Subcontractor Management Ron Prichard PE, PhD

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Subcontractor ManagementRon PrichardPE, PhD

• Arcanum Professional Services, Inc
• Plainfield, IN

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Session Outline

• Fundamental Concepts
• Approach- from both perspectives
• Responsibilities defined
• Summary

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Construction Liability

• Statutory and Regulatory specific activity
  rules, with enforcement by government level
  varies with jurisdiction of rule
• Building Codes
• OSHA
• Environmental
• Criminal
• Contractual method or outcome, with enforcement
  by parties to the contract
• Civil (Tort) method benchmark only standard of
  care, with enforcement by plaintiff

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Specific OSHA Hazards

• Requirements related to specific OSHA regulations
• 29 CFR 1926 Construction
• 20 CFR 1910 General Industry
• General Duty Clause
• For specific RECOGNIZED hazards not otherwise
  covered
• Compliance is tied to
• The employer employee relationship
• Control of the workplace
• Opportunity to comply with the regulation

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Safety Duties are Non-Delegable

• Thus, both the General Contractor and its
  Subcontractors have concurrent safety duties
• Joint and Several Liability
• Independent and overlapping responsibilities
• Presumes an inability to apportion responsibility
• Redundancy is a key factor in promoting site
  safety
• If there is knowledge of a site safety problem,
  then action to correct it is required
• Responsibility for an entire site
• This is assigned under 29CFR 1926.16 to the GC
• Doctrine of Control
• Whoever retains control for outcome must exercise
  reasonable care.

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OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual
Multi-Employer Citation Policy Compliance
Directive CPL 2-0.12410 December 1999

• More than one employer may be citable for a
  hazardous condition that violates any OSHA
  standard.
• A two-step process is employed when determining
  the employer(s) to be cited.
• Burden of proof of violation establishing a
  prima facie case - rests with OSHA

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Strategic Elements

• Set Expectations
• Establish a Safety Culture
• Monitor Safety Performance

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Expectations

• Safety is a core value
• Safety must be integrated into work processes
• Operational discipline should be practices at all
  levels
• Owner expectations will be understood and met
• Safety is a Business Deliverable

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ANSI A10.38 Key Elements of a Safety and Health
Program

• The Construction Employer shall
• Train its workers
• Implement a program
• Authorize people to stop work and correct unsafe
  conditions
• Implement a disciplinary program
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the program and
  take appropriate action to correct program
  deficiencies

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Establishing a Safety Culture

• Crafting the contract
• Staffing the project
• Bidding the work
• Preparing for construction
• Overseeing construction

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The Business of Businessfrom John Stuart Mill

• Business is all about transactions
• Transactions involve relationships
• Relationships entail duties for each party
• Duties generate legal obligations
• Legal obligations lead to liability

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The Importance of a Contract

• Creates the ground rules for work performance
• Defines the roles, responsibilities and
  deliverables for the parties to the agreement
• A combination of plans, documents and
  specifications, describing
• What Results Desired
• How Means and Methods of Performance

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Monitoring Safety Performance

• Elevate safety over other project demands
• Ensure contract compliance
• Audit to enforce safety standards

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General Contractor Obligations

• Job Coordination
• Good Site
• Appropriate safety culture
• Adequate access and control
• Acceptable site conditions
• Appropriate Oversight
• Follow-thru and Consequences Management

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Factors Relating to Reasonable CareFactors
that affect how frequently and closely a
controlling employer must inspect to meet its
standard of reasonable care include

• Scale of the project
• The nature and pace of work
• Controlling employers knowledge of the safety
  history and safety practices of the employer it
  controls
• More frequent inspection required if controlling
  employer knows that the other employer has a
  history of non-compliance
• Less frequent inspections may be appropriate
  where the controlling employer knows other
  employer has implemented effective safety and
  health efforts and maintains a high level of
  compliance.

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Evaluating Reasonable CareIn evaluating
whether a controlling employer has exercised
reasonable care in preventing and discovering
violations, consider whether the controlling
employer

• Conducted periodic inspections of appropriate
  frequency (based on previous factors)
• Implemented an effective system for promptly
  correcting hazards
• Enforces the other employers compliance with
  safety and health requirements with an effective,
  graduated system of enforcement and follow up
  inspections.

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Defense for Multi-Employer Citations

• Prove that, even with due diligence, you were
  unaware of the hazard
• Show that you have informed the offending
  employer of the hazard, when you expected it to
  be corrected, and that you followed up on your
  request
• Show that you protected your employees and those
  of other employers until the hazard was corrected

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Overseeing the Work

• See and be seen
• Set a good example
• Stay current with project issues
• Communicate
• Anticipate and plan
• Incident System
• Evaluate, enforce and provide feedback
• Reinforce, reinforce, reinforce

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Tactical Elements

• Policy and Leadership
• Risk Management
• Legal Requirements and Standards of Operation
• Project Planning
• Structure and Responsibility
• Programs and Procedures
• Emergency Preparedness

• Awareness, Training and Competency
• Investigation and Corrective actions
• Communications
• Document Control and Records
• Measuring and Monitoring
• Audits
• Review

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Subcontractors Bill of Rights (Suggested)

• Clear expectations
• Good direction
• Safe access to work area
• Adequate site control
• Respectful treatment no threats, no abuse
• Appropriate Communication
• All Directives in writing

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General Contractors Bill of Rights(Suggested)

• All subcontractors working under the direction of
  the General Contractor will
• Cooperate
• Properly supervise and man the job
• Provide professional methods and workmanship
• Protect their employees and the work of others
• Properly train and equip their employees
• Provide timely notice of concerns and make all
  required reports
• Comply with all codes, regulations, standard and
  contractual obligations

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Key Success Factors

• Effective Project Management
• Effective Job Coordination
• Managerial Emphasis on Safety
• Good Interpersonal Skills of Supervisors
• Safe Work Environment

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Conclusion

• General Contractors can, and do, make a
  difference in safety outcomes
• This can be accomplished without increasing
  liability
• General Contractors who do not are courting
  disaster and unwanted additional liability
• The project, and all parties participating, will
  benefit

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• ron_prichard_at_msn.com
• 317-838-9953

Venienti Occuri te Morto