Circa 1932-Lunch Atop a Skyscraper
1905 Shipbuilding Welder
Circa 1910-Log Pond
Cotton Mill 1909 Courtesy of Smithsonian
Circa 1920-Dipper

History and Scope of Work

MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
With our goal to help our clients’ businesses to grow, by taking on the burdensome chore of regulatory compliance, we strive to help each client to develop, to their fullest potential, progressive and innovative employee health and safety programs.  In this capacity we provide— 

  • Planning, coordinating and management of programs and processes for maximum efficiency
  • Building and leading teams within, and across, organizations and agencies.
  • Ensuring policy compliance.

CURRENT SCOPE OF WORK 
Our service to the North Coast business and industrial community continues to broaden and extend to areas North, South and East of our beautiful redwood coast. While continuing our work in compliance with the transportation industry, we have cultivated and amplified our focus in occupational safety (specifically to CCR—California Code of Regulations- Title 8 compliance - Covering virtually all aspects of employee and workplace safety. Currently, 50 local employers, representing hundreds of employees, are members of NCSC.  Members enjoy services including facility inspections, accident investigation services and policy updates in response to changes in various federal and state regulations.  In addition, member companies are able to send employees  to a wide variety of courses, at little or no cost. Over 150 additional employers, including utilities, community services districts, municipalities,  manufacturing companies, construction, and elder and disabled service organizations are able to utilize our wide variety of services. Training courses we are able to offer our clients largely relate to that area into which we have extended our efforts, chiefly CCR Title 8 requirements, but also topics which effect overall safety in the workplace, such as Workplace Violence, Sexual Harassment/Abusive Conduct and Drug and Alcohol Testing courses, among others.


BEGINNINGS
The Northern California Safety Consortium (NCSC) was founded in 1989 under the name Ben Hurd & Associates as a consulting firm, specializing in transportation industry regulations and compliance.  With the  passage of SB198 in 1990 (1989), a broader need for OSHA (Cal-OSHA for all California businesses) consulting services was recognized, with Paul B. Hurd joining the firm as its principal safety consultant.  In tandem with the continuing work serving the local and out of area transportation industry the other area of emphasis became the development of effective, written Injury and Illness Prevention programs for employers, large and small on the North Coast.  Under the regulations now governing workplace safety, in California, employers were also required to provide training to many regulations now part of their IIPPs.  With the expansion into safety consulting, NCSC also began offering many training courses to further serve our clients expanding needs.   In 1993, the NCSC was established as a membership organization to provide a cost-effective means for small and medium-sized employers to utilize NCSC’s consulting and training services.  In 1994 Ben Hurd & Associates was purchased by Arcata-Mad River Ambulance, Inc., and today remains a wholly-owned subsidiary doing business as Northern California Safety Consortium.  From our founding roots working with employers in the trucking and transportation industry to our expanding services working with employers in a variety of industries, the Northern California Safety Consortium offers a helping hand to its members and private industry in compliance with the ever-increasing complexities of State and Federal regulations.  To further its purpose, the NCSC has fostered a unique alliance and working relationship with personnel in regulatory agencies such as Humboldt County Division of Environmental Health and Cal-OSHA among others.