ANSI Class B First Aid Kit: Contents and OSHA Compliance

An ANSI Class B first aid kit must contain 22 categories of supplies in the minimum quantities set by ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2021, including two items you won’t find in a Class A kit: a tourniquet and a padded splint. Class B is the higher-capacity option in the standard, built for workplaces where injuries are more likely to be severe. Stocking one is the clearest way most employers show they’ve met OSHA’s general requirement for “adequate first aid supplies” under 29 CFR 1910.151(b).1eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.151 – Medical Services and First Aid

The Complete Class B Minimum Fill

Table 1 of ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2021 sets the following minimum contents for a Class B kit.2The ANSI Blog. Workplace First Aid Kits – ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2021 – Classes, Types, and the Standard These are floors, not targets; a workplace with heightened risk can and should stock more.

  • Adhesive bandages, 1 × 3 in: 50
  • Adhesive tape, 2.5 yd total: 2 rolls
  • Antibiotic treatment, 0.5 g: 25 applications
  • Antiseptic, 0.5 g: 50 applications
  • Burn dressing, gel-soaked, 4 × 4 in: 2
  • Burn treatment, 0.9 g: 25 applications
  • Cold pack, 4 × 5 in: 2
  • CPR breathing barrier: 1
  • Eye covering with attachment: 2
  • Eye/skin wash: 4 fl oz total
  • First aid guide: 1
  • Foil blanket, 52 × 84 in: 1
  • Hand sanitizer, 0.9 g: 20 applications
  • Medical exam gloves: 4 pairs
  • Roller bandage, 2 in × 4 yd: 2
  • Roller bandage, 4 in × 4 yd: 1
  • Scissors: 1
  • Sterile pad, 3 × 3 in: 4
  • Trauma pad, 5 × 9 in: 4
  • Triangular bandage, 40 × 40 × 56 in: 2
  • Splint, 4 × 24 in: 1
  • Tourniquet: 1

Note that oral pain relievers and anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen or aspirin are supplemental under the standard, not part of the required fill.3The ANSI Blog. What Should Be in an ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 First Aid Kit Automated external defibrillators are also outside the ANSI standard and are not required by OSHA in any industry, though many employers add one to a Class B kit in high-risk settings.4Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) – Standards

What Sets Class B Apart From Class A

Class A covers common workplace injuries: minor cuts, abrasions, and small burns. Class B contains every item in a Class A kit, but in greater quantities, and adds the tourniquet and splint that Class A lacks.2The ANSI Blog. Workplace First Aid Kits – ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2021 – Classes, Types, and the Standard Those two items address the injuries a Class A kit isn’t built for: severe extremity bleeding and fractures or crush injuries where a limb has to be immobilized before the worker can be moved. They exist in the Class B list because industrial settings can put minutes between an injury and professional care, and a tourniquet or splint can be the difference in that window.

Container Type Ratings

Class refers to what’s inside a kit. Type refers to the container and where it can go. When you shop for a kit you’ll usually see both designations together, such as “Class B, Type IV.”2The ANSI Blog. Workplace First Aid Kits – ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2021 – Classes, Types, and the Standard

  • Type I: Stationary indoor use, typically wall-mounted.
  • Type II: Portable indoor use.
  • Type III: Portable, water-resistant, suitable for indoor or outdoor use, and mountable.
  • Type IV: Portable for mobile or outdoor work, meeting the standard’s corrosion, moisture, and impact resistance tests.

A construction crew working outdoors and an office building can both use Class B contents, but they need different containers to protect them.

When Class B Is the Right Choice

The ANSI standard does not assign a class to a specific industry. It expects the employer to run a hazard assessment and pick.5International Safety Equipment Association. First Aid Two factors drive most workplaces toward Class B.

The first is injury severity. Manufacturing floors with hydraulic presses, construction sites with power tools, and warehouses with forklifts produce the deep lacerations, fractures, and crush injuries a Class B kit is stocked to handle. An office with paper cuts and occasional falls is not that environment.

The second is distance from emergency care. OSHA has interpreted the general industry rule to require that treatment be available within three to four minutes when life-threatening injuries such as severe bleeding or breathing failure are reasonably possible; where those injuries are unlikely, up to 15 minutes may be acceptable.6Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Standard Interpretation – 1910.151(b) If an ambulance cannot reach your site inside that window, the on-site kit has to bridge the gap, and Class B’s tourniquet and splint are what does the bridging.

