Instructor Profile: Harvey Harnish
Instructor and trainer in occupational safety at Rocky Mountain Education Center and owner of Universal Safety Consulting L.L.C.

Using talent, training, commitment, and creativity to do the work that he enjoys, Harvey Harnish has worked in the safety profession since 1979.

Colorado has been Harvey’s home for most of his life. He graduated from Alameda High School in Lakewood, Colorado, attended Trinidad State Junior College, and then enrolled in Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado from which he graduated with a BA in Psychology.  Trinidad then became his home, and he and his wife Debbie, a second grade teacher, still reside there.   

From the 5th grade to the present Harvey has enjoyed golf.  His interest and enjoyment of this sport in high school opened the opportunity for him to play on a high school team and that led to a college golf scholarship.

Harvey’s BA in Psychology determined the first job: a counselor at Colorado Boys’ Ranch in La Junta.  Life’s journey took a new turn in the road when Harvey’s friend opened a surface coal mine, taught Harvey mining and mine safety, and offered Harvey a job.  For two years, he worked a surface mine safety job on the day shift, drove 48 miles, and then worked in an underground mine on the swing shift.  The locations were in the Trinidad and Walsenburg areas.

The safety profession has remained as Harvey’s choice; he has worked in the mining industry and construction industry, and he has instructed college level courses in occupational safety and health.

Twelve years ago, Harvey brought his expertise in construction and general industry to Rocky Mountain Education Center at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, Colorado.  He is the chairperson for the electrical and machine guarding courses at RMEC and provides training in many OSHA construction courses both on campus and off-site locations. Harvey requested that a thank-you to his students be included here:

“I would like to thank all of the students who have been through my courses.  Through your comments, questions, stories, experiences, pictures, and articles that you shared with me over the years, it has made me a much better instructor and has given me the opportunity to share those experiences and materials with other students in the classroom.”

In 1994, the safety profession journey took another path, one of risk and creativity; Harvey established Universal Safety Consulting L.L.C.  Since that adventure began, his company has provided safety consulting services  to companies and organizations nationwide.  Services provided include the following: Safety Inspections, Safety Audits, OSHA Compliance Training, Safety Training, Safety Program Development, and Safety Consulting Services.  Some of the companies and organizations who have utilized services provided through his company are Lockheed Martin Corporation, Adolph Coors Company, Morrison Knudson, Washington Group, & OSHA.

Harvey also has been a guest speaker at numerous local, state, and national conventions:

• American Society of Safety Engineers
• American Plastic Society National Convention
• Montana’s Governor’s Convention
• Phelps Dodge National Safety Convention
• Enron’s National Safety Convention
• Mine Safety and Health Administrations National Safety Convention

Professional OSHA training CD’s, authored by Harvey Harnish and distributed by Rocky Mountain Education Center, consist of Construction, General Industry, Electrical Standards, and Machine Guarding.

Contact Information

Harvey Harnish
Universal Safety Consulting L.L.C.
2645 Delagua Street
Trinidad, Colorado 81082
Office Phone: (719) 846-9480
E-Mail: universalsafety@mindspring.com