These are the questions people ask about Michael Karl McNeil before they engage McNeil Safety Consulting, answered plainly. The credentials, professional memberships and publications pages carry the detail behind each answer.
Who is Michael Karl McNeil?
Michael Karl McNeil is the principal of McNeil Safety Consulting in San Gabriel, California, an environmental health and safety, industrial hygiene and expert consulting practice. He holds the REP, RIH, EPP and QSD designations, spent twenty-five years in the fire service, serving as a Fire Battalion Chief in federal fire, and has worked in occupational health and safety since 1989. He performs every engagement personally.
What do REP, RIH, EPP and QSD stand for?
REP is Registered Environmental Professional, conferred in August 2021. RIH is Registered Industrial Hygiene Professional, conferred in March 2024. EPP is Emergency Planning Professional, conferred in January 2025. QSD is Qualified SWPPP Developer, the California construction stormwater qualification held through the State Water Resources Control Board’s SMARTS system. The registrant numbers for the first three are published on the credentials page.
Is Michael Karl McNeil an attorney?
No. He is a safety and industrial hygiene consultant. In Cal/OSHA citation matters he represents employers before the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board as a non-attorney representative and works alongside counsel where a matter needs one. In litigation he is retained by counsel as a consulting or testifying expert. The page for attorneys sets out how that engagement works.
Where is he based, and where does he work?
The office is at 9163 Arcadia Avenue, San Gabriel, California 91775, in Los Angeles County. He works across California and twelve additional Western states. The service area page lists each state and links to the page written for it.
Does he subcontract, or send someone else to the site?
No. McNeil Safety Consulting is a two-person company and Michael performs the consulting, industrial hygiene, citation defense and expert work himself. He walks the site, writes the report and answers for it at the hearing. No credential on this site belongs to an employee, an affiliate or a network partner.
How can I verify his credentials?
The credentials page gives the registrant numbers for the REP, RIH and EPP registrations, the QSD registration through SMARTS, current BLS and ACLS provider status, and his course records, and states which items can be checked independently. Certificates are provided on request. The memberships page gives member numbers where an organization issues one. A third-party background screening report is held on file and is provided to a client or to retaining counsel on request.
What does “former Fire Battalion Chief” refer to?
Twenty-five years in the fire service in a federal fire agency, advancing from Fire Prevention Captain to Fire Battalion Chief, Prevention, with command qualifications carried under the National Wildfire Coordinating Group system and state fire training credentials issued through the California State Fire Marshal system. His fire service page covers that career in more detail.
Does McNeil Safety Consulting investigate fires?
No. Michael’s fire-service background is part of his record, but the company does not offer fire origin-and-cause or arson investigation. It does offer fire life safety and emergency response planning, hazardous materials work, and post-fire indoor environmental assessment.
Are there other people named Michael Karl McNeil?
Yes. Several people share the name. The Michael Karl McNeil described on this site is the San Gabriel, California safety consultant who holds the REP, RIH, EPP and QSD designations, served as a Fire Battalion Chief, and is the principal of McNeil Safety Consulting. A record that carries none of those markers — the company, the designations, the fire-service rank — is about someone else. His name is also written Michael K. McNeil and Mike McNeil; those refer to the same person.
How are fees set?
Fees for consulting, citation defense and expert work are quoted for the specific matter before any work begins. On the first call, describe the citation, the site, the exposure or the matter, and Michael will say whether it is work he does and what the next step is.
How do I reach him?
By phone at (626) 546-9384, by email at mike@mcneilsafetyconsulting.com, or through the contact page. If you are holding a Cal/OSHA citation, call rather than write: the window to appeal is fifteen working days from receipt of the citation.