Does the firm run the safety system, or only teach a class?
A class is a day. A safety system is the written plan, the training, the inspections, the records and the accountability that keep running after the trainer leaves. The first thing to find out about any firm in Atlanta is which of the two it is selling, because a builder who buys the class and expects the system usually finds that out during an OSHA inspection.
Pike Consulting Group sells both and says which is which. Training is one service. Safety Management Services is the system run for the builder: a written Health and Safety Plan, training for employees and trade partners, frequent and regular inspections with a report after each, ongoing training matched to active tasks, recommendations on exceptional or substandard performance, and representation if OSHA visits. The safety management system page takes that apart piece by piece.
Who will actually be teaching the crews?
Ask for the trainer, not the brochure. Training that meets OSHA’s duty to train is led by someone who knows the standard and the trade, and on a site with mixed crews it has to be in a language the crew follows. A firm that cannot say who will teach, or in what language, has not planned the job.
On pikegroup.net the training is described as onsite and instructor-led, by OSHA-authorized instructors, in English and Spanish. The course list runs from OSHA 10-Hour and 30-Hour through leadership courses for site managers and crew leaders to competent person training in excavation, confined space, fall protection, hazardous materials, forklifts, flagging and lock out / tag out. The OSHA 30 training page covers the questions to put to any provider about that course in particular.
Does the firm inspect the way OSHA inspects?
OSHA requires frequent and regular inspections of job sites, materials and equipment by a competent person the employer designates, under 29 CFR 1926.20(b)(2), and failing to do them is one of the most cited violations for general contractors. A consulting firm’s inspection is only worth paying for if it finds what a compliance officer would find, and writes it down.
The inspection system at Pike Consulting Group is modeled on how OSHA conducts job site inspections. A qualified safety professional inspects the site, materials and equipment, documents hazards and violations, tells the crew on the spot, advises on abatement, and notifies management immediately if a serious violation is seen or required equipment is missing. Each visit produces a report with site details, personnel, scope of work, photos of hazards and abatement, a synopsis of corrective actions, and recommendations for rewards or reprimands.
Will the firm stand with the company when OSHA arrives?
Representation during an inspection is the point where a consulting relationship either pays for itself or turns out to have been a binder. Ask whether the firm will be onsite during an inspection, who talks to the compliance officer, and whether the firm produces the records OSHA asks for.
Representation is on the list at Pike Consulting Group: onsite during the inspection, direct communication with OSHA, production of the documentation, and support through any investigation that follows. The approach is described as cooperative rather than confrontational, presenting safety as something the company lives by and can prove. The OSHA inspection representation page sets out what to have ready when an inspector arrives.
Does the firm know residential, multi-family and commercial work?
The hazards differ. A residential framer’s fall exposure, a multi-family site with several trades in one stairwell, and a commercial site with cranes and excavation each need a different plan, and a firm that writes one template for all three has written one that fits none.
The construction division at Pike Consulting Group works across residential, multi-family and commercial construction, with builders, general contractors, subcontractors, installers and remodelers. The site says the team brings years of experience as builders and contractors to its programs. Its multi-family work is written up on the multi-family construction safety consultant page, including how subcontractor safety programs are vetted at onboarding and monitored through the job.
What records will the builder hold at the end of the year?
The records are the product. OSHA’s first question after an accident is what the employer has done to ensure the health and safety of its employees, and the answer is paper: the written plan, training attendance, inspection reports, and incident and corrective action reports. A firm that keeps those for the builder, in order, has done most of the job.
Pike Consulting Group’s system comes with a written Health and Safety Plan, training attendance documentation, employee and subcontractor handbooks, safety agreements, job site inspection forms, and incident and corrective action reports. Clients on Safety Management Services also get secure documentation management and an assigned safety manager, described on the safety manager page.
How should a builder compare two firms?
Put the same six questions to each and write the answers down: who runs the system after the training, who teaches and in what language, whether inspections follow OSHA’s method and produce a report, whether the firm will be onsite with OSHA, whether it knows the builder’s kind of construction, and what records the builder holds at the end. A firm that answers all six plainly makes a short list on its own.
What moves the cost is the scope, not the firm’s name: how many sites are active, how many trades are subcontracted, whether a safety manager is assigned or the builder’s own staff runs the plan, and how often the sites are inspected. Ask each firm to quote the same scope, then compare.
Questions we get asked
Is a local firm better than a national one?
Location matters for inspections, because someone has to drive to the site, and for representation, because someone has to be there when OSHA is. Pike Consulting Group is based in Fayetteville, south of Atlanta, and works nationwide with a primary focus on the Southeast, Southwest, Midwest and East Coast.
Do we need a consultant if we already have a safety manager?
Not always. A safety manager who owns the written plan, the training records and the inspection reports may need nothing more than an outside assessment. Pike Consulting Group offers an introductory safety assessment of safety culture, workplace conditions and system effectiveness, and a free self-assessment tool on its Safety Solutions page.
Can a subcontractor hire the firm, or only the general contractor?
Either can. Pike Consulting Group works with both, and a consultant hired by the general contractor can hold every trade on the site to one standard. The OSHA compliance consultant page describes what the engagement looks like from the builder’s side.
How does a first conversation start?
With a call to (678) 208-5548 or a note through the contact page, and a description of what is being built and where it stands. The first step the site describes is an assessment, not a contract.
Have a jobsite that needs a safety plan?
Tell us what you are building and where it stands. We will tell you what the program or the inspection support would involve.
