As fabricators, we have many safety issues to deal with on a regular basis. Some are uncommon to the rest of the construction industry, such as air quality and wet area electrical situations. Many are very similar, including eye and ear protection, as well as trip and fall hazards. However, our “other shop” — the customer’s home — sometimes does not fall under the typical government or OSHA regulations.

I recently attended a MIA/OSHA presentation and asked the OSHA representative about controlling the jobsite safety environment. Surprisingly, he said in most homeowner situations, they have very little or no oversight. They do, however, have some control on new (from the ground up) construction. Keep in mind, from state to state, there may be differing regulations.