Safety guides
Written by the 29Safety safety team for the people who run the work: owners, superintendents, foremen and plant managers. Each one cites the rule it talks about, is in English and Spanish, and reads in about ten minutes at a desk or in a truck.
Free JHA template (PDF) and how to fill one out
Printable job hazard analysis template in English and Spanish, two filled-out JHA examples, and how a foreman fills one out in 20 minutes. No email needed.
Read the guideLockout/tagout procedure example: how to write one for a machine
A finished lockout/tagout procedure for a vertical baler, the four things 1910.147 requires, how to write yours in an afternoon, and a free placard PDF.
Read the guideToolbox talk topics: 52 for the year, and how to run one in 10 minutes
52 toolbox talk topics by season, what OSHA requires, how to run a 10-minute talk the crew listens to, and a signed sign-in example in English and Spanish.
Read the guideOSHA 300 log: who has to keep one, what's recordable, and the deadlines
Who keeps the OSHA 300 log, the first-aid list that decides what's recordable, the Feb 1 posting and March 2 upload, and filled 300, 300A and 301 examples.
Read the guideFederal OSHA or a state plan? Which rules apply to your company, state by state
Which states run their own OSHA plan and which are federal (Texas is), what changes in California, Washington and Oregon, and crews that cross state lines.
Read the guideHeat illness prevention plan: what goes in it, and what OSHA enforces in 2026
No federal heat standard yet: what OSHA enforces in 2026, the state rules, the 80°F and 90°F triggers, the eight parts of a plan, and a free example PDF.
Read the guideOSHA competent person: what it means, where you need one, and how to designate one
The definition in 1926.32(f), which standards require a competent person, the difference from a qualified person, and what a designation letter needs.
Read the guideTrench safety: the rules that keep your crew out of a cave-in
OSHA's excavation numbers (5, 4, 25, 2 and 20 feet), soil types A, B and C, sloping, shoring and trench boxes, and the competent person's daily inspection.
Read the guideWhich written safety programs does OSHA actually require? The list, by rule
No safety manual is required, only written programs tied to specific hazards. The list for general industry and construction, by rule, and what states add.
Read the guideNew-hire safety orientation: what OSHA expects before the first shift, with a checklist
The training OSHA requires before a worker starts, a day-one checklist for a contractor or shop, temps and Spanish-speaking hires, and the records.
Read the guideSite-specific safety plan (SSSP): what the general contractor wants before you can start
GCs require a site-specific safety plan before you mobilize. What goes in it, what reviewers reject, and how to build one from your written program.
Read the guideFall protection plan or fall protection program? What 1926.501 requires at 6 feet
When OSHA requires fall protection at 6 feet, the systems in 1926.502, when a written fall protection plan is really required, and the training record.
Read the guideSilica exposure control plan: what 1926.1153 requires and how to write yours
The written exposure control plan OSHA requires for cutting, grinding and drilling concrete: Table 1's 18 tasks, the competent person, respirators, exams.
Read the guideWritten programs for ISNetworld, Avetta, Veriforce and GC prequalification: what the review accepts
What ISNetworld, Avetta, Veriforce and GC prequal packets ask for: written programs, 3 years of 300A data, EMR and TRIR math, why programs get rejected.
Read the guideISNetworld RAVS written programs: what the review is, which programs come up, and how to make every answer easy to find
What ISNetworld's RAVS team reviews, which written programs your work usually triggers, and how to lay each one out so the reviewer finds every answer.
Read the guideAvetta safety manual audit: what it reviews, what goes in the manual, and why documents come back
What Avetta's safety manual audit reviews, what goes in the manual, the reasons documents come back, and how to answer items that don't apply to your work.
Read the guideHighwire safety assessment: the documents it asks for, how the safety score is built, and how to clear a discrepancy
What Highwire's safety assessment asks for, how its safety score is built from EMR, injury rates and your safety manual, and how to clear a discrepancy.
Read the guideSubcontractor prequalification packet: what general contractors ask for, from six real forms
What general contractors ask for in a subcontractor prequal packet: safety manual, OSHA 300 and 300A, EMR letters, insurance and training, from six real forms.
Read the guideOSHA 300A for prequalification: three years, the exempt-company problem, and numbers that match
Why prequal forms want three years of OSHA 300A summaries, who signs them, what to send if your company is exempt, and how to keep the numbers matching.
Read the guideEMR for prequalification: what the experience mod is, where the letter comes from, and what owners do with it
What an experience modification rate is, how it is figured, where the EMR letter comes from, and what general contractors and prequal platforms do with it.
Read the guideTRIR and DART for prequalification: the formula, where each number comes from on the 300A, and the mistakes reviewers catch
How to calculate TRIR, DART and lost-time rates for a prequal form from your OSHA 300A, with worked examples and the mistakes that make numbers disagree.
Read the guideAfter an OSHA citation: the 15 working days, the informal conference, abatement and the paperwork
What to do in the 15 working days after an OSHA citation: post it, the informal conference, the notice of contest, penalty reductions and abatement proof.
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