Contract safety clause

[Rich]

Here's one for ya

The Subcontractor shall strictly observe and comply with all applicable safety laws, rules and regulations, including applicable OSHA standards, and with the accident prevention program required under the applicable provisions of the Contract Documents and/or as directed by the Contractor. Whenever the Contract Documents shall require any special safety, first aid, or emergency treatment facilities, it is agreed that same shall be provided by the Subcontractor for its own use; or that, when such alternative is made available by the Contractor, the Subcontractor shall enter into a Supplementary Agreement with Contractor and other subcontractors for the cooperative provision thereof; and the entire cost thereof shall be prorated among the participants in proportion to the number of employees engaged on the Project each month by the respective participants. Subcontractor shall indemnify, hold harmless and defend Contractor from any citations, fines or penalties assessed Contractor by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or any other state or local agency or authority with jurisdiction over workplace health or safety, relating to or arising from Subcontractor's work performed hereunder. In the event any such citations, fines or penalties are issued to Contractor relating to or arising from Subcontractor's work, unless Contractor and Subcontractor agree to contest the citation, fine or penalty, at Subcontractor's sole expense, the amount of the citation, fine or penalty shall be paid promptly by Subcontractor upon demand by Contractor and if such payment is not made promptly, Contractor may issue such payment and deduct the amount paid from any amounts due Subcontractor hereunder.

[Cole]

I like it. :D

[grumpy]

Yeah new construction sucks! Too many words for my liking. Declined!

Mr. GC, Want to see my saftey program? Fine. Here it is. Think I am doing something unsafe, ask me why I am doing what I am doing.

As a rule I don't sign things that I'd need to hire a lawyer to review. It's just not worth the energy or money.

How about?

The subcontractor will be responsible to be aware and follow all applicable OSHA saftey rules regarding the installation as per contract. The SubContractor will also be financially responsible to the General COntracotr for citations which arise as a result of not adhering to OSHA's guidelines.

Much shorter, more comprehensible by both parties and I just wrote that off the top of my head... but it basically is identicle to what you wrote.

[Rich]

Something it lacks (and I'm sure you would eventually put it in there) is the program. Following the guidelines isn't good enough anymore.
The part of that could be removed is the facilities being provided by all participants - this has more to do with job wide programs for large projects. Where the contract documents might require an on-site first aid office.

[Rich]

As I've stated many many times - you as a subcontractor have very little risk on a project - comparatively. I as a GC have 20 subcontractors and risk for the whole job. If I am lax on my contracts and something goes wrong with 3 subs - I'm now at risk.
That statement above is just a small part of the total safety language in a typical contract.

[grumpy]

As I've stated many many times - you as a subcontractor have very little risk on a project - comparatively.

I really disagree. The GC has all the power over the sub because the GC controls the $$$. If the GC gets an OSHA fine he is going to back charge the sub. If a sub falls behind schedule the GC will backcharge the sub. If a sub dissapears the GC can pay someone else to pick up where the other sub left off, and if the sub had money then the GC is at fault for paying early.

Now let's talk post completion, I know this doesn't have to do with saftey anymore but does have to do with risk. If my roof's leak the GC doesn't fix them; I fix it. If the shingles blow away, the GC doesn't replace the missing shingles; I replace the missing shingles. The only time the GC is at risk is when the sub dissapears. If the sub still exists and refuses to do the repairs the sub gets sued.

[Rich]

If I get an OSHA fine due to the negligence of a subcontractor - that doesn't get removed from my record even if I do get paid by the sub. How does that not put me at risk on future jobs and the remainder of that job? Get another citation of the same type and it's 7 times the amount.
Schedule - a schedule is attached to the contract. Contractually you have an obligation to meet the schedule - if you accept the contract. If you fall behind I would put you on overtime to catch up - I suppose you could call that a backcharge.
As far as post completion - that has more to do with estimating a proper warranty amount and installing correctly to begin with.

[grumpy]

It's been my expeirence if you can show that it is a sub contractor OHSA almost always defers responsibility to the sub contractor unless they can prove that YOU, the GC, knew about the violation and turned a blind eye.

As far as the back charge issue goes... Roofer is late to job for whatever reason. This sets back the drywallers from installing their product, and to get the job back on schedule the dry wallers want over time pay. The GC pays the dry wallers their over time, and back charges the roofer for the drywaller's overtime change order.

It's just been my experience that GC are professionals at placing the blame elsewhere. It's never the GC's fault.