"You can subcontract all the work, but you cannot delegate all the safety responsibilities."
Dr. Jimmie W. Hintze, 1997
Subcontractors play a major role in the construction industry. Rarely is a construction project completed without considerable involvement of subcontractors who bring their specialized craft to the site. In fact, anyone who has even been remotely involved with a construction project knows that it takes many specialized contractors in the civil, mechanical, electrical, insulation, and other crafts to support general contractors (GCs) or construction management firms (CMs), who are responsible for project completion and safety. In this paper, we will collectively refer to both types of firms as GCs. You may also know that the subcontractors, because they generally have only a few employees and typically lack an adequate safety process, require the strong leadership of a GC or CM to ensure the protection of the workers on the site.
Subcontractors have a contractual relationship with the GC, not the owner. Subcontractors undertake work that GCs usually do not have the skills or resources to perform. The GC indemnifies the owner in event of injury or damages caused by the subcontractor or their employees, but increasingly, owners monitor all workers on their site and hold the GC accountable for safety.
GCs, because of their abilities to manage and coordinate an entire project successfully, are only hired by owners after very careful screening. That screening not only includes an assessment of their safety, but of their abilities to complete a project on time and under budget; clearly, the timely completion and cost considerations can be a function of safety. The recent disastrous collapse of a large crane at the new Milwaukee Brewers stadium has again pointed out that an accident can have serious financial implications as well as fatalities. As OSHA continues to hold the GCs accountable for safety on the entire project and costs of poor safety performance increase, the owner's decision to select a highly proficient firm to manage their project increases in importance.
There is little argument that the cultural shift by owners has strongly influenced contractors to improve their safety processes. Most owners now demand a safe contractor and thus the contractor's need to successfully compete for projects has mandated that safety and health be a priority. Among some clients, the bidding process often comes down to who can perform the work the safest. Notwithstanding, many successful constructors now have a high value for their workers and have made safety and health not only a priority, but also a core value in their organizations through the use of effective safety and health management systems.
There are many companies that work as subcontractors who have outstanding safety performance. Invariably, they have invested in safety training and equipment and have instilled a value for safety in their workforce, sometimes because of the influence of the clients, GCs they have worked with in the past.
