THE COHEN GROUP
  Environmental Health & Safety Consulting Services

The Cohen Group Newsletter - Volume 8  Issue 3, Article 1.  September, 2006

  Cal/OSHA Proposes Changes to Work Activity Permits
Mark Golembiewski, CIH

If your company performs construction work involving trenches and excavations, or erects, dismantles or demolishes tall buildings, structures or scaffolding, then you should be aware that Cal/OSHA has proposed changes to the regulations that govern who must secure permits from the Division for such work activities and how those permits are obtained. Currently, employers who perform the following construction tasks at jobsites in California are required to obtain a permit from a local Cal/OSHA district office before they initiate any such work activities:

· Construction of trenches or excavations which are 5 feet or deeper and into which a person is required to descend;
· Construction of any building, structure, scaffolding or falsework (including tower cranes) more than 3 stories high, or equivalent;
· Demolition of any building or structure, or the dismantling of scaffolding or falsework
   (including tower cranes) more than 3 stories high, or  equivalent; or
· The underground use of diesel engines in mines and tunnels.

A notice of the proposed modifications to Sections 341 and 341.1 of Title 8 was first published in May by DOSH and later revised on June 23, 2006 (with a comment period that closed on July 12) after some concerns were expressed by representatives of the construction industry. There has been no further action or comment by the agency since the June notice.

The proposed changes are designed to provide a uniform set of rules, since the current regulations are short on consistency. Both Title 8 sections have been completely rewritten in more user-friendly language to provide clarification. Much of the content remains essentially the same, but a few substantive changes are evident.

The proposal creates a two-tiered system of ‘Project Permits’ for General Contractors and specific construction activities, and ‘Annual Permits’ for subcontractors performing general, repetitive activities. Currently, an employer can obtain either a project-specific permit or an annual permit for either the erection/dismantling of scaffolds or for the construction of excavations or trenches. Only project-specific permits are issued for tower crane erection or dismantling (as well as raising and lowering). Under the proposed system, the types of permits issued for these work activities will remain the same.

A new permit system will apply to:

· Demolition or dismantling of buildings or structures greater than 36 feet in height, or

· The following activities on a structure intended to be more than 36 feet high when completed:

- Erection or placement of structural steel or non-steel structural members
- Installation of metal or non-metal decking
- Installation of curtain walls, precast panels, or fascia
- Forming or placement of concrete structures or decks on steel structure

For these types of construction activities, the "Project Administrator" (typically the General Contractor for the project) will need to obtain a Project Permit from Cal/OSHA, while all other employers on the jobsite who are directly engaged in any of these ‘permitted’ work tasks will need to possess an Annual Permit. Previously, Project Administrators were not required to obtain a permit. Under these new proposed rules, Administrators (e.g., general contractors) will need to obtain a permit for their project.

In response to major concerns of the construction industry after reviewing the initial proposal, DOSH has made a couple of substantive changes to the permit issuing process. First, the requirement that a permit must be issued prior to the start of any work has been deleted, thus allowing for greater flexibility on projects of long duration. For example, the General Contractor may not know at the start of some projects who will be doing the finishing work or may not have complete information on some of the subcontractors prior to initiation of the project work. DOSH has also removed the requirement to conduct its investigations of permit applicants prior to the issuance of a permit. This applies to hearing and safety conferences intended to review the safety means, methods, devices, processes, practices, conditions or operations the applicant intends to use.

Finally, DOSH is proposing to set a time limit of five working days after the initial project permit safety conference in which it must issue a Project Permit, if the application materials presented by the applicant at the safety conference are complete. One of the main criticisms of the current system is that Cal/OSHA district managers can hold up permits for various reasons. Under the proposed revisions, applicants must be given a written list of the information needed to complete the application prior to leaving the safety conference. Then DOSH must issue the permit within 5 working days of receiving the complete materials or deny the permit in writing. Another common criticism by contractors was the lack of consistent handling of the permit request at each district office. This problem will also likely be corrected by the Division establishing a set policy and form for the permit request. The current permit policy can be found in the Division’s Policy and Procedure Manual, C-41(A, B, C) which is available at the Cal/OSHA website.

As of this writing, there has been no news on the results of the last comment period or when the final changes to the permit regulations will be approved and made effective. We will keep you apprised of further developments. If you have questions or would like a copy of the proposed changes, please contact us.