General Contractor Safety Manual

A General Contractor Safety Manual provides the written safety policies, programs, responsibilities, and procedures used to manage workplace safety across construction projects. Because general contractors may perform their own work while also coordinating subcontractors, equipment, deliveries, changing site conditions, and multiple construction trades, their safety requirements can be broader than those of many specialty contractors.

An effective safety manual should reflect the contractor’s actual operations. It should establish the company’s core safety-management requirements while also including the OSHA safety programs applicable to the hazards, equipment, and work activities employees may encounter.

There is no single list of safety programs that applies to every general contractor. A contractor performing excavation, concrete work, steel erection, or equipment operations will have different requirements than a company that primarily manages projects and subcontracts most trade work.

What Should a General Contractor Safety Manual Include?

A General Contractor Safety Manual should establish the company’s overall system for managing safety and include the written programs needed for its operations.

Fundamental safety-management elements commonly address:

• Management commitment and safety responsibilities.
• Supervisor and employee responsibilities.
• Employee participation and safety communication.
• Hazard identification and assessment.
• Hazard prevention and control.
• Jobsite inspections.
• Hazard reporting and correction.
• Job Safety Analysis (JSA/JHA) and pre-task planning.
• Safety rules and safe work practices.
• Employee training and orientation.
• Toolbox talks and safety meetings.
• Incident and near-miss reporting.
• Accident and incident investigation.
• Root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping.
• Emergency planning.
• Competent and qualified persons.
• Contractor and subcontractor coordination.
• Safety records and documentation.
• Periodic review of the company’s safety programs.

The manual should then incorporate the hazard-specific programs applicable to the company’s work.

Core General Contractor Safety Programs

Although safety-program requirements vary, general contractors typically need a foundation of programs addressing hazards common to construction operations.

A comprehensive General Contractor Safety Manual may include core programs such as:

Accident and Incident Investigation

Procedures should establish requirements for reporting and investigating workplace injuries, illnesses, incidents, property damage, and near misses.

Investigations should identify contributing and root causes and establish corrective actions to reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

Emergency Action Plan

Employees should know how to respond to foreseeable workplace emergencies, including how emergencies are reported, evacuation procedures, emergency contacts, assembly locations, and individual responsibilities.

Emergency procedures may need to be supplemented with project-specific information for individual jobsites.

Fire Prevention

Construction activities can introduce ignition sources, temporary heating, combustible materials, fuels, flammable liquids, hot work, and other fire hazards.

Fire-prevention procedures should address the hazards applicable to the contractor’s operations and changing jobsite conditions.

First Aid

Employers should make appropriate provisions for prompt medical attention and first aid in accordance with applicable OSHA construction requirements.

Employees should understand how to obtain assistance and report workplace injuries.

Hand and Power Tool Safety

General contractors commonly use portable hand and power tools for numerous construction activities.

Procedures should address tool inspection, guarding, proper use, electrical hazards, manufacturer requirements, removal of defective equipment from service, and required PPE.

Hazard Communication

Employees must receive information and training concerning hazardous chemicals to which they may be exposed.

The company’s Hazard Communication Program should address chemical inventories, Safety Data Sheets, labeling, employee training, and communication of chemical hazards on multi-employer worksites.

Housekeeping

Good housekeeping helps reduce slips, trips, falls, fire hazards, blocked access, falling materials, and other common construction hazards.

Responsibilities should be established for maintaining orderly work areas, passageways, stairs, access points, material-storage areas, and waste-disposal locations.

Job Safety Analysis – JSA/JHA

A Job Safety Analysis or Job Hazard Analysis can be used to identify the hazards associated with individual construction tasks and establish appropriate controls before work begins.

JSAs/JHAs can also support pre-task planning and communication with employees as conditions change.

Manual Lifting and Material Handling

Construction employees frequently lift, carry, move, position, and handle materials.

Safe material-handling procedures should address planning the lift, mechanical assistance, team lifting, body positioning, material storage, and other methods of reducing lifting and handling hazards.

Personal Protective Equipment

PPE requirements should be based on an assessment of the hazards employees may encounter.

Depending on the work, employees may require head, eye, face, hand, foot, hearing, respiratory, high-visibility, fall-protection, or other specialized protective equipment.

Slips, Trips and Falls

Uneven surfaces, debris, cords, materials, stairs, ladders, weather conditions, floor openings, and changing work areas create frequent slip, trip, and fall hazards on construction sites.

