The mission of Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (OR-OSHA) is “to advance and improve workplace safety and health for all Oregonians.” The Consultative Services Section of OR-OSHA provides timely, courteous, and professional workplace consultations to Oregon employers. These services are presented at no cost to the employer and do not result in an inspection or any other enforcement action by OR-OSHA.

OR-OSHA’s staff of 42 consultants is located near all the major population centers of the state. The consultants opened 2,829 consultations in 2001, an increase of 13 percent over the previous year, and mailed 2,811 reports of findings and recommendations to employers. Because the program is designed to be voluntary, employer demand drives the workload. In 2001, employers made 2,992 requests for service, an increase of 18 percent over the previous year. Customer satisfaction surveys show that previous service is the main reason for consultation requests, but referral from other OR-OSHA programs is the primary means by which employers learn of the program.

Consultations opened during 2001 reached 260,719 employees. Over 85 percent of openings came at the request of private-sector employers. The manufacturing, services and construction industries accounted for 60% of all consultations requested and opened. Consultants found 34,384 hazards during consultations opened in 2001. Of these, 20,216 were serious ones that could have led to deep cuts, burns, broken bones, etc. The number of hazards identified during 2001 increased 45% from 2000.

Small to mid-range employers (100 or fewer employees) accounted for almost 81 percent of consultations opened in 2001. OR-OSHA consultative services assists employers in preventing workplace injuries, illness and fatalities by evaluating and recommending changes to the employers’ overall safety and health program. Since prevention is the key to lowering workers’ compensation costs, this service is a valuable tool for the small employer concerned with reducing the cost of doing business.

As in previous years, Multnomah County led in the number of consultations opened, at 525, followed by Lane, Marion, and Washington Counties.

Services provided during 2001 included 1,607 safety, 710 health, and 226 ergonomic consultations. There were 286 consultations on developing prevention plans. Health consultations increased by 31 percent.

Employers who incorporate the key elements of an effective program into the way they do business can be recognized officially as an Oregon/SHARP (Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program) employer. SHARP certification is done on a yearly basis. After initial certification, renewal is required yearly. Re-certification is granted based on satisfactory results of a review of the employer’s safety and health program improvements. The employer must also maintain the LWDCIR (Lost Workday Case Incidence Rate) at or below the state average for their job classification (SIC). The number of employers receiving SHARP certification has increased steadily. The chart below shows the growth of SHARP certification in Oregon. A list of the currently certified companies (77 at the time of publication) can be found at the web site http://www.orosha.org/consult/sharppar.htm. This list is presented to encourage networking between companies interested in improving occupational safety and health.

An important part of OR-OSHA’s strategic plan is to change workplace culture to enable an ever-increasing number of employers to effectively manage safety and health. Consultative Services works with employers to think beyond “OSHA-proofing” or reducing hazards, toward preventing injuries and illnesses. This may require a larger investment of time from both consultant and employer in the form of a comprehensive assessment of the workplace, followed by one or more return visits by consultants to develop or improve elements of the employer’s injury and illness prevention program.

Comprehensive assistance and assessment (quality), as well as timeliness (efficiency), are among the results-oriented measures for which Consultative Services was accountable under the 2001 Performance Agreement between OR-OSHA and Federal OSHA. The adjoining table shows the results for 2001 compared to the current goals and the previous year’s results. The percent of initial visits where assistance was comprehensive, rather than focused on specific hazards, was above goal at 73%. Twenty-six percent (26%) of the reports done for comprehensive consultations in 2001 included the 25-element assessment of the employer’s injury and illness prevention program. This percentage, though still below the strategic plan goal of 30%, is based on a substantial increase (64%) in the number of reports that included this assessment.

The average lag from employer request to opening of the consultation was 31 days in 2001. This was a nine percent decrease from the previous year, and still well below the goal of 42 days. The average wait from consultation closing to mailing of the report of findings was also better than goal, at 10 days.

Increased emphasis on safety and health has played a major role in the reduction of both the number and frequency of work-related claims in Oregon. Leadership provided by OR-OSHA, including the Consultative Services Section, has been prominent. The department’s study, Effectiveness of Oregon OSHA Consultations in Reducing Workplace Hazards (April 1994), found that OR-OSHA consultants noted 1,528 serious hazards at 107 establishments. Subsequent inspections, not connected in any way to the consultations, resulted in citations for 173 alleged serious violations at those same 107 businesses, which indicates that employers reduced hazards by 89 percent. A companion study revealed that the identical 107 worksites saw their accepted disabling injury counts fall about 18 percent in the two years following the consultation, in contrast to their 34 percent increase in injuries in the year prior to the consultation (Effectiveness of Oregon OSHA Consultations in Reducing Disabling Injuries, December 1995).

Results from surveys of employers provide additional evidence that the Consultative Services Section continues to be successful in its mission. Statistics from the last quarter of 2001 reveal that 100 percent of employers agreed that the consultant was friendly and knowledgeable; and 97% found the services useful toward preventing injuries and illnesses. Eighty-five percent (85%) of employers had implemented or were in the process of implementing the consultant’s recommendations.

Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division’s
Consultative Services offers Oregon employers:

• New business consultations
For employers who are expanding or establishing a new business or relocating in Oregon, our professionals will assist with review of plans and blue prints, and will offer suggestions on ways to save money by operating a safe and healthful workplace.

• Safety consultations
Safety consultants will examine your workplace to assist you in identifying safety hazards, help you with review of written programs, and will evaluate your safety and health program to help you prevent hazards.

• Ergonomic consultations
An ergonomist will assist you in identifying ergonomic risk factors and in developing a safety and health program that will help you prevent strains and sprains, cumulative trauma disorders, and repetitive motion problems.

• Industrial hygiene consultations
Industrial hygiene consultants will assist in evaluating your workplace for health hazards involving chemicals, noise, biological agents, and air contaminants. The hygienist will also review your written programs, including your safety and health program, to help you control or eliminate these hazards in the future.

• Consultations for employers covered by Federal OSHA
Our consultants are available to assist you with your safety, health and ergonomic issues and will help you incorporate the key elements of an effective safety and health program into the way business is conducted.

• Safety and health programs
Our consultants will help you incorporate the key elements of an effective safety and health program into the way you do business.

• Oregon/SHARP recognition
When you have incorporated the key elements of an effective safety and health program into the way you do business, we will officially recognize your efforts as an Oregon/SHARP employer.

Consultative Services makes sense

Our safety and health specialists help Oregon employers - including new and small ones - and their workers prevent workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Prevention is the key to reducing the high cost of workers’ compensation insurance.

Our consultants are committed to “providing timely, courteous and professional consultative services to Oregon employers and their employees, so they may recognize and control workplace hazards and prevent injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.”

If you're interested in a no-cost workplace consultation, call our toll-free number 1-800-922-2689, or see listing below for the field office in your area, or see our website at:
http://www.orosha.org/about.htm#Consult. Use of these consultative services will not result in a compliance inspection or other enforcement action.

To request a no-cost workplace consultation, call the field office closest to you:

DCBS Public Home Page

If you have questions about the information contained in this document, please contact by e-mail or phone: Linda Althouse, (503) 947-7053, Research Analyst, Research & Analysis Section, Information Management Division

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all IMD publications are available in alternative formats by calling (503) 378-4100 (V/TTY). The information in IMD publications is in the public domain and may be reprinted without permission.

This document was originally published in February 2003
[Printed form 440-2420 (02/03/IMD)]