Subpart D
Qualified inspectors are personnel who have the equipment and competence to recognize hazards and who can evaluate them and recommend general abatement steps. This is stated in 1960.25(a), which also notes that safety and health specialists defined in 1960.2(s) with experience or up-to-date training meet the qualification requirement.
Yes — for less complex hazards, inspectors do not always need a specialized safety and health certification, but they must have sufficient documented training or experience to recognize and evaluate the specific hazards present and to suggest general abatement. This flexibility is described in 1960.25(a).
It means the inspector must have records showing training courses, on-the-job experience, or other documented learning that enables them to recognize and evaluate the particular hazards in that workplace and to recommend general abatement measures. The requirement for documented training or experience is specified in 1960.25(a).
Inspection personnel must be provided the equipment necessary to conduct a thorough inspection of the workplace involved. 1960.25(a) requires agencies to supply inspection personnel with appropriate tools and instruments for identifying hazards.
Yes — safety and health specialists, as defined in 1960.2(s), who have experience and/or current training in hazard recognition and evaluation are considered to meet the qualifications of safety and health inspectors under 1960.25(a).
The agency must provide access to safety and health inspectors who have obtained the appropriate security clearance to enter those workplaces. This requirement is explicit in 1960.25(b).
All areas and operations of each workplace, including offices, must be inspected at least once every year, and more frequently where work increases the risk of accidents, injuries, or illness. This inspection frequency is set out in 1960.25(c).
Yes — agencies should conduct sufficient unannounced inspections and unannounced follow-up inspections to ensure hazardous conditions are identified and abated. That expectation is described in 1960.25(c).
Yes — 1960.25(c) explicitly requires that all areas and operations, including office operations, be inspected at least annually.
Agencies are encouraged to coordinate inspection functions when multiple agencies have responsibilities that affect employee safety and health. That encouragement is found in 1960.25(d). Coordinated inspections can reduce duplication and ensure clear responsibility for abatement.
Yes — inspectors must be able to suggest general abatement procedures as part of their duty to recognize and evaluate hazards, as required by 1960.25(a).
Yes — but contractor or temporary inspectors must meet the same qualification and equipment requirements: they must have the competence, documented training or experience, and the necessary equipment to recognize and evaluate the hazards and to suggest general abatement procedures, per 1960.25(a).
Workplaces with an increased risk of accident, injury, or illness because of the nature of the work performed must be inspected more frequently than once a year. That trigger for increased inspection frequency is stated in 1960.25(c).
The employing agency is responsible for ensuring inspectors who need access to classified areas have the appropriate security clearances and access. 1960.25(b) places the obligation on the agency with the classified workplaces.
No — the standard does not mandate a specific certification or degree; instead it requires that inspectors have the competence, equipment, and documented training and/or experience necessary to recognize and evaluate workplace hazards and suggest general abatement, as described in 1960.25(a).
Follow-up inspections are intended to verify that identified hazards have been abated; agencies should conduct sufficient unannounced follow-up inspections to ensure hazards are corrected, as directed in 1960.25(c).
Agencies must ensure inspections cover all personnel working on the site, including contractor employees, and that inspectors are qualified to recognize hazards affecting those workers; see 1960.25(c) for the inspection requirement and 1960.25(a) for inspector qualifications.
Certain military personnel, unique military equipment, and uniquely military operations are excluded from OSHA coverage under Executive Order 12196, but civilian employees and contractor employees performing non-unique tasks are covered and must follow OSHA standards. This jurisdictional nuance is explained in the OSHA interpretation Oxygen-deficient atmospheres in HVAC, which references Executive Order 12196 and 29 CFR Part 1960.
When hazards are more complex—such as confined spaces or oxygen-deficient atmospheres—inspectors must have specific training and experience to recognize and evaluate those hazards and to recommend appropriate abatement and protective measures, per 1960.25(a). For issues involving oxygen-deficient atmospheres in federal workplaces where civilian employees are covered, see the OSHA interpretation Oxygen-deficient atmospheres in HVAC for application details.
“Sufficient” means enough unannounced inspections and unannounced follow-ups to reasonably ensure hazardous conditions are identified and effectively abated; the agency must use a risk-based approach (frequency and scope) tailored to the workplace's hazards, as required by 1960.25(c).