Office of Safety, Health, & Environmental Management with image of the Castle in the background

Smithsonian Institution Safety Manual

The Smithsonian’s Office of Safety, Health, and Environmental Management (OSHEM) maintains the Smithsonian’s Safety Manual and makes it available to all employees and affiliated staff. The Safety Manual available here is the current version.

OSHEM assists Smithsonian offices and units in maintaining a safe and healthy workplace and is available to assist whenever questions or concerns arise on issues that may not be directly addressed by the Safety Manual.

Section 1: Safety at the Smithsonian

Chapter Title
1 Overview
2 Roles and Responsibilities
3 Elements of a Comprehensive Safety, Health and Environmental Management Program

Section 2: Implementing a Comprehensive Safety Program

Chapter Title
4  Safety Risk Management Program
5 Safety Assessments, Log of Deficiencies and Corrective Action Plan
6 Training
7 Injury/Incident Reporting and Investigation
8 Program Reporting and Recordkeeping Procedures

Section 3: Operational Topics

Chapter Title
9 General Workplace Safety
10 Fall Protection
11  Machinery, Machine Guarding, and Hand and Portable Powered Tools
12 Lock-Out / Tag-Out Program
13 Materials Handling and Storage
14 Hot Work Management and Permit System
15 Confined Space Entry
16 Electrical Safety
17 Personal Protective Equipment
18 Respiratory Protection
19 Chemical Handling and Storage
20 Compressed, Liquefied and Cryogenic Gases
21 Paint and Spray Finish Operations
22 Asbestos
23 Lead-Containing Materials
24 Collections-Based Hazards
25 Chemical Hazard Communication
26 Laboratory Safety Plans
27 Ventilation for Health Hazard Control
28 Environmental Management Systems
29 Hazardous Waste Management
30 Underground Storage Tank Management Program
31 Pesticides Management
32 Ionizing Radiation
33 Non-ionizing Radiation
34 Laser Safety
35 Fire Systems Inspection Testing and Maintenance (ITM)
36 Fire Protection
37 Life Safety Program
38 Fire Prevention
39 Exposure Assessment and Medical Surveillance
40 Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Control Program
41 Occupational Noise
42 Temperature Extremes (Heat)
43 Temperature Extremes (Cold)
44 Zoonoses Control

Section 4: Attachments

Please note: not all attachments are in this list. Some attachments remain part of the chapter files, available above. If you do not see the attachment you are looking for in this list, please open the appropriate chapter to locate it.

Chapter Title
Ch 14 Attach 1 SI Hot Work Permit (Daily) Form
Ch 14 Attach 2 Hot Work Permit Decision Tree
Ch 14 Attach 3 Fire Watch Decision Matrix
Ch 14 Attach 4 SI Designated (Fixed) Shop Hot Work Permit Form
Ch 14 Attach 5 Hot Work In Progress Signage (Daily)
Ch 17 Attach 6 Safety Glasses
Ch 18 Attach 1 Respirator Authorization Form
Ch 36 Attach 4 Fire System Impairment Permit
Ch 37 Attach 1 Items/Features Required Prior to Issuance Occupancy Permit
Ch 37 Attach 2 Occupancy Permit
Ch 37 Attach 3 Occupancy Placard
Ch 37 Attach 4 Special Events Checklist
Ch 38 Attach 1 Fire Safety During Construction, Tar Kettles, and Bituminous Melters
Ch 38 Attach 2 Electric Portable Heater Tracking Sheet Sample
Ch 38 Attach 3 Electric Portable Heater Label Sample
Ch 38 Attach 4 Employee Electric Portable Heater User Agreement

Last Update: July 1, 2024