Monitoring and evaluation procedures

Under 1908.9(a), the Assistant Secretary may require changes to a State's consultation program and, if necessary, suspend recognition of the State's consultative visits as a basis for exemption from inspections.

• The Assistant Secretary will regularly monitor and evaluate State performance and may require corrective actions to align with consultation policy.
• If the State's policies or practices raise doubts about assurance of correction of serious hazards or effectiveness of employers' programs, recognition of consultative visits can be suspended pending completion of required changes.
• This action is authorized in conjunction with 1908.7(b)(4).

The Assistant Secretary must approve the State's consultant performance monitoring system before it is placed into operation, per 1908.9(b)(1)(ii).

• The system must conform to any requirements established by the Assistant Secretary as required in 1908.9(b)(1)(i).

Each State consultant must receive an annual performance evaluation, according to 1908.9(b)(1)(ii).

• The annual report should review all aspects of performance and recommend remedial action where needed.
• The evaluation is a confidential State personnel record and may coincide with regular personnel reviews.

Performance evaluations must measure a consultant's hazard identification, exposure and risk determination (including performance under 1908.6(e) and 1908.6(f)), knowledge of statutes/standards, hazard correction techniques, workplace safety program requirements, and communication skills, per 1908.9(b)(1)(iii).

• Evaluations should check consultants' ability to identify hazards on visited worksites and determine employee exposure and risk.
• They must also assess the consultant's ability to explain findings and recommendations clearly to employers and employees.

Accompanied visits to observe consultants must be conducted periodically in accordance with a plan included in each annual Cooperative Agreement, as required by 1908.9(b)(1)(iv).

• The Cooperative Agreement should establish the schedule and frequency of these accompanied visits.

The State must report quarterly to the Regional Administrator on system operations and include copies of accompanied visit reports completed that quarter, per 1908.9(b)(1)(v).

• The quarterly report documents how the monitoring system is operating and provides the RA with evidence of accompanied visit activities.

Yes, the State may conduct unaccompanied visits to workplaces that received onsite consultation to evaluate consultants, but those visits require the expressed permission of the employer who requested the onsite consultative visit, as stated in 1908.9(b).

• A written report of each unaccompanied visit must be provided to the consultant.
• These visits serve only evaluation purposes and cannot be done without the employer's permission.

Yes, Federal monitoring activity by the Assistant Secretary may still occur and is not precluded by the State's monitoring system, according to 1908.9(b)(2).

• The Assistant Secretary may use methods deemed appropriate for Federal monitoring in addition to the State system.

The State must compile and submit factual and statistical data, and any narrative reports or copies of written reports to employers, in the format and frequency required by the Assistant Secretary, per 1908.9(c).

• This includes meeting deadlines and formats the Assistant Secretary specifies for Federal evaluation purposes.

The operation of the State's monitoring system must conform to all requirements established by the Assistant Secretary, as required by 1908.9(b)(1)(i).

• The State's system must also be approved by the Assistant Secretary before it begins operation per 1908.9(b)(1)(ii).

No, annual consultant evaluation reports are confidential State personnel records, according to 1908.9(b)(1)(ii).

• They may be timed to coincide with regular personnel evaluations and are treated as part of the consultant's personnel file.

Yes, consultant performance must be measured in part by their performance under 1908.6(e) and 1908.6(f), as specified in 1908.9(b)(1)(iii).

• Evaluations should verify that exposure and risk determinations follow the rules and procedures in those sections.

The State must provide the consultant with a written report of each unaccompanied visit, as required by 1908.9(b).

• The written report documents the findings of the evaluative visit and supports the consultant's performance record.

The plan for accompanied visits should specify the periodic schedule and procedures for observing consultants during onsite visits, as required by 1908.9(b)(1)(iv).

• This plan is included in each annual Cooperative Agreement and guides both State and Federal monitoring activities.

The 1981 Letter of Interpretation confirms that 29 CFR 1910.1020 applies to employee exposure records created by consultation activity, so employees have access to exposure information in consultation reports when it is relevant, per the January 21, 1981 Letter of Interpretation.

• The letter also states that OSHA compliance officers' access to those records is governed by 1908.6.
• Where exposure information is an "employee exposure record" under 1910.1020, employees may request access subject to 1910.1020(e)(2)(i)(A)-(D) as explained in the Letter.

The State must recommend remedial action for any deficiencies identified in the annual evaluation and act upon those recommendations, per 1908.9(b)(1)(ii).

• Remedial actions may include training, supervision, reassignment, or other corrective measures documented in the consultant's confidential personnel record.

Yes, but the State must submit the factual and statistical data, and any narrative reports, in the format and frequency required by the Assistant Secretary for Federal monitoring purposes, as stated in 1908.9(c).

• The Assistant Secretary may also conduct additional Federal monitoring even if the State provides its own data per 1908.9(b)(2).

Accompanied and unaccompanied visits are used to evaluate and document consultant performance during onsite consultative visits, as set out in 1908.9(b)(1)(iv) and 1908.9(b).

• Accompanied visits are periodic and follow the Cooperative Agreement plan.
• Unaccompanied visits may be used for evaluation but require the employer's expressed permission and must result in a written report to the consultant.

The Assistant Secretary determines the format and frequency of the factual and statistical data and narrative reports the State must submit for Federal monitoring, as required by 1908.9(c).

• The State must comply with those specifications to support Federal evaluation of the consultation program.