Procedures should address hazard recognition, housekeeping, access, walking surfaces, and appropriate corrective measures.

Walking-Working Surfaces

Construction workplaces should provide safe access and appropriate walking and working surfaces.

The manual should address the conditions applicable to the contractor’s work, including passageways, stairs, ladders, elevated surfaces, openings, and other access hazards.

Electrical Safety

General contractors may encounter temporary electrical installations, extension cords, portable electrical equipment, generators, overhead power lines, and electrical work performed by subcontractors.

Employees should understand the electrical hazards relevant to their duties and the restrictions on performing work for which they are not qualified.

Ladder and Stairway Safety

Ladders and temporary stairways are common on construction projects.

Procedures should address ladder selection, inspection, setup, climbing, use, electrical hazards, access, and removal of defective ladders from service.

Additional Safety Programs Based on the Contractor’s Work

The remainder of a General Contractor Safety Manual should be selected according to the company’s actual operations and exposures.

A contractor should evaluate the work its own employees perform as well as the equipment and hazards they may encounter.

Depending on applicability, additional programs may include:

• Aerial Lift and Boom Lift Safety.
• Arc Flash and NFPA 70E.
• Asbestos Awareness.
• Backhoe and Loader Safety.
• Barriers and Signage.
• Bloodborne Pathogens.
• Cold Stress.
• Compressed Air.
• Compressed Gas Cylinders.
• Concrete Cutting and Drilling.
• Concrete and Masonry Safety.
• Confined Space.
• Crane Safety.
• Demolition Safety.
• Directional Boring.
• Driving and Fleet Safety.
• Dropped Object Prevention.
• Drug and Alcohol Programs.
• Excavation, Trenching and Shoring.
• Fall Protection.
• Fatigue Management.
• Flammable and Combustible Liquids.
• Forklift and Powered Industrial Trucks.
• Hearing Conservation.
• Heat Stress Prevention.
• Heavy and Mobile Equipment.
• High-Pressure Water Systems.
• Hydrogen Sulfide.
• Lead Exposure and Awareness.
• Lockout/Tagout.
• Machine Guarding.
• Overhead Cranes.
• Overhead Power Lines.
• Respiratory Protection.
• Rigging and Material Handling.
• Scaffolding.
• Scissor Lift Safety.
• Silica Exposure.
• Spill Prevention and Response.
• Steel Erection.
• Traffic Control and Flagger Safety.
• Underground Utilities.
• Vehicle Maintenance.
• Welding, Cutting and Hot Work.
• Working Around the Public.
• Working in Occupied Areas.
• Working Alone.
• Working Over or Near Water.
• Other programs applicable to the contractor’s operations.

Not every general contractor needs every program. Including unnecessary programs can make a safety manual more difficult to administer and may create procedures that do not reflect the company’s actual operations.

General Contractors and Subcontractor Safety

Subcontractor coordination is an important consideration for general contractors because multiple employers may be working at the same construction site.

A general contractor’s safety procedures may address:

• Contractor and subcontractor orientation.
• Communication of known hazards.
• Jobsite safety rules.
• Emergency procedures.
• Required PPE.
• Restricted work areas.
• Coordination of simultaneous operations.
• Hazardous chemical information.
• Inspections and correction of identified hazards.
• Reporting of incidents and unsafe conditions.
• Competent and qualified persons.
• Coordination of high-hazard operations.

The presence of subcontractors does not mean that the general contractor should simply duplicate each subcontractor’s detailed trade-specific safety procedures in its own manual.

Each employer should maintain the safety programs applicable to its employees and operations while coordinating hazards and work activities that could affect other employers on the project.

General Contractors That Self-Perform Construction Work

The distinction between managing work and self-performing work is especially important when determining which safety programs a general contractor needs.

A general contractor whose employees primarily provide supervision, project management, and coordination may have a different set of employee exposures than a contractor whose employees perform excavation, concrete work, carpentry, steel erection, equipment operation, demolition, or other construction activities.

For example, a general contractor that self-performs excavation may need detailed Excavation and Trenching, Heavy Equipment, Underground Utility, Silica, and Traffic Control procedures.

A general contractor that self-performs structural or elevated work may require Fall Protection, Scaffolding, Aerial Lift, Rigging, Crane, and Steel Erection procedures.

The company’s safety manual should therefore be based on what its employees actually do, not simply the company’s designation as a general contractor.

