6.1 Purpose. To specify the minimum Occupational Safety and Health Program (Program) requirements for conducting formal inspections of establishments and timely abatement of identified hazards for the Department of the Interior (Department or DOI) and the U.S. Geological Survey (Bureau or USGS).
6.2 Reference. 29 CFR 1960, Subpart D, Inspection and Abatement.
6.3 Requirements.
A. The USGS will formally inspect all establishments under its control at least annually. More frequent inspections will be conducted in high hazard areas.
B. Formal inspections will be conducted by persons who are trained in hazard recognition and safety and health inspection procedures. An opportunity will be provided for participation by a representative of the workplace/facility manager and an employee representative. The inspector may deny the right of accompaniment to any person whose participation interferes with the inspection.
C. Preoccupancy inspections for safety and health considerations will be conducted by safety and health professionals or other qualified person(s). Based on the inspection findings, the responsible safety and health professional will recommend occupancy of the space or identify corrective actions needed to bring the space into a safe and healthful condition (see 29 CFR 1960.34). General Services Administration (GSA) personnel and/or Department/local USGS Collateral Duty safety/environmental personnel normally conduct safety and health inspection services for pre-occupancy. Where problems cannot be resolved locally, safety and health issues may be directed to the respective Regional Safety Officer or Regional Safety Manager, as applicable.
D. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Departmental and USGS safety and health professionals will have right of entry without delay, at reasonable times, to any facility, construction site, or other workplace to perform an inspection. They will also have the right to inspect any item or place within the establishment, and to question any employee, supervisor, visitor, or manager associated with the establishment privately (see 29 CFR 1960.31).
E. If an imminent danger condition is found, the management official in charge will initiate corrective/protective action immediately and, if necessary, stop the operation and/or evacuate the area, except for those needed to abate the condition.
F. The USGS requires persons conducting formal inspections to:
(1) Have the necessary equipment to conduct the inspection.
(2) Examine appropriate accident records and previous inspection reports.
(3) Hold an opening conference with the establishment manager.
(4) Consult with employees on matters of safety and health.
(5) Inform management and employees of imminent danger conditions.
(6) Take or arrange for environmental samples, where appropriate.
(7) Comply with safety rules and practices.
(8) Take or obtain photographs.
(9) Avoid unreasonable disruption of the operation.
(10) Hold a closing conference with the appropriate level(s) of management and the employee representative(s) to disclose the findings of the inspection. Potential solutions for hazardous conditions should be presented. The management and employee representative(s) will be afforded an opportunity to bring other information to the attention of the inspector regarding conditions in the workplace.
G. Within 15 calendar days of completing a formal inspection (30 calendar days for items dealing with health), a written “Notice of Unsafe or Unhealthful Working Conditions” (Notice) will be conspicuously posted at or near each place a hazardous working condition exists, if practical, until the condition is abated or for 3 working days, whichever is longer. If not practical, the Notice will be posted where it is readily observable by all affected personnel.For USGS purposes, the Notice will be the posting or making available to affected personnel the inspection report findings detailing the unsafe or unhealthful condition and inclusive of the information contained in paragraph H below or a Report of Unsafe and/or Unhealthful Condition (Appendix 8-1), as applicable.
H. The Notice will contain the following information and be provided to the appropriate levels of management and employee representative(s) participating in the inspection:
(1) Identification of the location of the hazard.
(2) Description of the nature and extent of the hazard.
(3) Reference to applicable safety or health standards.
(4) Establishment of a reasonable time for abatement of the hazard.
I. Unannounced inspections and follow-up inspections should be conducted to determine that hazardous conditions are appropriately corrected.
J. For deficiencies that cannot be abated within 30 calendar days, a management action plan or equivalent Hazard Elimination Log, Appendix 6-2, will be prepared and documented. The local Collateral Duty Safety and Environmental Program Coordinator or designee will be responsible for coordination with managers and supervisors to obtain proposed corrective actions and follow-up abatement status every 90 days and oversight action plan until all inspection findings are abated. The local organizational manager shall be responsible for quality control/review of the action plan annually. The abatement plan will include:
(1) Proposed abatement action and timetable for correction.
