OSHA Consultant Health

Job Code: 32002776
Salary Grade: NC19
Revision Date: 09/2023

Class Concept

OSHA Health Consultants inspect, evaluate, and provide technical assistance on health hazards and matters for the full range of occupational areas covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and its subsequent amendments. Health Consultants work in a single geographic territory covering several counties or in large metropolitan areas requiring one or more consultants. Health Consultants coordinate with management and employee representatives in evaluating employment facilities and health procedures in a wide variety of private industries more prominently including textiles, chemicals, construction, electrical, lumber, and furniture; also evaluates State Government, county government, and municipal jurisdictions. Responsibilities involve documentation and support of alleged violations of health-related standards and cooperative work with employers where possible in corrective measures. Health Consultants evaluate employer effectiveness in implementing management control systems, training, and occupational health committees for protection of employee health as required by statute. OSHA Health Consultants are often called upon to render advice and assistance in unconventional situations involving health hazards where the severity of the hazard must be weighed against operational priorities. Specialty roles exist that relate to the Carolina Star Program and standards officers. Work is performed under general supervision of a technical superior and is evaluated through periodic conferences, observation of work, and written reports.

Health Consultants identify apparent and potential causes of occupational injuries, illness, fatalities, and catastrophes. Health Consultants recommend preventive or corrective action and determine the adequacy of the employer's response to such recommendations; complete standard reports and interpretive narrative on all alleged violations of standards; counsel management and employers on the necessary corrective measures; and make recommendations for follow-up. Counsel is made available to individual employers on a limited basis but is primarily oriented toward reaching larger groups of employers of similar type through trades associations, guilds, and other collective organizations. Health Consultants evaluate work environments and processes for physical, chemical, biological, and ergonomic factors that may be potential risks to the health of the workers. Health Consultants evaluate engineering controls for exhaust and ventilation systems, protective machine guarding for exposed moving parts, chemical processes, material handling and storage, noise control, fire suppression systems, and emergency plans for routes of egress. Health Consultants must devise sampling strategies and conduct appropriate monitoring by use of direct reading instrumentation or sample collection. Health Consultants conduct occupational health (industrial hygiene) surveys of places of employment to identify existing and potential occupational health hazards. Health Consultants understand, use, and correctly interpret results from a wide variety of industrial hygiene equipment and interpret laboratory results and compare results to the OSHNC permissible exposure limits or other applicable exposure limits. Health Consultants develop abatement plans, recommend engineering controls, and determine the technological feasibility of construction, fabrication, process modification, materials substitution, and equipment replacement as abatement alternatives.

The primary role of Star Health Consultants includes conducting occupational health surveys, interpreting applicable state occupational health standards, developing occupational health programs, and evaluating an employer's overall occupational health program management systems in all types of industries. Specifically, Star Health Consultants evaluate applications to determine initial eligibility for the Carolina Star Program established to recognize worksites that are self-sufficient in their ability to control hazards at the worksite. Employees serve as team leaders or members for on-site pre-approval reviews and visiting worksites to review occupational health programs; providing post-approval technical assistance to applicants to meet Star criteria; and reviewing inspection report files after an investigation following a catastrophe, fatality, or complaint at Star worksites. The primary role of health standards officers includes reviewing federal OSHA standards and policies, writing, and reviewing OSH division policies, publications, and training materials, record keeping obligations, and providing technical assistance and support to internal and external personnel. Discusses the development of occupational health programs with employers and employee representatives; coordinates the design and development of a plan which will help prevent health hazards or injuries and ensures compliance to the Act. Research proposed variances in standards by on-site investigation of problem areas and discussions with industrial associations, plant management, and employees; prepares reports recommending adoption or refusal of proposed changes based upon findings; coordinates with standards engineers on questions of engineering technicality. Investigates occupational areas with high injury and fatality incidence and attempts to develop innovative occupational health programs which will reduce rates. In addition, they answer inquiries from the public and OSH employees, assist with internal and external training, and are involved in state-specific rulemaking and variance requests.

Recruitment Requirements

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Considerable knowledge of the interpretive application of federal and state occupational health standards and regulations promulgated under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
• Considerable knowledge of the operational procedures utilized in subject occupational areas.
• Ability to provide consultative services on occupational health to all levels of management, including collective organizations, with confidence, consistency, and tact.
• Ability to maintain an overview of standards application on a state-wide basis in researching proposed variances, to develop well-founded recommendations in support or denial of such requests, and to prepare concise written documentation of field research and conclusions.
• Extensive knowledge of all OSHA and consensus standards relating to occupational health. Ability to research and analyze and extract pertinent information from a variety of sources.
• Ability to prioritize and efficiently respond to a large volume of professional and public inquiries and requests for technical and consultative assistance, training, and other outreach requests.
• Ability to instruct others in the various policies and methodologies used in conducting occupational health inspections, consultative surveys, and technical assistance provided to general industry, construction, and public-sector employers in North Carolina.
• Ability to design training programs based upon conceptual exploration, needs assessment along with the ability to work effectively with others.

Minimum Education and Experience

Master's degree in industrial hygiene with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, physics, mechanical engineering, or a closely related curriculum from an appropriately accredited institution and four years of experience in the field of industrial hygiene; or Bachelor's degree in industrial hygiene, chemistry, physics, mechanical engineering, or a closely related curriculum from an appropriately accredited institution and five years of experience in the field of industrial hygiene; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.