875—8.1 (88) Purpose and scope. The chapter contains procedures under which the division of labor services, bureau of consultation and education provides on-site consultative services to employers. The service is available at no cost to employers to assist them in establishing effective occupational safety and health programs for providing their employees employment and a place of employment which is safe and healthful. The overall goal is to prevent the occurrence of injuries and illnesses which may result from exposure to hazardous working conditions and from hazardous work practices. The principal assistance will be provided at the employer’s worksite, but off-site assistance may also be provided by telephone and correspondence, and at locations other than the employer’s worksite, such as the offices of the division of labor services. At the worksite, the consultant will, within the scope of the employer’s request, evaluate the employer’s program for providing employment and a place of employment which is safe and healthful, as well as identify specific hazards in the workplace, and will provide appropriate advice and assistance in establishing or improving the employer’s safety and health program and in correcting any hazardous conditions identified.
Assistance may include education and training of the employer, the employer’s supervisors, and the employer’s other employees as needed to make the employer self-sufficient in ensuring safe and healthful work and working conditions. Although on-site consultation is conducted independent of the activities of the division of labor services’ bureau of occupational safety and health (IOSH enforcement), and the discovery of hazards shall not mandate citations or penalties, the employer remains under the statutory obligation to protect employees, and, in certain instances, the employer shall be required to take necessary protective action. Employer correction of hazards identified by the consultant during a comprehensive workplace survey, and implementation of certain core elements of an effective safety and health program and commitment to the completion of others may serve as the basis for employer exemption from certain enforcement activities by the bureau of occupational safety and health (IOSH enforcement).
The division of labor services encourages employers to request on-site consultative visits. The service is available to both private and public employers.
Employers seeking information regarding consultative services should contact Chief, Bureau of Consultation and Education, Division of Labor Services, 1000 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50319.