(2) Explanation for the delay in abatement.
(3) Summary of the steps being taken in the interim to protect personnel.
(4) Person(s) responsible for abatement.
Note: If the Action Plan changes, a new plan will be prepared.
K. If abatement of a hazardous condition is not within the authority and resources of the organization, management will:
(1) Inform and request assistance from the next higher management level in the organization.
(2) Inform and request assistance from the Bureau Safety and Environmental Management Branch and/or respective Office of Regional Services through their respective regional safety staff while informing and protecting the potentially affected personnel.
(3) Coordinate, when necessary, with the Federal lessor agency if applicable; for example, General Services Administration (GSA), to secure abatement as specified in 29 CFR Part 1960, Subpart E and 41 CFR Parts 101-21. Prepare and send Form 386, Quality Deficiency Report, when appropriate.
(4) Enter subject hazardous conditions are placed on the organization’s deferred maintenance listing, prioritizing appropriately.
L. If OSHA arrives to conduct an inspection of a USGS establishment:
(1) The Bureau Safety and Environmental Management Branch, the respective Office of Regional Services, and the organizational Collateral Duty Safety Program Coordinator will be notified immediately so a safety and health or management representative may be assigned to accompany the OSHA inspector.
(2) The inspection findings, recommendations, and abatement schedules will be communicated to the Bureau Safety and Environmental Management Branch through the respective Office of Regional Services.
6.4 Responsibilities.
A. Bureau Safety Manager.
(1) Conduct facility inspections of the Office of Regional Headquarters as feasible, in conjunction with program assessments every 3 years.
(2) Assign Risk Assessment Codes to facility findings and deficiencies for management use in prioritizing corrective actions as detailed in Appendix 6-1, Safety and Environmental Management Risk Assessment Codes.
(3) Develop inspection and Program/hazard deficiency tracking and abatement requirements.
(4) Develop and incorporate standardized inspection checklists for regional and field use in meeting inspection requirements.
(5) Generate a Bureau-wide action plan report detailing unabated inspection deficiencies and review for appropriateness and timeliness of corrective actions.
(6) Coordinate with the Office of Management Services, Management Support Branch annually to review and compare Bureau-wide abatement projects with deferred maintenance projects.
(7) Conduct a trend analysis of Bureau-wide inspection findings and deficiencies and incorporate with appropriate recommendations in the annual safety, health, and environmental report.
B. Regional Safety Managers.
(1) Provide region-wide inspection Program oversight of all organizations within their respective geographical boundaries to ensure that an effective process is in place for the identification, evaluation, and control of occupational safety, health, and environmental hazards.
(2) Establish a formal region-wide schedule for inspections conducted by Office of Regional Services safety staff based on high risk activities, high rate accident statistics, occupational hazards, past Program history, personnel turnover, amount of time since last formal review, etc., in order to eliminate duplication of effort, ensure the most effective allocation of resources.
(3) Conduct inspections of Regional Headquarter and appropriate field sites for Program and facility compliance to assure such locations are inspected formally by the Office of Regional Services staff or annually via organizational component self-inspection.
(4) Document Office of Regional Services evaluation/inspections of Regional Headquarters and field facilities.
(5) Assign Risk Assessment Codes to facility findings/deficiencies for management use in prioritizing corrective actions as detailed in Appendix 6-1, Safety and Environmental Management Risk Assessment Codes.
(6) Forward a final report of Office of Regional Services conducted Regional Headquarter and field inspections with appropriate recommendations to organizational management for corrective actions within 45 workdays after completion of the on-site review.
(7) Follow up on Office of Regional Services inspection action plans to assure corrective actions are abated and/or status reports updated every 90 days.
(8) Generate a region-wide action plan report annually detailing unabated inspection deficiencies and review for appropriateness and timeliness of corrective actions, communicating subject plan to the Regional Director annually.
(8) Coordinate with Office of Regional Services/Facilities Management annually to review and compare region-wide action plan/abatement projects with deferred maintenance projects.
(9) Conduct a trend analysis of region-wide inspection findings and deficiencies and incorporate with appropriate recommendations in the region-wide annual Program plan.
