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Construction Safety Compliance Starter Checker

Answer 10 practical questions about your construction work. SafetyFlow will build a prioritized list of OSHA 29 CFR 1926 topics your company may need to review.

Reviewed against OSHA primary sources · September 8, 2026About 4 minutes
This is a screening tool—not an OSHA compliance determination.

Construction requirements depend on the task, exposure, employer role, site conditions, state-plan rules and other facts. Answer “Unsure” when you do not know; that is often the best signal for what to review next.

1. Do employees work where construction fall-protection requirements may apply?

Examples include unprotected sides or edges, roofs, leading edges, holes, wall openings and other elevated work. Many Subpart M situations use a 6-foot threshold, but specific rules and exceptions vary by activity.

2. Do employees erect, dismantle, inspect or work from scaffolds?

Scaffold requirements can involve qualified-person design/training, competent-person duties, access, capacity, inspections and fall protection.

3. Do employees use ladders or temporary stairways as part of construction work?

OSHA Subpart X addresses ladder/stairway condition, use and training. Employees using ladders and stairways must be trained as necessary to recognize related hazards.

4. Do employees enter or work around trenches or excavations?

Excavation work can trigger competent-person inspections, protective-system, access/egress, spoil-pile, utility and atmospheric-hazard requirements.

5. Do crews cut, grind, drill, jackhammer or disturb concrete, masonry, stone or other silica-containing material?

Construction silica requirements can include Table 1 controls or exposure assessment, a written exposure-control plan, housekeeping controls, training and a designated competent person.

6. Are hazardous chemicals used, stored or present where employees may be exposed?

Construction Hazard Communication requirements are identical to 29 CFR 1910.1200 and can involve a written program, labels, safety data sheets and employee information/training.

7. Do employees use temporary power, extension cords, portable tools or construction-site receptacles?

Construction electrical rules include ground-fault protection. Depending on the setup, employers use GFCIs or an assured equipment grounding conductor program as specified by the standard.

8. Do employees enter spaces that may meet OSHA's confined-space definition for construction?

Examples can include tanks, vaults, pits, manholes and other spaces with limited entry/exit that are not designed for continuous occupancy. Permit-space requirements depend on hazards present.

9. Are employees exposed to construction hazards requiring personal protective equipment?

Consider head, eye/face, hearing, hand, foot, respiratory and fall-protection needs. PPE is the last line of defense and does not replace required engineering or work-practice controls.

10. Does the work involve cranes, derricks, hoisting, rigging or suspended loads?

Construction crane/derrick work can trigger Subpart CC requirements involving operator qualifications, signal persons, rigging, inspections, power-line safety and lift planning.

What this construction safety checker covers

The checker focuses on recurring construction compliance topics that often need active management: falls, scaffolds, ladders, excavations, respirable crystalline silica, Hazard Communication, electrical ground-fault protection, confined spaces, PPE and cranes/rigging.

It is intentionally not exhaustive. Depending on the work, other Part 1926 subparts may apply to demolition, steel erection, concrete/masonry, welding/cutting, material handling, motor vehicles, explosives, diving, tunneling, power transmission/distribution and more.

Why “competent person” matters in construction

OSHA uses competent-person requirements in several construction standards. The exact duties vary by standard, but the recurring concept is someone capable of identifying specified hazards who has authority to take prompt corrective measures. A software checkbox cannot create that capability or authority.

Primary OSHA sources