHA counsel review all requests for documents and information as well as all information and documents prior to being provided to the compliance officer?

Are all samples or monitoring tests taken by the OSHA compliance officer documented and copies of all sampling and monitoring results as well as all photographs and videos taken requested? Does the company request the OSHA compliance officer to schedule sampling and monitoring at a time when the company can conduct its own sampling and monitoring? Has the company’s designated safety officer advise the compliance officer that only side-by-side monitoring be permitted?

Are copies of all OSHA samples and monitoring reports from the compliance officer requested?

Have all sample and monitoring reports from OSHA been obtained?

Have all areas noted by the compliance officer been reviewed, and have appropriate abatements been made?

Has the company's OSHA counsel been provided with copies of all documents, notes, photographs, videos, etc., taken during the inspection?

Has a written request been made to OSHA to ensure that all trade secrets and proprietary information disclosed during the inspection are kept confidential?

If the facility is issued citations by OSHA, have the following steps been taken: • Posting the citation (with penalty amounts deleted -Note: in state plan states need to check rules on posting requirements) in the area where employee notices normally are posted. • Notifying the company's OSHA counsel • Scheduling an informal conference with OSHA • Posting Notice to Employees of the Informal Hearing • Filing a Notice of Contest if necessary within 15 working days of the employer’s receipt of citations?