BE PREPARED
Important Reminders For An Inspection
• Ask the CSHO to provide you with an acknowledgment of receipt for all documentation provided during the inspection.
• Provide the CSHO with the name, title, and contact information of the person( s) to whom all OSHA correspondence should be directed.
• List out any alleged violations that have already been corrected. If directed by legal counsel, provide additional information and documentation relevant and supportive of the company’ s position as well as any information which shows abatement of any alleged violation.
• Do not make any impulsive commitments; for example, corrective actions or dates.
• Discuss possible violations. Understand that only the OSHA Area Director can issue citations and this process can take up to six months after the inspection. The Area Director may rely on a CSHO’ s recommendations to issue a citation, but CSHOs may be hesitant to address whether they will recommend a citation during their visit to your facility.
AFTER THE CLOSING CONFERENCE
• Try to obtain all sample and monitoring reports from OSHA.
• Provide the company’ s legal counsel with copies of all of the documents provided to OSHA and all of the notes, photographs, videos, etc., taken during the inspection. Reference an up-to-date copy of OSHA’ s Field Operations Manual. Look this over to determine whether there were any issues during the audit. Any information found can be used as supporting documentation to negotiate a settlement.
• Document all stages of the inspection. Include the people present, scope of the inspection, areas inspected, and employees interviewed.
• Document the CSHO’ s findings and your own.
• If the CSHO deviates from the route for the inspection, document it, inquire about it, and record the reason for deviation.
• Answer the question asked, and do not provide more information than necessary.
• Never admit a violation took place, that you are at fault, or that a citation is appropriate.
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