Health and Safety

AHT’s Health & Safety methodology and practice align closely to that of GSA’s Public Buildings Service (PBS) facility safety, health, and environmental management policy to ensure agency compliance with applicable safety, health and environmental regulations at the regional and national levels.  We adhere to 29 CFR 1910, 29 CFR 1926 and 29 CFR 1960, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) publication 3886 in providing out the following services:

• • Management leadership
  • Tenet protection
  • Hazard identification and assessment
  • Hazard prevention and control
  • Education and training

AHT applies the following hierarchy of controls below to minimize the existence of potential hazards and address those that cannot be avoided in a safe manner:

• • Hazard elimination or substitution
  • Engineering controls
  • Administrative controls
  • Personal protective equipment

Our Health and Safety professionals perform periodic health and safety-related inspections to identify work practices, procedures or conditions that do not comply with state or federal regulations or other authorities.

When issues are identified, they are reported to the Property Management Team and Facility Manager and/or departmental executive. Identified issues are to be corrected within the timeframe provided in a final detailed report. Hazards that are immediately dangerous to life or health must be corrected immediately, either by fixing the hazardous condition or by removing the equipment or operation from service.

Health and Safety Facility Inspections

Our SMEs conduct their facility inspections to ensure buildings and workplaces are free of safety and health hazards. 

Inspections whose scopes and frequencies overlap may be performed concurrently. Information from one inspection can also be used to inform on other similar inspection(s). For example, information from an annual or five year inspection may be used to complete a simultaneously scheduled safety and health inspection. 

AHT health and safety inspections work with facility managers to ensure that safe and healthy workplaces for all tenants, employees and other occupants of a building, in the following manner:

• • Annual and five year inspections identify potential hazards that can be prevented or mitigated, throughout the facility.
  • Provide training to facility managers on daily or frequent tours of all spaces and equipment in their facility. Such tours identify potential concerns and risks to be corrected or prevented for the facility and all occupants.

Regular Five Year Safety & Health Facility Inspections

AHT conducts inspections of federal and commercial facilities at least every five years. The inspections are:

• • Performed by our safety and health professionals with current training on recognizing and evaluating occupational workplace hazards.
  • Intended to evaluate the building conditions in terms of compliance with applicable regulations, safe and healthful work practices and OSHA policy.
  • To cover all common areas, mechanical areas, roof areas, construction areas and building exterior.

A final written report is prepared for each inspection. Reports contain at minimum: an executive summary, a description of the inspection, a list of the conditions or deficiencies noted, recommendations for each condition or deficiency. Our reports include sufficient detail to easily identify the facts of the inspection including: references, photos, and diagrams.

Conditions or deficiencies for each inspection shall also be mapped into the respective enterprise application, spreadsheet, or database to ensure a soft copy of the data. Each open condition or deficiency shall be shared with the persons responsible for abating the conditions and tracked by our safety and health professionals through final abatement or closeout. Open conditions or deficiencies that represent noncompliance with OSHA standards shall be abated within 30 calendar days, if possible. Otherwise, an abatement plan shall be developed to abate the condition and interim controls put in place to isolate the hazard until final abatement.

HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SERVICES

• • Indoor Air Quality Assessments (IAQ)
  • Radon Sampling Services
  • Asbestos Management
  • Construction Safety and Health
  • Drinking Water Management
  • Electrical Safety
  • Lead
  • Radiation Safety