What is OSHA Certified?
The term OSHA certified has several meanings. It can mean the certificate an individual receives for completing an OSHA-authorized training course, the “card” required by some employers, industries, or states to demonstrate a knowledge of workplace safety, a document proving a trainer is qualified, or a point-in-time record an employer complies with OSHA standards.
Getting a straightforward answer to the question what is OSHA certified can be confusing – mostly due to contradictions in OSHA´s literature. For example, in OSHA´s booklet “Training Requirements in OSHA Standards” (PDF), the section relating to OSHA Training Institute Educations Centers states “none of the courses within the Outreach Program is considered a certification”.
Yet, within the same section there is a link to a directory of Education Centers offering OSHA-authorized training courses – most of which award a certificate at the completion of the course. Indeed, according to some certificate programs, it is necessary for students to be OSHA certified in one course before they can take a more advanced course in the same subject.
Department of Labor “Cards”
As well as there being OSHA certified courses in everything from record keeping to pandemic illness awareness, the OSHA Outreach Program also has workplace safety classes for construction, general, and maritime workers (10 hours and 30 hours) and for disaster site workers (7.50 hours and 15 hours). Workers who complete the workplace safety classes are given a certificate which they then use to apply for a Department of Labor Outreach Completion Card.
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Neither the certified safety training nor the Outreach Completion Card is mandated by OSHA, but some employers, industries, or states require workers to obtain the card before being given work in a potentially dangerous or unsafe workplace. For example, construction workers working on federal government projects are required to have a 10-hour card, while in Nevada, all construction workers must complete a 10 hour course and all construction supervisors must complete a 30 hour course.
OSHA Certified Trainers
Those who teach OSHA-authorized training courses and workplace safety classes have themselves to be certified. Becoming an OSHA certified trainer is quite a long-winded process. Potential trainers must have five years´ safety experience in the industry they want to teach, and must complete a 26-hour “standards” course before being permitted to take the 26-hour “trainer” course. Thereafter, OSHA certified trainers have to take a refresher course every four years.
It is important to be aware that OSHA trainers are required to go through a certification process so prospective students can ask for proof of credentials. In recent years, some sources have claimed to offer online OSHA-authorized training courses and workplace safety classes, only for the training to be inadequate. While using an unauthorized source may save a few dollars on the cost of training, the cost of an avoidable industrial injury or illness due to a lack of adequate training is far more.
Certifications for Employers
It is also important to be aware that there are no OSHA-authorized certifications for employers. This is because, while each industry has its own threats to safety and health, employers in each industry are required to develop a safety program that addresses threats unique to their environments. Nonetheless, programs exist that can provide a point-in-time record that an employer complies with the OSHA standards relevant to their environment.
The best type of programs are software solutions that include customizable training materials and self-audits for employers to check compliance with the relevant standards. The advantage of using a software solution is that it is permanently available as a source of reference if circumstances, operations, or technologies change – meaning that an employer can self-assess what, if any, new policies and procedures need to be implemented to ensure ongoing OSHA compliance.