(10) Maintain all Office of Regional Services conducted Program assessments and facility inspection reports for a period of 5 years.
(11) Support USGS regional and local safety and environmental staff (e.g., Collateral Duty Safety Program Coordinators, Collateral Duty Collateral Duty Environmental Program Coordinators and Chemical Hygiene Officers) through training that incorporates the inspection process, provide subject personnel with the ability to recognize safety and health hazards, conduct inspections within the workplace.
C. Regional Safety Officers.
(1) Provide inspection program oversight of all science organizations within their respective geographical boundaries to assure an effective program is in place for the identification, evaluation, and control occupational safety, health, and environmental hazards.
(2) Monitor the self-conducted inspections of science programs to assure all locations are informally inspected annually and follow up as appropriate for timely closure of field-level deficiencies and/or updated status reports.
(3) Establish a formal region science location schedule for inspections conducted by the Regional Safety Officer based on high risk activities, high rate accident statistics, occupational hazards, past program history, personnel turnover, amount of time since last formal review, etc., in order to eliminate duplication of effort and ensure the most effective allocation of resources.
(4) Document Regional Safety Officer conducted evaluation and inspections.
(5) Assign Risk Assessment Codes to facility findings and deficiencies for management use in prioritizing corrective actions as detailed in Appendix 6-1, Safety and Environmental Management Risk Assessment Codes.
(6) Generate an inspection report and forward with corrective action recommendations to field organizational management within 45 workdays after completion of the on-site review.
(7) Follow up on Office of Regional Services inspection management action plans to assure corrective actions are abated and/or status reports are updated every 90 days.
(8) Generate an action plan annually for regional science program detailing unabated inspection deficiencies and review for appropriateness and timeliness of corrective actions, communicating subject plan to the Regional Executive annually.
(9) Coordinate with regional science program staff annually to review and compare regional science program location action plan/abatement projects with deferred maintenance projects.
(10) Conduct a trend analysis of region science Program inspection findings and deficiencies and incorporate with appropriate recommendations in the region-wide annual Program plan.
(11) Maintain all conducted Program assessments and facility inspection reports by the Regional Safety Officer for a period of 5 years.
(12) Support USGS local science program safety and environmental staff (e.g., Collateral Duty Safety Program Coordinators, Collateral Duty Collateral Duty Environmental Program Coordinators and Chemical Hygiene Officers) through training that incorporates the inspection process, provide subject personnel with the ability to recognize safety and health hazards, conduct inspections within the workplace.
D. Collateral Duty Safety and Environmental Program Coordinators.
(1) Coordinate the establishment of a workplace inspection program to effectively identify, document, and track safety, health, and environmental deficiencies until corrective action is taken either to eliminate or reduce the hazard to an acceptable level. High hazard workplaces or locations where there is an increased risk of accident or injury due to the nature of the operations should be surveyed more frequently.
(2) Provide guidance and assistance to field location line managers and supervisors to comply with safety and environmental program evaluation/inspection requirements.
(3) Coordinate the conduct of local field level facility self-inspections annually to include all subordinate field locations with supervisors, managers, and other collateral duty staff (e.g., local firearms and watercraft instructors, chemical hygiene officers).Local field-level organizations are exempt from this requirement if they have undergone a “formal” review by the Bureau or Regional Safety Managers or Regional Safety Officer during that fiscal year.
(4) Assign Risk Assessment Codes to facility findings and deficiencies for management use in prioritizing corrective actions as detailed in Appendix 6-1, Safety and Environmental Management Risk Assessment Codes.
(5) Coordinate the documentation of local field-level facility inspections/program evaluation findings and associated corrective actions and follow up on local inspection action plans to assure that corrective actions are abated and/or status reports are updated every 90 days.
(6) Annually generate the local action plan detailing unabated inspection deficiencies and review for appropriateness and timeliness of corrective actions, communicating subject plan to the respective organizational manager.
(7) Coordinate with appropriate local administrative staff to review and compare location action plan/abatement projects so that facility-related safety deficiencies out of the scope of local resources to abate are incorporated to local deferred maintenance plans.
(8) All formal or self-conducted program assessments and facility inspections will be formally maintained by the respective field organization for 5 years.