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If employees don’t feel involved and represented in their company’s safety program, it is unlikely the program will be successful. A workplace safety committee is a tool that, if created and conducted properly, can increase the effectiveness of a safety program by:

• Providing structure and assigning responsibility for carrying out a workplace safety program
• Enhancing a cooperative attitude and bringing together strong interaction among various areas of an organization
• Serving as a communication vehicle for employees to voice safety concerns
• Serving as a tool for employers to promote safety to employees
• Spreading the responsibility of the safety program among employees

A safety committee will only be successful, however, if it is carefully created with structure and support. As with any safety initiative, it is imperative that management be visibly and actively involved. Members should serve on the committee and attend regular meetings. Other committee members should be chosen for their enthusiasm, potential expertise, and communication skills. The committee should include representatives from all the various departments but not become so large that it becomes cumbersome and ineffective.

To ensure that the committee doesn’t become a place for employees just to voice complaints, the committee’s goals should be clear from the start. Its primary role is always to promote and ensure the success of a company’s safety program.

The specific responsibilities of the safety committee might include:

• Develop strategic safety goals and annual action items
• Participate in development, monitoring and updating of safety program and possible safety incentives
• Hold monthly safety meetings
• Hold regular workplace safety inspections and help identify workplace hazards
• Participate in accident/incident investigations
• Ensure maintenance of injury and work hazard records
• Perform review of illness and injury records
• Organize regular safety training programs
• Consult with outside experts when necessary
• Address employee complaints and suggestions regarding safety issues
• Make safety recommendations to management
• Communicate with employees and management about safety issues and goals

Every group needs a leader and a safety committee is no exception. A workplace safety coordinator should be assigned to head the group. For many companies this will not be a separate position but rather an added role to an individual’s existing position. The coordinator is responsible for leading the committee, scheduling and heading safety meetings, serving as a point-of-contact with outside agencies and retaining safety records and documents. Safety meetings should be well documented and the records should be retained for at least a couple years. Many safety committees prepare an annual report to overview the safety trends within the organization, advertise their results, and identify outstanding safety issues.

For companies beginning a new safety committee, the following first meeting agenda is a good starting point:

• Establish the role and purpose of the committee
• Discuss the commitment required from each member
• Develop an agenda for what the committee hopes to achieve, both long and short term
• Assign action items to the members of the committee
• Take meeting notes and post the minutes as well as committee goals and action items

HOLD HARMLESS CLAUSES: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

By its nature, construction is a high-risk business. When a loss occurs — for example, a fire apparently started by electrical wiring — each of those involved in the project would prefer that “the other guy” pay for the loss. So-called “hold harmless clauses” in contracts are a way one party assures that the other party will pay for, or share the cost, of a loss. For the owner or general contractor, hold harmless clauses are a way to help keep insurance premiums lower by reducing risk exposure.

Hold harmless clauses tend to generate a good deal of concern and effort, as owners pressure the general contractor, who pressures subcontractors, who pressure their subs, each trying to get as much express indemnification as possible into contracts. Express indemnification secures or protects someone from legal responsibility for a loss — that is, holds him or her harmless.

There are three types of express indemnity clauses typically found in construction industry contracts — including some that can be found in the fine print on purchase orders.

A Type One (also called “broad form”) indemnity clause states that the indemnitor, the party taking responsibility for potential risk or loss, will hold the indemnitee, the protected party, harmless from the risk in question, even if the entire loss is caused by the indemnitee. An example would be if a contractor agreed to hold a project owner harmless for any claims arising from the project, even if the claim was caused solely by the owner’s negligence.

More common is the Type Two (“intermediate form”) clause, which requires the indemnitor to assume all of the risks associated with the subject, but not if the sole cause of risk is attributable to the indemnitee. Typical intermediate form language could include the contractor agreeing to hold the owner harmless from any and all claims arising from the project, provided such claim is caused in whole or in part by the negligent act or omission of the contractor and regardless of whether the claim is caused in part by the negligent act or omission of the owner.

