OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministrationwww.osha.govOSHA3886October2016RecommendedPracticesforSafety&HealthProgramsinConstructionDISCLAIMERThesepracticesforsafetyandhealthprogramsforconstructionworksitesarerecommendationsonly.Employersinconstructionworkmusthaveaprogramthatincludesmeasurestodetectandcorrectworkplacehazards.However,theirprogrammaynotcontainallofthepracticesrecommendedinthisdocument.Employerswillnotbecitediftheirsafetyandhealthprogramdoesnotcomplywiththisdocument.FOREWORDFOREWORDEstablishingasafetyandhealthprogramatyourjobsiteisoneofthemosteffectivewaysofprotectingyourmostvaluableasset:yourworkers.Losingworkerstoinjuryorillness,evenforashorttime,cancausesignificantdisruptionandcost—toyouaswellastheworkersandtheirfamilies.Itcanalsodamageworkplacemorale,productivity,turnover,andreputation.Safetyandhealthprogramsfosteraproactiveapproachto“findingandfixing”jobsitehazardsbeforetheycancauseinjuryorillness.Ratherthanreactingtoanincident,managementandworkerscollaboratetoidentifyandsolveissuesbeforetheyoccur.Thiscollaborationbuildstrust,enhancescommunication,andoftenleadstootherbusinessimprovements.Employerswhohaveimplementedsafetyandhealthprograms,includingmanywhoareinOSHA’sVoluntaryProtectionPrograms(VPP)ortheSafetyandHealthAchievementRecognitionProgram(SHARP)forsmallandmedium-sizedbusinesses,havealsofoundthatmanagingforsafetyresultsinhigher-qualityproductoroutputandhigherprofits.Theserecommendedpracticesreflectcurrentconditionsintheconstructionindustry:•Newconstructiontechniques,materials,andequipmenthavecomeintocommonuse.•Greaterdiversityintheconstructionworkforcemeansthatpeoplefromdifferentbackgroundsandculturesareworkingalongsideeachother,oftenspeakingdifferentlanguages.ResourcesandToolstoSupportImplementationofTheseRecommendedPracticesOSHAhascreatedadedicatedWebpagetosupporttheimplementationofthesepracticesatwww.osha.gov/safetymanagement.Thepageincludesalinktotheserecommendedpracticesaswellasthefollowing:•Additionalresources.Articlesandinformationsourcesrelatedtoeachcoreelementoftherecommendedpractices,plusothertopicsdiscussedintherecommendedpractices.•Tools.Downloadabletemplates,worksheets,andreferencematerialsyoucanuseasyoudevelopyourownsafetyandhealthprogram.PleasevisittherecommendedpracticesWebpageandexploretheresourcesavailable.OSHAwillupdatetheWebpageandaddresourcesandtoolsastheybecomeavailable.•Anagingworkforceandtheriseofsedentarylifestylemeansthatsomeworkersareathigherriskforwork-relatedmusculoskeletaldisorders.iwww.osha.govRECOMMENDEDPRACTICESFORSAFETYANDHEALTHPROGRAMSINCONSTRUCTIONFOREWORD•Increasedtemporaryandcontractemploymentmeansthattraditionalrelationshipsbetweenworkersandemployersareshifting,andchangesinsafetyprogramsandpolicieswillberequiredtoensurethesafetyandhealthofallworkersatworksitescharacterizedbythesenewerandmorefluidrelationships.Thesepracticesalsoreflectwhatwehavelearnedfrombest-in-classprogramsandwhatmakesthemeffective.Inparticular,theserecommendedpracticesplacegreateremphasisoninvolvingworkers,andincludeamorerobustprogramevaluationelementtohelpdrivecontinuousimprovement.Thesepracticesalsostresstheneedforcommunicationandcoordinationonworksitesinvolvingmorethanoneemployer.iiRECOMMENDEDPRACTICESFORSAFETYANDHEALTHPROGRAMSINCONSTRUCTIONwww.osha.govINTRODUCTION...................................................................
