SOS Safety Consulting
    Construction safety consultant reviewing compliance documentation on a project site

    Safety Consulting

    OSHA Compliance Consulting for Construction

    Practical help with the construction standards that actually drive your scope — which requirements apply, what your written programs have to say, and what to do when an inspection or citation lands on your project.

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    The problem

    Compliance questions rarely arrive at a convenient time.

    The 29 CFR 1926 standards are not the hard part. The hard part is applying them to a specific situation on a specific morning: whether a work platform counts as a scaffold, whether an excavation needs a protective system designed by a registered professional engineer, who has to be the competent person for the operation about to start, and whether the written program in your prequalification package actually covers the work.

    Contractors usually reach out at one of three moments — a client or owner asks for documentation proving compliance, a compliance officer arrives on site, or a citation has already been issued and a response is due on a fixed timeline.

    What it involves

    How we support compliance work.

    Applicability and interpretation

    A direct answer on which standards apply to a scope of work, what the standard actually requires, and where the practical control line sits — including where a client requirement or consensus standard is stricter than the regulation.

    Written program gap review

    A review of your existing programs against the standards that require them, so a prequalification or client audit does not surface the gap for you.

    Competent and qualified person requirements

    Identifying where a standard requires a designated competent or qualified person, what that designation demands in training and authority, and how it is documented on the project.

    Inspection and citation support

    Support during and after a compliance inspection: understanding what was cited, what abatement documentation is needed, and what corrective action is realistic on an active project.

    Recordkeeping

    Injury and illness recordkeeping practices, recordability determinations, and posting requirements — including how project-level reporting reaches the entity that owns the record.

    Multi-employer worksites

    Clarifying responsibility on sites where a general contractor, subcontractors, and an owner all have obligations for the same exposure.

    Standards that drive most construction exposure

    Where the attention usually belongs.

    • Fall protection — 1926 Subpart M, plus systems, anchorage, and rescue planning.
    • Excavation and trenching — 1926 Subpart P, protective systems, access, and soil classification.
    • Scaffolding and aerial lifts — 1926 Subpart L and access equipment used as work platforms.
    • Electrical safety and lockout/tagout — energized work, temporary power, and control of hazardous energy.
    • Cranes, rigging, and material handling — 1926 Subpart CC, lift planning, and critical lifts.
    • Confined space in construction — 1926 Subpart AA, entry permits, and rescue capability.
    • Respirable crystalline silica — 1926.1153 exposure control and Table 1 methods.
    • Hazard communication, PPE, housekeeping, and fire prevention as they apply to the active scope.

    We identify the standards and requirements relevant to your work and help you build the documentation and field practice to meet them. We do not represent contractors in legal proceedings and we do not provide legal advice — where a matter is contested, we work alongside your counsel.

    When to use it

    Typical timing.

    • A prequalification, client audit, or insurance review has requested written programs or compliance documentation.
    • A new scope or new sector introduces standards your team has not worked under before.
    • A compliance inspection has occurred, or citations have been issued and abatement is due.
    • An internal or third-party audit produced findings you are not sure how to interpret.
    • A contract references consensus standards or owner requirements that exceed the regulation.
    • Your written programs are years old and no longer describe how the company operates.

    Common questions

    Can you guarantee we will not be cited?
    No consultant can. What we can do is identify the exposures and documentation gaps most likely to be cited, help you correct them, and make sure your written programs and field practice line up.
    Do you handle citation responses?
    We support the technical side — understanding the cited condition, developing corrective action, and assembling abatement documentation. Contested cases should involve your legal counsel; we work with them.
    Our client's requirements are stricter than OSHA. Which governs?
    Both. The regulation is the floor; the contract is enforceable on top of it. We reconcile the two in your written documents so the field is working from one clear requirement rather than two conflicting ones.

    Related services

    Safety Program Development

    Programs the standards require, written for your operations.

    Safety Audits & Inspections

    Field verification that documented controls are in use.

    Incident Investigation

    When an event triggers reporting and corrective action.

    Written Safety Programs

    The document deliverables behind compliance.

    Activity Hazard Analysis

    Where standards become task-level controls.

    Onsite Safety Professionals

    Someone on site who can make the call in real time.

    Have a compliance question sitting on your desk?

    Describe the scope and the requirement you are working against. Most questions get a straight answer in one conversation.

    Nebraska-based · nationwide project support

    Talk to a Safety Consultant c.wortham@sossafetyconsulting.com