The regulations set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provide detailed technical guidance about how to avoid hazards related to specific construction tasks. Despite this, OSHA does not provide detailed guidance about day-to-day safety management requirements on commercial construction sites. Thus, under the General Safety and Health Provisions of the Safety and Health Regulations for Construction, an employee may not "work in surroundings or under working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to his health or safety." To accomplish this objective, contractors are merely instructed "to initiate and maintain such programs as may be necessary to comply with this part."
OSHA regulations aside, there are two standards promulgated by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) that dictate what must be done to ensure a safe work environment for employees who work on commercial construction sites. First, ANSI standard A10:33-2011 sets forth the requirements for multi-employer safety and health plans on commercial construction sites. Second, ANSI standard A10-38-2000 provides information about basic elements that must be in place in an employer's health and safety program. These two standards are bedrock sources of construction site safety management for five reasons.
