Since its inception in 1975, OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program has assisted small and midsize businesses in identifying and addressing workplace hazards at no cost to the employer, thereby safeguarding millions of workers nationwide. This year marks five decades of the program’s commitment to saving lives, preventing injuries, and enhancing organizational efficiency.
The On-Site Consultation Program now operates across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories. It provides employers with guidance on recognizing workplace risks, improving safety protocols, and establishing robust safety and health programs, all without initiating OSHA enforcement actions.
Over the past ten years, the program has averaged nearly 24,000 worksite visits annually 98 percent directed toward locations with 250 or fewer employees and has prevented exposure to hazards for almost three million workers each year. According to a 2023 OSHA economic analysis, these efforts yield approximately $1.5 billion in national benefits annually through reduced injuries and illnesses, decreased workers’ compensation expenses, and enhanced productivity.
Throughout its history, the program achieved over one million site visits in 2010, contributed to national disaster recovery initiatives such as 9/11 and Hurricanes Katrina and Maria, introduced digital tools like the Small Business Handbook app to improve access to safety information, and established the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) to honor small businesses with exemplary safety practices. SHARP status includes deferral from scheduled OSHA inspections and distinguishes companies as leaders in workplace safety, currently recognizing roughly 1,000 employers for outstanding safety performance.
As the program commemorates this milestone, OSHA remains committed to practical, science-based solutions that continue to protect workers and foster business success well into the future.
Program Milestones:
1985 – The National Association of Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Programs (OSHCON) was created, bringing together Consultation Program Managers from each program.
1994 – The total number of On-Site Consultation visits has surpassed 500,000.
1998 – The OSHA On-Site Consultation Program was codified in the Occupational Safety and Health Act when the Compliance Assistance Authorization Act of 1998 was passed.
2010 – The total number of On-Site Consultation visits exceeded 1 million.
2015 – OSHA launched the National Construction Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program Pilot, extending assistance specifically to construction and other non-fixed worksites.