John LechmanCIH, CHSP, CHMM

John has over thirty years of experience in the fields of Occupational Safety & Health (OSH), Industrial Hygiene (IH), Fire Protection and Environmental Management. Prior to joining VERTEX, John was the National Director of the US Department of Veterans Affairs/Veterans Health Administration (VHA) OSH program where he developed a broad range of guidelines and regulations for VHA applications, serving as the principal advisor for the Deputy Under Secretary for Support in matters related to OSH and Environmental programs for all VHA employees. Before coming to VHACO’s Office of OSH as an Occupational Safety Program Manager, he was the VHA’s Consolidate Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) National Office IH and two positions with VISN 17 as the Network IH and OSH Manager, where he was responsible for the comprehensive OSH and IH Programs and Surveys of all CMOP and VISN Healthcare facilities, as well as the CMOP/Network Emergency Preparedness and Environmental Management Programs. John’s experience also includes 10+ years at two VHA Medical Centers as Industrial Hygienist/Occupational Health & Safety Manger, where he obtained extensive experience with developing and implementing comprehensive and effective environmental/IH/OSH programs and performing a multitude of evaluations at full-service medical facilities. For many years, John was a faculty member on National level VHA training teams for Basic and Intermediate Occupational Safety, Intermediate and Advanced IH, Environmental Management, Safety Management Systems, Pharmaceutical/USP safety and compliance, Respiratory Protection Program Management, and other training events and seminars.

John also served as technical leader for the Occupational Safety and Fire Prevention Section of the Univ. of Texas Medical Branch Facilities Environmental Health & Safety Department, providing full spectrum fire protection and life safety, construction project safety oversite, occupational safety & health, and environmental expertise for over 12,000 employees in Healthcare, Research/Clinical Laboratories and Educational environments including construction design review/site safety. He has experience conducting health and safety assessments on a campus with over 7 million square feet of building space ranging from over 3 million square feet of healthcare occupancy to one of the few Biological Safety Level IV Laboratories in the world.

John held the position as Industrial Hygiene Manager for a full-service environmental consulting firm, responsible for the comprehensive management and direction of all IAQ and IH investigations and asbestos, lead, and microbial remediation project management. Additionally, he was manager of firm’s asbestos lab (bulk and air) including accreditation programs for the lab and all field technicians/microscopist. He managed all Industrial Hygiene project activities, technicians and support staff. John conducted multiple professional education and licensing courses including Asbestos worker, supervisor, air monitor, inspector and designer/management planner, OSHA 40 Hour HAZWOPER, lead assessment and abatement, NIOSH 582 equivalent, OSHA Respiratory Protection Program Management and many others.

John is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Certified Healthcare Safety Professional (CHSP), and Certified Hazardous Material Manager (CHMM)

Geographic Experience

Experience in Healthcare Facilities across the United States

Areas of Services

OSH Program Development, Management and Oversight, Occupational Safety and OSHA Recordkeeping, Industrial Hygiene/Exposure Assessments, Healthcare OSH Program Management, TJC Accreditation/EOC, Safety Management Systems, Construction Safety and Infection Control Risk Assessments, Hazardous Materials and Waste Management, Pharmaceutical Safety/USP Compliance, OSHA and EPA Training

Expert Witness Services

Construction Safety & Accident, Water Intrusion, Air Quality, Demolition & Abatement, Environmental Safety, Hazardous Waste Management, Construction Safety, Healthcare Fire Protection & Life Safety, Occupational Safety and Health, Industrial Hygiene/Exposure

Education & Certification

BA (Chemistry), 1991; Louisiana Tech University
Certified Industrial Hygienist (Comprehensive Practice), 2003
Certified Healthcare Safety Professional, 2001
Certified Hazardous Material Manager, 2007