Your First 90 Days as a CHO

A course for newly named Chemical Hygiene Officers on what to do first, and in what order

You have just been named the Chemical Hygiene Officer. This course takes you through your first 90 days: confirming the appointment, finding the records you inherited, acting on what cannot wait, meeting the people whose help you need, seeing every room once, sorting what you found and reporting to leadership at day 90.

It is written for Chemical Hygiene Officers in education and in industry. Every teaching lesson shows the step twice, once in a school or district and once in a company or lab.

Seven modules, one for each stretch of the 90 days

• Days 1 to 5, Confirm the Appointment: is the appointment in writing, which rules cover your workplace, and who held the duty if nobody was named.
• Weeks 1 and 2, Find What You Inherited: the Chemical Hygiene Plan, the 30-year exposure and medical records, injury logs, waste papers and equipment test records.
• Weeks 1 to 3, the Stop-Now List: the hazards that cannot wait 90 days, old and unknown containers, and acting before you have every answer.
• Weeks 2 to 6, First Meetings: who to meet first, what to ask and what to listen for.
• Weeks 3 to 8, the Baseline: one pass through every room, testing the chemical inventory, and checking who has been trained.
• Weeks 6 to 10, Sort and Plan: stop-now, quick win or project, quick wins that build trust, and a 30-60-90 plan.
• Day 90, Report and Set the Year: a one-page report to leadership, and the dates that run the year ahead.

Each module ends with a Task and a set of “What you learned” flip cards. Each Task fills in one fillable template, and the final project assembles them into your First 90 Days binder.