August 2008

Review of Construction Safety and Health Programs

This special review of construction safety was performed by the Office of Independent Oversight, within the Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS), to provide feedback to DOE line management and contractors on the effectiveness of line organizations at DOE sites in implementing construction safety requirements. This special review is based on data collected over the past three years (covering the timeframe from late 2005 to early 2008) during scheduled inspections performed by Independent Oversight’s Office of Environment, Safety and Health Evaluations, at the nine DOE sites.

Most construction subcontractors have established work control processes that address the core functions of integrated safety management. The quality and effectiveness of these processes varies but has improved significantly since the DOE safety management system policy was issued over ten years ago. In addition, at each evaluated site, steps have been taken to improve these processes, and noteworthy practices were identified in the construction safety programs at some sites.
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