A Type Three (“comparative fault”) clause holds the indemnitor responsible only for the loss caused by the indemnitor, or to the extent caused by the indemnitor. Typically, the contractor would agree to hold an owner harmless from any and all claims arising from the project, but only to the extent the claim was caused in whole or in part by the negligent acts or omissions of the contractor.

Some states have passed laws limiting the types of clauses that are allowed in contracts. Supporters of these limitations argue that the highly competitive nature of the business forces contractors and subcontractors to assume all the liability of a construction project, no matter who is at fault in an accident, if they want to win the bid. If an accident happens, the contractor could be forced into bankruptcy.

The law of the state where the work is performed is usually the law that applies. For example, a Detroit automobile company wrote a construction contract containing a Type Two express indemnification clause for work to be done in Delaware. When a loss occurred and the company tried to hold the contractor to the clause, the Delaware court threw the clause out entirely. Michigan recognized Type Two clauses, but they weren’t allowed in Delaware.

PERCEPTIONS VARY

Feelings about hold harmless clauses generally follow one’s position in a chain of relationships. For the owner or general contractor, hold harmless clauses are always desirable. It’s a different story with subcontractors, although they are often a condition of doing business. It might not make sense, however, to agree to a hold harmless clause with a general contractor who has the reputation of operating unsafely or with outrageous demands, such as holding the architect harmless even in the event of a loss that was solely due to the architect’s error.

The term “stormwater” refers to any runoff after rain or snow from a barren piece of land, an area with vegetation, or constructed areas like paved streets and rooftops. Stormwater discharges can contain pollutants in large enough quantities to contaminate a water supply. If your construction project will disturb one or more acres of land, you might need a stormwater permit. If your project will disturb less than one acre, but its part of a larger development plan that will disturb one or more acres, you might also need a stormwater permit.

However, the determination of what the appropriate compliance is for your particular construction project is far more intricate than just a “yes” or “no” answer to the above scenarios. There are four criteria, which must be met to determine a permit is needed:

1. Will your construction project disturb one or more acres of land?
2. Will your construction project disturb less than one acre of land but is part of a larger development plan that will disturb one or more acres?
3. Has your construction project been designated by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting authority either on the state or federal level as one that must be regulated even though it will disturb less than one acre of land?
4. Will stormwater from your construction site flow into a separate municipal storm sewer system or a body of water within the United States?

If you answered “yes” to any of the first three questions and “yes” to the last question, then you definitely need a stormwater permit. Keep in mind that in addition to state and federal regulatory agencies, some municipalities are also required to implement stormwater control programs. You need to check with your municipality for its requirements before beginning work on the project.

Your next step is determining whether to apply on the federal or state level. If your project is located in an area requiring a federal permit, you must apply for the EPA Construction General Permit (CGP). If your location necessitates getting a state permit, then you must meet the state’s general permit requirements. You can apply for an individual state or federal permit instead of the general one; however, the individual permit process can be much longer. One of the requirements of the EPA CGP is to assess the potential affects your project will have on federally protected endangered species and on any designated critical habitat on or near your site. Although state permit requirements might vary, the EPA has established some very specific criteria:

1. Develop and implement a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan. It has to include:

• A description of the site that lists sources of pollution
• A description of methods that will be used to prevent pollutants from contaminating stormwater
• A description of controls for stormwater flow
• Documentation that supports that you are not in violation of the Endangered Species Act
• Documentation that supports that you are not in violation of local Total Maximum Daily Load requirements
• Clearly outlined roles of different operators
• The methodology you will use to inspect your site

2. Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) — This notice begins coverage under the general permit and includes a certification that the activity will not impact upon endangered species or historic places.

3. Submit a Notice of Termination (NOT) — You need to submit this to EPA within 30 days after one or more of the following:

• Final stabilization has been accomplished on all portions of the site, for which the recipient of the permit is responsible
• Another operator assumes control over the parts of the site that have not achieved final stabilization
• The operator has obtained an individual or alternative NPDES permit