When looking for a safety and health consultant, there are a few critical considerations that will impact the success of your relationship with the consultant that you ultimately select. These are essentially the same general questions one would ask when making any similar decision; namely “who, what, when, where, how, and why?” WHO will do the work for you? Will it be the informed person with whom you make initial contact, or will it be another person in the firm? Keep in mind that the work you need to have done may not necessarily require a senior level professional, and the junior-level professional may be the best person for the job. You should be told, however (without asking) who (or at least their professional level) will be doing the work, and why. All work, however, should have senior oversight. The benchmark of a qualified health and safety consultant is “real” certifications (CIH, CSP) from an organization accredited by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESC). WHAT do you need done and what is the budget? The Consultant should spend some time with you to develop an understanding of what the task entails, and should tell you what they are planning to do, either verbally or in a formal proposal. Consultants with very low fees may not be spending the money to pay for quality staff or stay current in the field, or may be desperate for work – you DO get what you pay for. On the other hand, a high-priced Consultant may not be what you need for the task at hand. WHEN do you need the work done? Generally, the more lead-time anyone has (be it consulting or auto repair), the better the “deal” one can expect – and vice versa. WHERE do you find a safety and health consultant? Ask around, particularly other companies that use Consultants. Go to trade shows and local safety/health meetings. State OSHA consultation programs are available to some employers at no cost. HOW will the work be done? A good Consultant will know or be able to determine fairly easily how to do what needs to be done. If not, you may pay for their learning curve. You should ask about the equipment and methods they would use. Examples follow: Do they calibrate their equipment with primary standards? How frequently do they send their equipment back for “factory” maintenance? Do they keep records of calibrations and maintenance? If applicable, do they use only labs accredited by the American Industrial Hygiene Association? Do they use standardized methods? What particular equipment will they use for the task at hand? How do they manage, report, and store your data, and are your records easily retrievable? WHY do you need a Consultant? Do you need third party verification? Do they have a skill on which you are not well versed? Are you in a resource crunch? The Consultant should be able to do what you need done.