What the standard actually says
For general industry, 29 CFR 1910.151 requires three things: medical personnel available for advice and consultation; in the absence of an infirmary, clinic, or hospital in near proximity to the workplace, a person or persons adequately trained to render first aid, with adequate first aid supplies readily available; and, where employees may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body. Construction has a parallel requirement at 29 CFR 1926.50.
"Near proximity" is the load-bearing phrase: OSHA's interpretations treat roughly 3–4 minutes as the benchmark for life-threatening emergencies and about 15 minutes for other serious injuries. If emergency care is not reliably that close, someone on shift must be trained.
Trained personnel: who and how many
Enough trained people that every shift and every work area has coverage — one certificate held by a day-shift office manager does not cover a night crew or a remote site. First-aid and CPR training from recognized providers satisfies the requirement; refreshers follow the certificate's cycle.
Designated first-aid responders are also "occupationally exposed" under the bloodborne pathogens standard (1910.1030), which brings annual training and exposure-control obligations — the pairing most employers miss.
Kits: what "adequate supplies" means
OSHA does not publish a mandatory kit inventory; its non-mandatory guidance points to ANSI/ISEA Z308.1, which defines Class A kits (common workplace injuries) and Class B kits (higher-risk, more complex environments), plus quantities by workplace size. Choosing kit class and stocking cadence from your hazard assessment — and assigning someone to actually restock — is what "adequate and readily available" looks like in practice.
Eyewash and drench requirements
Where employees can be exposed to injurious corrosive materials — battery charging areas, chemical handling, many maintenance shops — 1910.151(c) requires suitable drenching/flushing facilities within immediate reach of the hazard. The consensus benchmark (ANSI Z358.1) is a unit reachable within about 10 seconds, on an unobstructed path, delivering tepid flushing for 15 minutes. Wall-mounted squeeze bottles supplement but do not replace a plumbed or gravity-fed station for corrosive exposures.
References and further reading
Check the current source and your worksite’s requirements before acting.
Frequently asked questions
Coverage, training, and restocks — tracked
SafeGora maps first-aid coverage per shift and site, tracks responder certificates and bloodborne-pathogens training cycles, and keeps inspection-ready evidence of all of it.