OSHA 10 Construction cheat sheet

The OSH Act was signed December 29, 1970, and took effect April 28, 1971; OSHA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor led by the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.

Section 5(a)(1), the General Duty Clause, requires each employer to furnish a workplace free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm; it is cited when no specific standard applies.

Construction standards are in 29 CFR 1926, general industry in 29 CFR 1910, and injury/illness recordkeeping in 29 CFR 1904; approved State Plans must be at least as effective as federal OSHA.

Reporting deadlines: a work-related fatality must be reported to OSHA within 8 hours; an in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours of the employer learning of it.

Inspection priority order: (1) imminent danger, (2) fatality/catastrophe, (3) valid employee complaints and referrals, (4) programmed high-hazard inspections, (5) follow-up and monitoring inspections.

Employee rights include filing a complaint, participating in the walkaround, requesting hazard correction, and accessing injury/illness and exposure records; a Section 11(c) retaliation complaint must be filed within 30 days.

Recordable cases must be entered on the OSHA 300 Log within 7 calendar days; the OSHA 300A annual summary is posted from February 1 through April 30.

The employer must file a written Notice of Contest with the OSHA area director within 15 working days of receiving a citation; maximum penalties are adjusted annually for inflation (2024: about $16,131 serious, about $161,323 willful/repeated).

Required personal protective equipment must be supplied by the employer at no cost to employees, with limited exceptions such as non-specialty safety-toe footwear and prescription safety eyewear worn off the job.

Fall protection (1926.501-502) is required at 6 feet in most construction work, at 10 feet on scaffolds, and at 15 feet during steel erection.

Guardrail systems: top rail 42 inches plus or minus 3 inches above the surface, midrail about 21 inches, toe boards at least 3.5 inches high.

Personal fall arrest: full-body harness, anchor rated 5,000 lb per employee attached (or designed with a safety factor of 2), free fall limited to 6 feet, deceleration distance 3.5 feet maximum, and a prompt rescue plan.

Holes 2 inches or more in their least dimension must be covered or guarded; covers must be secured, marked HOLE or COVER, and support twice the intended load; warning lines are set at least 15 feet from the edge at 34-39 inches high.

Struck-by controls: toe boards, screens, debris nets and canopies for falling objects, stable stacking of materials, hard hats, and no work under suspended loads.

Struck-by equipment controls: barricade the swing radius of crane superstructures (1926.1424), use spotters or backup alarms for vehicles, and wear high-visibility apparel.

Caught-in/between: excavations 5 feet or deeper need a protective system (sloping, benching, shoring, or shielding) unless a competent person determines there is no cave-in hazard; spoil and equipment stay at least 2 feet from the edge.

Caught-in/between: trenches 4 feet or deeper need a ladder, stairway, or ramp within 25 feet of lateral travel, and a competent person inspects excavations before each shift and after rain or other changes.

Electrocution: cranes and derricks keep at least 20 feet from overhead lines rated up to 350 kV unless the line is de-energized or insulated (1926.1408); treat all lines as energized until the utility confirms otherwise.

Electrocution: 120-volt, 15- and 20-ampere construction receptacles need GFCI protection or an assured equipment grounding conductor program; cords must be three-wire type and undamaged, and equipment is locked out/tagged out for servicing.

Hazard Communication (1926.59, incorporating 1910.1200): maintain an inventory, obtain a safety data sheet for each hazardous chemical, ensure GHS-compliant labels, and train employees before exposure and when a new hazard is introduced.

PPE (1926.95, 1926.100-102): employer pays for required PPE and trains on when it is needed, its limitations, and care; head protection follows ANSI Z89.1 and eye/face protection ANSI Z87.1.

Ladders (1926.1053): use the 4-to-1 pitch, extend the ladder at least 3 feet above the landing, secure the top, maintain three-point contact, and do not stand on the top cap or step.

Scaffolds (1926.451): designed by a qualified person, support at least 4 times the maximum intended load, fully planked, guardrails provided at 10 feet, and inspected by a competent person before each shift.

Hand and power tools (1926.300-302): guards must be in place, damaged tools are removed from service, electric tools are grounded, double-insulated, or GFCI-protected, and powder-actuated tool operators must be trained and certified.

Respirable crystalline silica (1926.1153): PEL 50 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour TWA with an action level of 25; Table 1 assigns wet-cutting, vacuum, or water-fed controls that comply without exposure monitoring.

Confined spaces (1926 Subpart AA): pre-entry evaluation and testing, a permit, an attendant stationed outside who tracks entrants and summons rescue, and rescue provisions before entry.

Excavation (1926.651): determine the location of underground utilities before digging (call 811), test for atmospheric hazards when a hazard may exist, and provide safe access and egress.

Fire prevention (1926.150): provide a 2A-rated extinguisher for each 3,000 square feet of protected building area with travel distance not exceeding 100 feet, and train employees on use; use 1926.200 signs and barricades for traffic and hazard control.