AuditsCompliance-in-a-Box: The Startup Guide to Audit-Ready DocsSVSid Varma · 12 min readFor safety managers and EHS leads who keep the written hazard communication, emergency, fire prevention, lockout, respiratory and bloodborne pathogens programs an OSHA compliance officer asks for first.
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Checked against primary sources on 18 October 2026.
Private-sector employers under the OSH Act, and public employers under State Plans, whose workplaces present the hazard a standard covers, such as hazardous chemicals, hazardous energy, required respirator use or occupational blood exposure.
OSHA compliance safety and health officers, or inspectors of an OSHA-approved State Plan
No fixed inspection cycle; inspections follow complaints, referrals, severe injury reports and emphasis programs, while individual standards set annual reviews, inspections and training
29 CFR Part 1910 and Part 1926 as published in the eCFR; 1910.1200 last amended by the January 15, 2026 final rule (91 FR 1695) and February 13, 2026 corrections (91 FR 6760), 2026-02-13. Free to read.
| Date | What happens | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-15 | OSHA final rule moves the 2024 hazard communication compliance dates back four months | Done |
| 2026-05-19 | Hazard communication: manufacturers, importers and distributors meet the revised rules for substances | Done |
| 2026-11-20 | Hazard communication: employers update alternative labeling, the written program and training for newly identified substance hazards | Scheduled |
| 2027-11-19 | Hazard communication: manufacturers, importers and distributors meet the revised rules for mixtures | Scheduled |
| 2028-05-19 | Hazard communication: employers update the written program and training for newly identified mixture hazards | Scheduled |
Each one needs an owner, an approval, and proof it reached the people it covers.
29 CFR 1910.1200(e)
Describes how labels, safety data sheets and training are handled at each workplace, with a list of hazardous chemicals using the same product identifiers as the SDSs.
29 CFR 1910.38
Required in writing when another OSHA standard calls for one, kept at the workplace and reviewed with each covered employee; ten or fewer employees may communicate it orally.
29 CFR 1910.39
Names major fire hazards, ignition source controls, the fire equipment for each hazard and the people or job titles responsible, reviewed with employees at initial assignment.
29 CFR 1910.147(c)(4), (c)(6), (c)(7)
Machine-specific procedures setting out scope, shutdown, isolation, device placement and verification steps, backed by an annual periodic inspection and employee training.
29 CFR 1910.134(c)
A worksite-specific written program run by a qualified program administrator, covering selection, medical evaluation, fit testing, use, maintenance and training, updated as conditions change.
29 CFR 1910.1030(c)(1)
A written plan with the exposure determination and implementation schedule, reviewed at least annually, documenting safer device evaluation and input from frontline employees.
Citations are to the standard or regulation; wording is ours.
What reviewers sample about these documents and the people they cover.
OSHA's Field Operations Manual has compliance officers review three years of OSHA 300 logs and programs including hazard communication, lockout/tagout, emergency evacuation and PPE, and request the written PPE hazard assessment.
The hazard communication, respiratory protection and bloodborne pathogens standards each require the written program to be available to OSHA on request, so the current version is expected on the day.
Officers can ask for the annual periodic inspection record naming the equipment, date, employees and inspector, and the training record listing each employee's name and training dates.
The latest annual plan review with safer device consideration, and three years of training records showing dates, content summary, trainer qualifications and attendee names and job titles.
Write each policy, send it through approval, and send it to the people it covers. Each acknowledgment is recorded by name, with the version, the date and the time.
When a policy changes, the new version is approved, its Editor sends it out again, and everyone it applies to is asked again. Export the record as a PDF or CSV, or give a reviewer Viewer access to the documents their tags allow.
Need help with the rest of OSHA written programs? Find a consultant for your standard (opens in a new tab).
Your region’s laws, the standards your customers ask for, and your own house rules. Write each one as a policy, approve it, and send it to the people it covers.
Only when another OSHA standard requires one. Where it is required, the plan is written, kept at the workplace and available to employees, although employers with ten or fewer employees may communicate it orally.
Yes. As amended in January 2026, employers have until November 20, 2026 to update the written program, alternative labeling and training for newly identified substance hazards, and until May 19, 2028 for mixtures.
The two are separate records. Standards such as lockout/tagout and bloodborne pathogens define their own training records with names and dates, and bloodborne pathogens adds content, trainer and job title details.
Construction hazard communication at 1926.59 is identical to 1910.1200, and 1926.35 requires a written emergency action plan when a construction standard calls for one. The respirable crystalline silica standard adds a written exposure control plan reviewed at least annually.
OSHA's preliminary FY2026 list ranks hazard communication second, lockout/tagout third and respiratory protection sixth. Fall protection in construction remains first.
Industries that hear about OSHA written programs most.
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