Optimum Safety Management / Amerisafe Group:  The extraordinary safety services and solutions you’ve been using from Optimum Safety Management will now be provided to you by Amerisafe Consulting and Safety Services, LLC (ACSS). The same great team, now with even more resources and solutions to support your mission.

Industrial Hygiene & Safety Consulting

Amerisafe Group offers a full range of safety consulting and environmental industrial hygiene services, including air monitoring, bulk sampling, noise surveys, indoor air quality assessments and both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation monitoring.

Overview

Industrial Hygiene Safety Consultants

Amerisafe Group first provides an initial Industrial Hygiene Safety assessment to determine exposure potentials and then develops a sampling plan that will meet your needs. Our Safety Consultants have strong backgrounds in the use of appropriate NIOSH, OSHA, EPA and other regulatory agencies sampling protocols. Amerisafe Group utilizes only AIHA accredited laboratories for all industrial hygiene sampling analysis.

Upon receipt of monitoring results, Amerisafe Consultants will help to develop corrective actions, including environmental control measures and recommendations for process changes that will ensure employee health and safety, all of which are contained in a written Industrial Hygiene report that is provided to you.

Ready to get started with Amerisafe today or still have some questions?

Industrial Hygiene Services

Industrial Hygiene Services

Amerisafe Group offers a full range of environmental industrial hygiene and occupational health services, and are experienced at assisting clients in all aspects of anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of health and safety hazards. Our Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIH) and Staff Industrial Hygienists have provided these services to construction companies, electric utilities, manufacturers, and other industries. Services include (but are not limited to):

  • Chemical monitoring for worker exposures
  • Noise dosimetry and Sound Level Meter surveys
  • Chemical-specific worker training (Lead, Respirable Crystalline Silica, etc.)
  • OSHA Standards compliance assistance
  • Industrial Hygiene Program Gap Analysis
  • Respiratory Protection Program assessments and development
  • Ventilation/HVAC surveys and assessments
  • Bulk/wipe sample collection
  • Indoor Air Quality evaluations
  • Mold and Water Intrusion Investigations
  • Respirator Fit-testing (Qualitative and Quantitative)
  • Respirable Crystalline Silica compliance
  • Occupational Health assistance
  • Medical Questionnaires for Respirator Use
  • Expert Witness
  • Workers Compensation claim assistance
  • Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation monitoring
  • Special projects involving unique Industrial Hygiene issues

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE SERVICES​

Chemical Monitoring for Worker Exposures

Our certified Industrial Hygienists work with our clients to anticipate and recognize occupational health and safety hazards by discussing, upfront the potential hazards and issues confronting workers. Often this involves our conducting a preliminary walk down of the facility or project to better gauge chemical hazards. Our certified Industrial Hygienists then develop a plan and strategy to conduct effective monitoring for chemical hazards, focusing on capturing representative exposure data for the client’s affected worker population. Monitoring is conducted consistent with applicable NIOSH, OSHA or other sampling methods, and samples are submitted only to laboratories accredited through the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) for analysis.

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE SERVICES​

Noise Dosimetry and Sound Level Meter Surveys

Amerisafe has extensive experience conducting worker noise dosimetry and Sound Level Meter surveys to assess noise in the workplace. Our certified Industrial Hygienists know how to effectively identify exposed worker populations and draft a monitoring plan to determine 8-hour and other Time-Weighted Average noise exposures. We are also experienced at conducting comprehensive Sound Level Meter surveys to identify specific sources of significant noise. Whether from noise dosimetry results or Sound Level Meter surveys, our consultants can prepare a detailed report of our findings and recommendations for compliance and worker’s hearing protection.

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE SERVICES​

Chemical-Specific Worker Training (Lead, Respirable Crystalline Silica, etc.)

Amerisafe Consultants have conducted hundreds of topic-specific courses on occupational health topics including Lead, Respirable Crystalline Silica, Hexavalent Chromium, Noise and other chemical and physical hazards. Our Safety Consultants will customize the training content to our client’s specific issues and needs, and we present information in a format to educate and motivate workers to prevent unnecessary exposures.

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE SERVICES​

OSHA Standards Compliance Assistance

Amerisafe Consultants can review your operations or project for implications relative to OSHA occupational health and safety standards such as Hazard Communication, Respiratory Protection and others. Our consultants can also conduct a review of your current occupational health programs to determine opportunities to better ensure OSHA compliance and consistency with industry Best Practices. If warranted, our Safety Consultants can respond to identified deficiencies by developing needed written programs, providing training, conducting monitoring, and securing PPE and other equipment.

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE SERVICES​

Reduce Silica Dust at Work Sites

Respirable crystalline silica is produced by the drilling, cutting, and grinding of materials that contain silica, such as concrete, stone, and brick. The process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, also exposes workers to silica dust. Nearly 2.3 million workers in the construction and general industries are exposed to the effects of silica dust, which include silicosis, lung cancer, kidney disease, and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

Air monitoring is required in order to determine exposure levels of employees and to help to decide what protective measures need to be implemented. Amerisafe Group has a team of Industrial Hygiene Consultants that can establish sampling strategies, monitor workers, and clearly report results to assist employers with compliance.

Stay informed

OSHA Silica Rule

On March 24, 2016, OSHA released a new, final rule designed to eliminate the harmful effects of crystalline silica dust. Containing two standards, one for Construction and one for General Industry and Maritime, the new OSHA silica rule is projected to save nearly 600 lives and prevent over 900 new cases of silicosis annually once fully implemented.

In order to help better understand the differences between the old silica rule and the new one, Amerisafe Group offers open-enrollment training designed for construction and manufacturing business owners, supervisors, managers and safety and HR professionals. Custom classes can also be developed by our consultants and executed at your location.

  • Reducing the PEL, or permissible exposure limit, for silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over the span of an 8-hour shift.
  • Requiring employers to use engineering controls, like water or ventilation, to limit exposure to silica; provide respirators when engineering controls are not enough; identify and limit high exposure areas; create a written plan to control exposure; and train employees on the risks of silica exposure.
  • Providing medical exams to employees with high exposures to silica.
  • Providing flexibility to help employers provide the necessary protection from silica to its employees.

Prior to handing down its final ruling on silica exposure, OSHA welcomed input from various sources, including stakeholders, industry consensus, and scientific evidence. Fourteen days of public hearings were held, where 200 testimonies and over 2,000 comments produced 34,000 pages of material. OSHA used this extensive data to make many significant changes and updates to the silica standards, resulting in this final rule release.

Ready to get started with Amerisafe today or still have some questions?

Respirator Fit-Testing (Qualitative & Quantitative)

Amerisafe can conduct qualitative and quantitative respirator fit testing at your facility or project site. Quantitative respirator fit testing is more time consuming and expensive; however, the result is a better determination of the fit of the respirator for the worker. Qualitative fit testing can be conducted using Bitrex, saccharin or irritant smoke, and is recommended for respirators with an Assigned Protection Factor up to ten (10). Amerisafe can also provide related services of reviewing OSHA-mandated Medical Questionnaires and conducting Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs).

Ventilation/HVAC Surveys and Assessments

Amerisafe has extensive experience conducting ventilation/HVAC surveys and determining needed ventilation to better ensure worker occupational health and safety. Specific services include lab hood evaluation, confined spaces ventilation, HVAC evaluation, and related assessments.