Starting on Friday evening, December 10, 2021, and lasting until dawn the following day, a multistate tornado outbreak of at least 70 tornados occurred with approximately 25 impacting Tennessee. Tennessee OSHA (TOSHA) senior management identified a need for outreach to keep people safe during tornado response activities in Middle and West Tennessee. Dividing TOSHA's resources based on locality, TOSHA Consultative Services responded to four areas in Middle Tennessee with TOSHA's enforcement section assisting in the west.

TOSHA Consultative Services identified impacted areas via its existing professional relationships. Dickson County was the hardest hit in Middle Tennessee, so staff first reached out to the Dickson County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). David McLaughlin, Dickson County LEPC Chairman said: "[Our] members have had a great working relationship with TOSHA over the years. We tend to focus on workplace hazards and what we can do to mitigate those hazards, but we don't really think about some of the hazards around the home, especially during the fog of cleaning up after a natural disaster. We spent time with TOSHA Consultative Services in the immediate areas of destruction looking to help folks working on the cleanup efforts with working in a safe manner."

Along with Dickson County, TOSHA Consultative Services identified damaged areas in Cheatham, Stewart, and Wilson counties. TOSHA Consultative Services identified additional local resources including the county safety directors on file with TOSHA's Public Sector section and via staff relationships with emergency responders, homeowner's insurance adjusters, news outlets, social media community groups, clergy, and residents of impacted areas. A focused and efficient plan was developed to reach the affected areas, detailed to specific street addresses. The activities were timed so that community recovery efforts would not be disrupted. Five consultants covered these areas over a three-day period. The community response consisted of extensive debris clean-up, utility work, demolition, and stabilization/repair of commercial and residential property.

TOSHA Consultative Services' goal for outreach during a disaster is to prevent injuries during cleanup, assessment, and repairs in impacted areas. Historically, potential injuries include OSHA's "Focus Four" in Construction: Falls, Struck-by, Caught-in/Between, and Electrocution. Additional hazards include eye/face injuries, hazards of tree-trimming, foot crush and puncture injuries, and vermin. Inappropriate heating methods and improper generator use can also often lead to carbon monoxide (CO) overexposures. Consultation's role was to distribute TOSHA Local Emphasis Program pamphlets for falls and CO, along with general safety information and personal protective equipment for persons involved in cleanup or repair activity. Again, David McLaughlin: "The goal is to prevent adding to the overall problems our community members are facing during this time by sustaining preventable injuries during the cleanup process. Consultation helped us reach this goal by passing out work gloves, safety glasses, and hearing protection. They also provided general guidance on safe work practices to prevent injuries associated with being struck by debris, chain saw use, and heavy equipment use."

TOSHA Consultative Services conducted 58 interventions in the four Middle Tennessee counties, impacting approximately 160 individuals. These interventions were completed in 12 hours over the three-day period due to the efficient planning and identification of impacted areas. While hazard exposure varied throughout the four counties, nearly 20% of the interventions addressed falls from heights, a TOSHA Local Emphasis Program and frequently a leading cause of workplace fatalities.

David McLaughlin sums up the Consultation role as follows: "When you hear that OSHA is in the area, people tend to think enforcement, but not prevention. Just as Benjamin Franklin advised Philadelphians, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It is important that we can recover from disasters, but it is just as important that we do it safely."

The OSHA On-Site Consultation Program offers no-cost and confidential occupational safety and health services to small and medium-sized businesses in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories, with priority given to high hazard worksites. Consultants from state agencies or universities work with employers to identify workplace hazards and how to fix them, provide advice for compliance with OSHA standards, train and educate workers, and assist in establishing and improving safety and health programs. On-Site Consultation services are separate from OSHA enforcement efforts. To locate the OSHA On-Site Consultation program nearest you, call 800-321-OSHA (6742) or visit https://www.osha.gov/consultation