b'hazards to whichPhase employ ity over the worksite, including thelong as youany employees onknowwh youaresigningand Allhaveat ees were exposed. T OSHRC alsopower to corr safety andh thejobsite. Whatremainsunan wh responsibility you areheectealthatassumconcluded that Section 1910.12(a)viola slf or require othersswered isdep ing on theing w n you sign theIf tion itse towhether,end he contract. of the Code of Federal Regulationscorrect them.strengthofthecontractla youhavetaken ona sitesafety nguage requiredSummitseOSH torespons ilonlyemployers in the con In theca theRCcan you be heldaib ity toresponsibilityfor yourworkarea struction industry to be responsiblefoundtheSummit\'scontractalways have someone on theiteand ifhave oth subs working jobs youer for the safety of their own employ assignedit thelusive authorityto ensure safety? Incanfor yo youu consider havexc other wordsu,sho ld ees, and that OSHA could not estab to manage,directand controltheyou take on a level ofnsibilityingon theteensure respo someonesi to lish ato abrogate that limit construction, as well as the respon in your contract with the owner orsafety of all employeesfor whom policyadecisio tracto iltion. Following then of thesibility to comply with safety lawsthe generalcon r or the con you may have some responsib ity. appellate courttheOSHRCcon and toprecau for al Istructionmanager thatmakesyouThird,that ifuatake safetytionsknowyo aresubcluded that the controlling employeremployees on site.TheOSHRCresponsibleforensuringthat anycontractor the fact that the general did nothave its own employ alsofoundthatSummithadcontrac semployeesaren has controlling employeronsihave totor\' otrespees exposed to adhave con required corrective actionexposedtohazardsatany time,b ity DOES NOTlieve your for the hazar toregardingil retrolling employerresponsibility forsafetyviolationsbyAllP wh or not youhavesomeonesafety of y r own employees for haseetherouthe exposureoftheemployeesofemployeesin the past.In the endon the site?any hazards to which they may be othertohazard.becauseSummit admitted thatitNeither dec ion goes th far,texp whether you ha created employerstheis isbu osed,ve Theappellatecourtconcludedhad kn of the cited condi it may be only astep to get tothe haz or not. owledgeshortard thatunderSection1910 tions, it failedtotakereasonablethis poin T lesson tolearnedWea allconcernedabout .12(a)t.hebere "maytoherefo e,is OSHAissue citations to gen stepsand measurenecessarytoisknow what responsibility yousafety. T r th should not be eral contr tors at construction sitesobtain aba ment.are assumingto safety beforeua caseof howdoweget outof ac te asyowho have the ability to prevent orIt appears that theision ofsign antract. Tryavoid un e safety onjob What dec theco torea nsuringthesite. abate h rdous conditions createdOSH when combined with thatson extensionsresponsibilitywe are concerned with is knowing aza RC,ableof by subcontractors throughrea- of the Eig C uit has tightenedfor safety, b ndcan reason what our safety responsibilities are thehthirc eyo what onable exerciseofsupervisorytheconceptofthecontrollingablyexpected. Be sureifandbeingable to ensure that we bethatyou 1u regardless of whether theemployer andmade it, more thanh un theresponsibilityhavetools necessary tocarry thorityavedertakenthe general contractor created the hever, a m of con What doforensuringthesafetyofthethem out. So, when you negotiate az attertract. ard .whetherthegeneralcon we take from these decisions?employees of others youh alsoyourcon don\'tgivesafety oravetracts tr ownemployeeswereFirst,if youare aral con been given the authority n r p ibilityonlyapassing actor\'sgene ecessaryes onsexpos to the h S attractor or a constru ionmanagerto fulfill that respon lity.glanc Understandwhatyour edazard."ummit,ct sibi e. 558 F.3d at 818. T OSHRC con on aject carefully read the lan Second,if you are a su trac responsibilities are and determine hepro bconcluded initsdecisiononremandguage of yourract totor, th decisioncanimpact youh to carry them out, not how to cont determineisow thattheS retary\'scontrollingwhatty foron thebecauseof thelangu youmayavoid them. R thismay ec responsibili safetyageemember, loye yo subcontra tobebou A;egemp r citationpolicyprovidesjob.Clearly, if you have taken anyhave inurct asyournotjust a t OSH these rthis level of protection. It defines aresponsibilitytoensure safetyonresponsibilityforthesafetyof theulatory responsibilities can be used controllingemployerasonewhothe jobsite inc tract, you willemployees of those subcontractorstoine your lia ity in other youron determ bilh the g eral supervisory au or- beheld a byOSHA aswhomayworku r you.Again,forums. asen th ccountablende800-894-7741 Midwest Region 877-668-3325 Southeast Region'