OSHA regulation search with cited answers
Ask plain-English OSHA questions and get cited answers from 29 CFR standard text, OSHA interpretation letters, and the enforcement record. Every claim carries a .gov link you can open in front of a board or an OSHA Area Director.
Each question runs a live query against the OSHA record.
Anatomy of a cited answer
The worked example below answers the construction fall protection question with the controlling standards linked to osha.gov.
"At what height is fall protection required in construction?"
In construction, fall protection is generally required when an employee works 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above a lower level. The residential rule 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13) and the unprotected sides-and-edges rule 1926.501(b)(1) both set the threshold at 6 feet or more. The design and performance criteria for compliant guardrail, safety-net, and personal fall-arrest systems are set out in 1926.502.
Cairn returns the answer as it is written, with each standard linked to its osha.gov page, so you can open the controlling text and defend the claim. General industry has a lower 4-foot threshold under a different standard, and Cairn points out the difference when your NAICS code calls for it.
- Fig.
- 01
- Source
- osha.gov, 29 CFR 1926
- Standards
- 1926.501 and 1926.502
- Cited
- 3 .gov links
What sources it searches
- 29 CFR standards
- The full text of the construction (Part 1926) and general industry (Part 1910) safety standards, which are the controlling law behind every answer.
- Interpretation letters
- OSHA's written Letters of Interpretation, which explain how a standard applies to specific facts and are indexed by standard number and date back to 2000.
- Directives
- Compliance directives (the CPL series) that tell OSHA's own inspectors how to enforce a standard in the field.
- The enforcement record
- Decades of inspections, citations, penalties, and accident narratives, which show how a standard is actually applied.
The controlling authority is always the 29 CFR text on osha.gov, and interpretation letters, directives, and the enforcement record show how it is applied.
How it answers
How it works
Cairn first plans how to search for your question, which includes choosing the filters and the meaning-based searches to run. It then runs the searches at the same time against the record and writes a cited answer. The planning step takes milliseconds, and the answer appears word by word as it is written, so you can start reading right away.
What gets cited
Cairn cites anything in its record, including 29 CFR standard text, OSHA interpretation letters and directives, enforcement records, accident narratives, and related safety research. When no primary source covers the question, the answer says so rather than inventing one.
Industry context
Set your industry once with its North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. Later questions use your industry, so answers put the standards, citations, and benchmarks that apply to your operations first.
What it replaces
45 minutes searching agency websites and Google for a regulation plus the interpretation that explains how it's applied.
A cited paragraph in seconds, with the regulation and the interpretation both linked.
$280/hr consultant retainer for "is this practice compliant?" questions.
An answer you can check yourself, with the underlying records linked.
Manually scrolling enforcement records to find precedent for a violation.
Inspection narratives shown next to the relevant violation.
Re-asking the same question every quarter and getting different answers.
A saved chat history with the citations behind each response.
Common questions
- At what height is fall protection required in construction?
In construction, OSHA generally requires fall protection when an employee works 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above a lower level, under 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13) and 1926.501(b)(1). General industry uses a lower threshold of 4 feet or more under 29 CFR 1910.28(b)(1)(i). Cairn returns the controlling paragraph with the osha.gov source linked so you can verify it.
- Where do the citations come from?
Every answer comes from primary sources, namely 29 CFR standard text, OSHA interpretation letters, compliance directives, and the federal enforcement record. Each cited claim links to the underlying record, so you can read it yourself.
- What happens if a question can't be answered from a source?
Cairn says so rather than guessing. If a question can't be answered from a primary source, the answer states that no controlling source was found instead of making one up.
- Is a Cairn answer legal advice?
No. Answers are research based on the cited sources and are not legal advice. The controlling authority is always the 29 CFR text published on osha.gov and the official eCFR, and every answer links to the source text directly.