Twenty-five states and two territories of the United States of America have approved Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) State Plans in place. As such, these states and territories are approved to administer a hybrid OSHA occupational safety and health program. Per OSHA, a state plan state or territory: "Must set job safety and health standards that are at least as effective as comparable federal standards." Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Section 5(a)(1), Each Employer (General Duty Clause), states: "Each employer – shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees." To this end, each and every employer is charged with a level of care that is effective. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has developed, implemented and continues to improve a construction safety and health standard that is considered by the industry to be, by-in large, "more than effective" in comparison to the OSHA 29 CFR 1926, Construction Regulations. That standard is the Engineering Manual 385–1–1 (EM 385–1–1) Safety and Health Requirements manual. The true merit of adopting the USACE EM 385–1–1 manual is the "standardization" of safety and health practices and programs that a decentralized, multi-state and/or territory, general or trades contractor may realize, regardless of where they are doing business; private sector, government or otherwise. With minor adjustments, an employer can do business in a Federal OSHA state, an OSHA State Plan state, a military installation, or other government contract. To date, many Federal Government agencies have adopted the USACE EM 385–1–1 manual. It is expected that more government agencies will do the same.
This paper will give the reader a history and overview of the USACE EM 385–1–1 manual. A comparison will be made of the OSHA 29 CFR 1926 regulation to the USACE EM 385–1–1 manual. Best practices for implementation of a USACE EM385–1–1 based program will be presented, including best practices, resources and learning barriers.