Size and spread of the workforce matter separately. One Class B kit does not serve 200 workers across a large facility. Larger, more dispersed operations need multiple kits placed so no worker is far from one.

How Class B Contents Line Up With OSHA

ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2021 is a voluntary consensus standard. OSHA has not adopted it as a mandatory rule. The federal requirement in 29 CFR 1910.151(b) says only that when no infirmary, clinic, or hospital is in near proximity, the employer must have someone trained in first aid and “adequate first aid supplies” readily available.1eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.151 – Medical Services and First Aid

The word “adequate” is where the ANSI standard comes in. OSHA’s non-mandatory appendix to the general industry medical services standard and the appendix to the construction first aid standard both point to ANSI Z308.1 as an example of minimum contents.7The ANSI Blog. Workplace First Aid Kit Requirements: OSHA and ANSI Z308.1 If an inspector arrives and questions your supplies, the ANSI standard is the yardstick they will measure against, even though it is not itself the law. Stocking a Class B kit that meets the 2021 fill list is strong evidence you have met the federal obligation.

Failing to provide adequate supplies can bring a citation. For serious violations in 2025, penalties range from a minimum of $1,221 to a maximum of $16,550 per violation; willful or repeated violations reach $165,514 per violation.8Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 2025 Annual Adjustments to OSHA Civil Penalties

Industries With Their Own Content Rules

General industry leaves the contents list to employer judgment. A few OSHA standards do not.

Construction sites operate under 29 CFR 1926.50. Kits must be in weatherproof containers with individually sealed packages, checked before each job begins and at least weekly during the project. The standard’s non-mandatory appendix references ANSI Z308.1 as an example of minimum contents.9eCFR. 29 CFR 1926.50 – Medical Services and First Aid

Logging operations under 29 CFR 1910.266 spell out required items directly. Each cutting site, each active landing, and each employee transport vehicle must carry a kit containing gauze pads, adhesive bandages, roller bandage, triangular bandages, wound cleaning agents, scissors, a blanket, tweezers, adhesive tape, gloves, resuscitation equipment, elastic wraps, a splint, and emergency contact directions.10eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.266 – Logging Operations

Shipyard employment, marine terminals, and longshoring each have their own medical services provisions tailored to maritime hazards.2The ANSI Blog. Workplace First Aid Kits – ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2021 – Classes, Types, and the Standard State-plan states may also impose requirements more stringent than federal OSHA.

Keeping a Class B Kit Compliant

Contents drift out of compliance faster than most people expect. Inspect kits at least monthly, and immediately after any incident where supplies are used.5International Safety Equipment Association. First Aid Construction is stricter: before each job and weekly during the project.9eCFR. 29 CFR 1926.50 – Medical Services and First Aid

Look for broken package seals, which indicate contamination. Check expiration dates on antibiotic ointments, burn treatments, antiseptics, and eye wash. Verify that gloves have not dried out or cracked. Replace anything used immediately rather than waiting for the next scheduled review. A half-empty kit sitting between Monday and Friday is a compliance gap.

Document each inspection with a dated checklist showing what was checked, what was replaced, and who performed the review. That paperwork is your evidence in an OSHA audit that the kit is a working resource. Keep it in a clearly marked, accessible location every employee knows about; a locked cabinet behind a supervisor’s desk defeats the purpose.

A Class B Item Can Turn an Injury Into a Recordable

Using supplies from a Class B kit does not automatically make an injury recordable, but some uses do. OSHA defines “first aid” as a closed list of specific treatments under 29 CFR 1904.7. Anything off that list is “medical treatment,” and medical treatment generally makes an injury recordable on your OSHA 300 log.11Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 29 CFR 1904.7 – General Recording Criteria Several Class B items sit on the line:

  • Adhesive bandages, sterile pads, gauze, wound coverings: first aid.
  • Butterfly bandages and wound closure strips: first aid.
  • The splint used to immobilize a body part only for transport: first aid.
  • The splint or any rigid device used to immobilize a body part beyond transport: medical treatment, and the injury is recordable.
  • Sutures or staples (not in the kit, but the alternative when bandages aren’t enough): medical treatment.

The classification does not turn on who provides the care. A physician applying a bandage is performing first aid; a coworker applying rigid immobilization is providing medical treatment. What the treatment is decides how it’s recorded.