b'Garys CornerWhileanyemployeeisinspectingawalking/ taking immediate action to correct a safety violation by working surface for its integrity, that employee mustindividual employees of its subcontractor. The point use a personal fall arrest system. The fact that you arehere is that you need to be sure your contract with employing a guardrail or a warning line/safety monitoryour subcontractor clearly states the subcontractors system as your means of fall protection for employeesresponsibility for the safety compliance and safety of its working on a walking/working surface will not abrogateemployees. In this instance the employer did not have the requirement that you determine the integrity of thespecific language in its contract with the subcontractor surface before any of your employees begin to workthat spelled out how the general was to ensure that on it. BE SURE YOU DOCUMENT THE ACTIONSthe subcontractors employees were working safely. YOU TAKE TO DETERMINE THE INTEGRITY OFMy message here is that rather than just reciting in THE WALKING/WORKING SURFACE EVERY TIME!your contract that the subcontractor shall comply with I suggest that you keep all of these records for theall federal, state, and local laws and rules governing duration of the project plus six months. This proceduresafety on the jobsite you need to be specific. should also be part of your training program. TheseI suggest that you take a look at the contracts inspections should occur at the start of the job and theyyou use with your subcontractors to be sure that should be repeated every time any work is done on theyour responsibility as to the safety compliance of surface that might affect its integrity. Remember OSHAstheir employees is clearly spelled out. Also, your enforcement techniques; if you have an accident incontract should specify meaningful penalties against which an employee falls througha walking/workingyour subcontractor whenever your site supervisor or surface OSHA will very likely not accept your argumentyour safety manager observes the subcontractors that it had not been inspected because you did not feelemployees violating an OSHA standard, their employers that the work being done did not affect its integrity. OSHAsafety rules or, if you require compliance with your will most likely cite you under this standard and take thesafety rules, your own safety rules. You then need to position that since the surface failed, something mustbe sure that your site supervisor is aware of his/her have been done to it to affect its integrity after yourresponsibility to take action under the contract for any initial inspection.Finally, I recommend that you use asafety violations of the employees of the subcontractor qualified individual to perform this audit whenever ithe/she observes. You should discuss with your OSHA is necessary. counsel how far your responsibility for the safety of the Subcontractors and the Multi-Employersubcontractors employees should go so your contract Worksite Policy can be drafted appropriately. Everyones goal is to see Whether you usually work as a general contractor orthat all employees work safely, but you need to ask a subcontractor you may find yourself in a situation inyourself how much of that goal you wish to take on as a which you will contract out part of your work to anothercontractual responsibility and a potential OSHA liability. contractor, who will then become your subcontractor.At the end of the day and in light of this new interest The OSHA Multi-Employer worksite policy may createbeing shown by OSHA holding the general contractor responsibility for the employers on the site for the(or any level contractor who retains the services of safety of employees other than their own. This policya subcontractor) responsible to OSHA for the safety has resulted in much litigation at the Occupationalcompliance of the subcontractors employees, you Safety and Health Review Commission and the Federalshould have the attorney who you use for OSHA matters Appellate Courts. Basically, the position I have seentake a look at the contracts you are using now and edit OSHA take is that if you have a management employeethem to protect you as much as possible from exposure on a construction site who observes the employees offor the safety violations of your subcontractors. You may one of your subcontractors working unsafely and inbe saying to yourself that the more simple approach violation of an OSHA standard you may well be cited,would be to require your subcontractors indemnify and in addition to the employees employer, for failure tohold you harmless from any OSHA fines assessed take corrective action to protect the employee. The onlyagainst your company for the safety violations of the area in which I believe there is an exception to this issubcontractors employees, but I believe that such for alleged violations of the General Duty Clause. language would not be enforceable as against public policy. So, get your contracts reviewed and edited to I have recently seen OSHA cite an employer for notclearly set out the subcontractors responsibilities and Continued on page 18www.mrca.orgMidwest Roofer 17'