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SECTION B11: CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATIONS
Introduction
Construction and renovation activities at the University can be performed
by either outside contractors or University workers. The work may be
done exclusively by one group or the other, or a project may be a collaborative
effort. Because of these differing arrangements, it often is unclear
who is responsible for a given situation, or who has the authority to
ensure that safety and health regulations are followed. The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has addressed
this problem by developing rules for multi-employer worksites and defining
the responsibility of each employer.
Most of OSHA's regulations for construction work can be found in Title
29 of the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR), Part 1926, entitled "Safety
and Health Regulations for Construction." However, there are several
instances where a particular job or activity may not be addressed by
these regulations. In those cases, the regulations for General Industry,
found in Part 1910, may apply. If there are no regulations in either
Part for a given activity, then OSHA's "General
Duty Clause", which states that an employer must provide a workplace
free of recognized hazards, would still be applicable.
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Scope and Application
OSHA defines construction as "work for construction, alteration, and/or
repair, including painting and decorating." Examples of activities that
could be classified as construction include building renovations, excavation
and trenching operations, painting, masonry, and certain activities associated
with building systems such as HVAC, plumbing, and electrical supply.
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Program Description
Multi-Employer Worksites and OSHA
OSHA has determined that employers at a multi-employer worksite fall
into four basic categories--controlling, creating, correcting, or
exposing. The controlling employer is the employer who, by contract
or actual practice, has the responsibility and authority for ensuring
that hazardous work conditions are corrected. This employer is usually
the General Contractor, or GC. When the University acts as the General
Contractor for a construction project, it would be considered the
controlling employer and would be responsible for the safety and health
of all workers at the site. The creating employer would be the employer
whose activities actually create a hazardous condition, while the
correcting employer would be the employer that has the responsibility
for correcting the hazardous condition. An exposing employer is any
employer whose workers are exposed to the hazardous condition. Depending
upon the situation, any employer at a construction site could fall
into one or more of these classifications and could be issued a citation
by OSHA.
Departments should consider the multi-employer worksite rule whenever
their workers are working at a University construction site, or whenever
they are acting as the project manager for such an activity. In those
situations where the University acts as the General Contractor, the
burden for providing a safe worksite rests with the project manager
and every University supervisor involved with the project. However,
even on those projects where an outside contractor is acting as the
General Contractor, Departments are still responsible for their own
workers' safety. Any hazardous condition should be brought to the
attention of the General Contractor immediately, through the project
manager, along with a request for its correction. If the condition
is so hazardous as to be imminently dangerous, Departments should
remove their workers from the worksite and contact the Office of Environmental
Health and Safety (EHS) immediately.
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Roles and Responsibilities
Department
- When acting as General Contractor, ensure safe work conditions
at worksite.
- At other times, report unsafe work conditions to General Contractor.
- Report imminently dangerous conditions to EHS immediately.
Supervisors
- Ensure workers report unsafe work conditions promptly.
- Ensure unsafe work conditions are reported to Project Manager.
- Remove workers from worksite if imminently dangerous condition
exist.
Project Managers
- Monitor safety of site work conditions.
- Report unsafe conditions to General Contractor.
- Follow-up with General Contractor to ensure unsafe conditions are
addressed.
EHS
- Provide assistance to Departments, Supervisors, and Project Managers.
- Working with the Project Managers, ensure imminently dangerous
conditions are addressed.
Individual
- Report unsafe conditions to Supervisor.
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For More Information
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