If you need site-specific health and safety plan (HASP) for complex project assistance as discussed in this article call us at 973-366-4660 or email us at info@atlenv.com for details and a free estimate.
Written by Robert E. Sheriff, MS, CIH, CSP, President
October 5, 2018; Updated October 2019; November 2021
Site Specific Health and Safety Plans
More and more construction projects require a site-specific Health and Safety Plan (HASP) regardless of the nature of the work performed. This not only includes highway projects, building demolitions, excavations, and where hazardous waste may be present, but also includes both government and private construction projects. Also, there is usually a requirement for a sign-off by a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) or a Certified Safety Professional (CSP).
For a long time, generally, only construction projects that dealt with known or suspected Hazardous Waste (HAZWOPER) activities required a HASP. The OSHA Regulation 29CFR1926.65 requires a written HASP for such activities. It requires personnel to be trained and qualified under the HAZWOPER Training Requirements in 29CFR1910.120 (either a 24-hour or 40-hour training course).
However, many government entities now require a site-specific HASP regardless of the activities, for example, the Port Authority of NY and NJ (PANYNJ), the agency responsible for procuring contractors for the World Trade Center site. Also, most projects for the Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) now require a site-specific HASP. Many private organizations require a HASP to protect them in the event of illness, injury, destruction of property, or if contamination occurs as well.
Templates for such written programs are available through OSHA (https://www.osha.gov/complianceassistance/sampleprograms) and sometimes, they can be quite difficult to use. This difficulty isn’t generally because of the software but instead is often due to the complexity of the problems and solutions of the activities in the project. Often the expertise of a PE, a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) or Certified Safety Professional (CSP) is needed to prepare a site-specific HASP.
Generally, the program elements that require special expertise are:
- Confined Space
- Hot Work
- Lock-Out/Tag-Out (LOTO)
- Job Hazard Analysis
- Respiratory Protection
- Air and Noise Monitoring
- Emergency Response
- Evacuation
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Medical Surveillance
- Fall Protection
- Environmental Protection
- Training
We have developed site-specific HASPs that varied from 20 to 320 pages. The more complex the requirements, the more we can apply our experience to complicated issues. To learn more feel free to get in touch with us using our online contact form.
Our primary service areas for Specific Health and Safety Plans (HASP) are: NJ, NY, NYC, PA, CT, DE, (Boston) MA, RI, Wash DC, WI, MD, MI, (Chicago) IL, VA, IN, (Atlanta) GA, AL, NC, SC, TN, (Dallas, Ft Worth) TX, OK, DC, AR. We can service most other areas of the US but additional travel charges will be applied.