Superintendents & Project Managers
Superintendents and project managers (PMs) decide the schedule, the sequence of work, who is on site and what resources crews get. Those choices shape safety more than any single rule. Leaders set the tone for the whole job.
- Superintendents
- Project Managers
- General Contractors
Legal duties
- Employers must provide a workplace free of recognized hazards and comply with OSHA standards. See Employer Responsibilities.
- A general contractor is often a controlling employer and can be cited for hazards that other contractors create or expose workers to, if it fails to use reasonable care to find and correct them. See Multi-Employer Worksites.
- Supervisors can also be personally liable in some situations under state or criminal law when they ignore serious hazards. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Plan safety into the job
- Include safety in bids, budgets and schedules, such as scaffolds, fall protection, lifts and trench boxes
- Prepare a site-specific safety plan, emergency plan and hazard list. See Job Hazard Analysis
- Prequalify subcontractors for safety records and programs, and set expectations in contracts
- Sequence the work to reduce overlapping hazards, for example avoiding work under crane lifts or overhead work
- Arrange for competent persons for excavation, scaffolds, cranes and fall protection
- Schedule deliveries, laydown and access to avoid congestion
Daily leadership
- Walk the site daily, talk to workers and fix hazards on the spot or assign owners with deadlines.
- Hold pre-task plans and short toolbox talks. See Toolbox Talks.
- Give every worker stop-work authority and respond well when someone uses it. See Stop-Work Authority.
- Do not let schedule or cost pressure override safety. Telling crews to "just get it done" is how corners get cut.
- Follow the same rules, including PPE, tie-off and site orientation.
- Recognize good safety behavior as well as correcting bad.
When something goes wrong
- Care for the injured and make the scene safe. See Scene Preservation.
- Report as required: OSHA reporting for fatalities, inpatient hospitalizations, amputations and eye loss. See Recordkeeping & Reporting.
- Investigate to find root causes and fix systems, not just blame. See Incident Investigation.
- Share lessons learned with all crews.
Standards & references
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