OSHA Focus Four Hazards for General Contractors

Four hazard categories are particularly important in construction: falls, struck-by hazards, electrocutions, and caught-in or caught-between hazards.

General contractors should consider these hazards when developing safety programs, performing jobsite inspections, conducting JSAs/JHAs, planning work, and coordinating subcontractor activities.

Falls

Potential exposures include roofs, scaffolds, ladders, aerial lifts, floor openings, leading edges, excavations, and other elevated work.

Applicable controls may involve fall-protection systems, guardrails, covers, access equipment, work practices, inspections, and employee training.

Struck-By Hazards

Employees may be exposed to vehicles, heavy equipment, falling materials, cranes, swinging loads, tools, flying particles, and other moving objects.

Traffic controls, equipment procedures, restricted areas, PPE, material-storage practices, and communication can help control these hazards.

Electrical Hazards

Temporary power, electrical tools, extension cords, energized systems, generators, overhead power lines, and underground utilities can expose construction employees to electrical hazards.

Electrical work should be restricted to employees qualified to perform the work when required.

Caught-In or Caught-Between Hazards

Excavations, machinery, equipment, material handling, structural components, rotating parts, and vehicles can create caught-in and caught-between exposures.

Planning, guarding, protective systems, equipment procedures, restricted areas, and hazard recognition are important controls.

Jobsite Inspections and Hazard Correction

Construction conditions can change rapidly as work progresses.

Regular inspections should evaluate work areas, access, housekeeping, equipment, fall hazards, electrical conditions, excavations, scaffolds, PPE, material storage, fire hazards, and other conditions applicable to the project.

Some OSHA standards require inspections by a competent person or impose specific inspection requirements. Those inspections should be incorporated into the contractor’s safety procedures where applicable.

Hazards identified during inspections should be corrected promptly. Conditions presenting an immediate danger should be addressed before affected work continues.

General Contractor JSAs and Pre-Task Planning

General contractors can use Construction JSAs/JHAs to evaluate specific work activities and communicate hazards and controls before work begins.

JSAs are particularly useful when:

• Work involves significant or unusual hazards.
• Employees are performing a task for the first time.
• Conditions have changed.
• New equipment or procedures are introduced.
• Several contractors are working in the same area.
• An incident or near miss indicates that existing controls should be reviewed.

The JSA should reflect the actual task and jobsite conditions rather than simply being reused without review.

Toolbox Talks and Ongoing Safety Communication

Construction safety requires continuing communication as project conditions change.

Construction Toolbox Talks can reinforce established safety procedures and address current work activities, recent inspection findings, seasonal hazards, incidents, near misses, and employee concerns.

Toolbox talks supplement required employee training but should not be considered a substitute when an OSHA standard requires specific training, certification, qualification, or demonstration of competency.

General Contractor Safety Manual vs. Site-Specific Safety Plan

A General Contractor Safety Manual establishes company-wide safety policies, programs, and procedures.

A Site-Specific Safety Plan (SSSP) applies relevant requirements to a particular construction project.

For example, the company manual may contain programs for Fall Protection, Excavation, Cranes, Hazard Communication, and Emergency Action. The SSSP can identify which of those programs apply at a particular project and address project-specific information such as site contacts, emergency arrangements, competent persons, access restrictions, traffic patterns, surrounding operations, and unique hazards.

The company safety manual therefore provides the foundation from which project-specific planning can be developed when necessary.

Building a General Contractor Safety Manual

A General Contractor Safety Manual should be comprehensive enough to address the company’s actual hazards without being filled with programs unrelated to its work.

A practical approach is to begin with fundamental construction safety-management requirements and commonly applicable Core Safety Programs, then add programs based on the contractor’s:

• Scope of work.
• Self-performed activities.
• Equipment.
• Employee exposures.
• Subcontractor coordination responsibilities.
• Customer and contractual requirements.
• Applicable OSHA standards.

This approach produces a safety manual that more accurately reflects how the contractor operates while allowing it to be adapted as the company’s services and work activities change.

Customized Construction Safety Manuals for General Contractors

General contractors can request a customized Construction Safety Manual containing the Core Safety Programs and additional programs applicable to their operations, equipment, hazards, and work activities.

Programs can be selected according to the work the contractor performs rather than purchasing a generic manual containing large numbers of unrelated safety programs.

Individual safety programs can also be selected when a company needs to add or update a particular program within an existing safety manual.