Construction Safety
Rely on Generally Accepted Construction Practices—Not OSHA
TJ Lyons | March 27, 2026
Footnotes
1 "Why NFPA Codes and Standards Matter," About Us, NFPA, 2026.
2 Annemarie Mannion, "Injured Ironworker Settles Construction Fall Case at Fermilab for $40M," ENRMidwest, February 2026.
Recently, a friend and I were discussing a construction accident where a worker fell backward, down a few feet, and struck his head on the concrete floor. His hard hat fell off his head as he fell. His head hit hard. As a result of a traumatic brain injury, he may never work again.
I commented that if the worker had worn a helmet with a chin strap, his head would have been better protected and his injuries not as severe. My friend countered, "Well, knowing these helmets provide better protection, why doesn't OSHA require them?" Biting my tongue, I replied, "Only for OSHA workers." The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cannot require better protection for workers. Seriously.
This commentary focuses on the need to get well ahead of OSHA requirements to better protect workers, insurance rates, and your bottom line. For decades, construction has been satisfied with looking to OSHA standards for what a solid safety program looks like—standards developed in the 1970s, 2 decades before the internet. These are dated standards and, in some cases, I must repeat myself; OSHA cannot require better protection for workers. That is a serious barrier for workers. While OSHA has a commendable history of incident reduction, even its own standards don't always match its stated goal.
As recently as 2024, OSHA acknowledged that injuries are likely (so not quite free from recognized hazards) to workers while following their standards.
Being OSHA compliant may have worked in the past, but it's time to reexamine suggested best practices and generally accepted work practices. We must look to consensus standards like the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and others to help steer our industry toward an effective, safe, and relevant safety system.
NFPA says it best: "These documents are not arbitrary; they are the product of a rigorous, transparent, and consensus-driven process grounded in real-world expertise." 1
Such standards are acknowledged and referenced by OSHA, which acknowledges their value and states as follows.
Here is a tip: What works in the field is often adopted by contractors and becomes a common practice. What the construction industry calls "a generally accepted work practice."
OSHA cannot mandate safety helmets versus hard hats, but general contractors and owners can. Because of this approach, helmets are appearing across the US workforce. It is a good practice for workers and good for business.
If you have a worker who falls and suffers a head injury, ask if the use of a helmet was considered. If the answer is "What kind of helmet?" be prepared to defend yourself.
Go Beyond OSHA Standards
The following are some areas where the construction industry and work practices have moved well past the dusty directives of OSHA and why following just the OSHA standards confirms a poor safety system. What does a poor safety system look like?
If you have had similar, repeated accidents (like a slip and fall on a ramp) and have not made changes to your safety systems (install nonslip surfaces on any ramp), that indicates a poor safety system and is indefensible. In the United States, it often takes a worker fatality to change a safety system. Explaining why you waited to make a change after a series of similar injuries will be difficult to explain in court and to the family of the injured worker.
Again, OSHA cannot recommend a best practice; it can only reference its standards. That is the barrier, and it must be corrected. For example, if a roofer falls through a skylight, OSHA will state that a required guard/railing or fall protection was required and was missing. It will not suggest installing a skylight built to support a worker's weight.
I would be remiss not to mention ladders. Since 2009, I have been advocating for ridding worksites of ladders. They are cheap, easy to use, and deadly. Ladder falls are dropping as the use of ladders is being restricted by many contractors. Why?
A contractor recently removed the majority of their ladders across all their worksites. In 1 year, their losses from ladder falls dropped over 90 percent. We are talking millions in savings. Few workers fell from ladders because the ladders were gone.
Today, if your firm has a fall from a ladder and the hazard assessment did not consider alternatives to safely reach the work, that is negligence. The idea of ladder restrictions or prohibitions is an industry best practice and generally accepted work practice. If you choose otherwise, beware.
100-Percent Policies
From fall protection to the use of gloves, general contractors love the idea of 100-percent policies. If I am reviewing someone's health and safety program and see the 100-precent reference, I look closer. Here are 2 examples of this dated 100-percent philosophy.
Fall Protection
First is the policy on 100-percent fall protection that encourages climbing and connecting. In February 2026, a worker was awarded $40 million related to a fall from a formwork. 2 Per the incident investigation, he was not tied off and fell, but he likely forgot to connect.
Again, a hazard assessment prior to the work would have recognized and mandated the ability of workers to use a helmet versus a hard hat, along with a scissor-lift for safe access. In fact, lifts were available, but the investigation found the injured worker (IW1) had not used one.
Today's construction workers should no longer need to tie off to what they are building. It is too easy for a worker to forget to connect. When we rely on the worker to remember to tie off every time, I call that the approach, the philosophy of "some rope and hope." At Jacobs Engineering and Turner, I have overseen projects where only lifts were used, and no one needed to tie off. That was over 20 years ago. We should be well past the 1998 idea that it's acceptable to ask a worker to tie off.
Glove Policy
The construction industry jumped on this one because it's easy to see someone with their gloves on if everyone is wearing gloves. This has gone too far. Surveyors are made to wear cut-resistant gloves in the middle of winter. These suck the heat out of your hands in minutes.
I once bought and presented beautiful plaques to the management staff of one of the best projects in New York. When I published the photo, the CEO of the firm sent me a note, not confirming the great crew (that was not mentioned) but chastising me for taking their photo outside of their work trailer, without their gloves. Madness.
The next time you walk a site and see a fitter using a threading machine, ask how they like their gloves. They will offer it's easier not to wear gloves, but "You know, they have a 100-percent glove policy here." That is always the answer. I then tactfully ask them to look at the warning label on the threading machine and read the third warning.
Source: Photo by TJ Lyons.
I have done this dozens of times, and the response is the same: "Well, I'm still wearing gloves so I don't get yelled at by the safety guy."
If you have a 100-percent policy today, you'd better look at it closely because it can put good workers in harm's way.
On-the-Job Training
The construction industry relies on trained workers and competent supervision. With the lack of experienced workers available, a tendency may be to train as they learn. This is a bad idea.
I recently heard of a 23-year-old worker who died, alone in a trench. His "trainer" was at the other end of the trench, working alone. Everyone needs to understand what safe versus unsafe looks like. Don't be tempted.
Communications
I saved this for last. Like the prevalence of suicide in construction, this is something we prefer not to talk about. I have investigated dozens of accidents where workers are hurt and blamed. These were good workers whose only fault was that they couldn't speak English. In one case, a worker was tangled in some machinery, and his partner looked for the button to stop the machine. Not only could that friend not read, but he also didn't understand English.
Many construction workers have trouble reading anything past a fifth-grade level. In fact, you could say that's true for most Americans. I once discovered my best friend was illiterate and could not even dial a phone number. He was 57.
Clear communication is critical in your safety system, or someone will get hurt, you will get cited, or you will have to defend yourself to authorities, attorneys, or families. None of these conversations will be pleasant.
In their "Employer Responsibilities," OSHA states, "Employers must provide safety training in a language and vocabulary workers can understand." Here are some basics.
Conclusion
I am often critical of OSHA and recognize it has many constraints and barriers. But that should be the starting point. Go further. The idea of adopting best practices and generally accepted work procedures is critical to a safer and, in most cases, a more profitable workplace.
When you have the opportunity to visit another contractor's project, look around. Discover what may be a best practice you were not aware of, and share some of your own. When you need to determine what right and wrong look like when strengthening your safety system, look to consensus standards for guidance. These standards are written, reviewed, updated, and approved by the same people who do that work.
If anyone is looking for some recommendations on consensus standards, let me know. I am a big fan.
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