If you’re sent as one man to oversee 3 jobs that will overlap, what is the risk to your company (and even yourself) if something happens when you were elsewhere? I know law is gray, but what are the facts? What would OSHA say?Note - some of this construction involves digging, borings, and trenching. Other is inside electrical work. The third is a “hey, look into this while you’re there” kinda punch list thing on my own without a contractor.
C’mon construction managers, etc…what’s the real deal on this?
(Moderators: Please bump, if necessary, with my humblest apologies.)
IANAL but I did build my own house as the general contractor.
If you are asking about legal liability I do not think you will get anything but a too-vague broad answer to help.
It would surely depend on the circumstances as well as the State and locale if your question is about torts. If it’s about regulatory requirements and criminal liability, both national and local laws would apply.
On the tort front, lawyers and plaintiffs need to find sources of money so the damages can actually be collected. How far afield they can go from the specific individual who screwed up would be very hard to say. They can certainly hold a company responsible if the company represented themselves as being responsible for a project and the individual assigned to execute that responsibility failed. Whether or not the individual was present is irrelevant; the question is one of responsibility and not physical presence. The “overlapping” responsibilities part is of course, the great joy of tort attorneys. It’s much better to find 5 responsible parties than one because it’s a deeper pocket.
If a tort attorney can find a situation where there is joint and several liability for an overlapping responsibility, he can get the damages for the plaintiff from the whole crowd of responsible parties and let them fight among themselves for who has to actually pony up. If you are working for the Actual Real Company with the money and the other two parties are Bozo Joe’s Garage uninsured subcontractors, you can bet your sweet bippy the lawyers are coming after ARC. Depending on your local situation, ARC may have the deepest (or only) pocket, and may have to pay up for Bozo Joe even though Bozo Joe was mostly at fault.
ETA: as far as going after an individual, that’s really dependent on the circumstances. If the individual works for a properly-structured, bonded and insured company, not likely. If they set up their own fly-by-night shop, all bets are off, esp if there is no other source from which to get money. Also, the plaintiff might collect from the Deep Pocket and the Deep Pocket might try separately to collect from an individual (if there is joint and several liability).
You’re a bit vague, but I think you’re talking about the basic concept that you can delegate authority, but not responsiblity. You would want competent people on the job in your absence and probably need to designate who was incharge of a particular evolution. Something like shoring, in below ground work, should only be undertaken by an experienced, trained person and may require more frequent inspection by you. There are probably local safety regs. on this and you should certainly know what they are. I’d assume that electrical work would be done by a licensed electrician, who should be able to work w/ minimal supervision. What you describe is quite common, but the success depends on the reliability and experience of the people actually doing the work. You should probably be specific about what you require of them and how far they can go w/o your inxpection and approval.
I’ve done construction project management for many years. But your question is vague to the point of confusion.
Are you an employee or independent contractor?
Are you a GC or work for one?
What are you overseeing?
Are the 3 jobs in one location?
What is “something”?
What is the scope of your responsibility? Your company’s?
Who are you under contract with? (upstream and downstream)
I can tell you this: Some of the work you’re desribing is some of the most dangerous on a construction job, and should not be performed or supervised by someone who is not trained (including OSHA training) and experienced.
It’s a common mistake for small companies such as 8(a) outfits to fail to man up their projects adequately. This is an effort to reduce overhead and G&A expenses. There is definitely a risk involved, particularly if the projects are bid with full-time safety, QC or project manager positions in the proposal. The company is exposed to claims from the owner if the project falls behind schedule or if some element of the construction fails. Since construction companies operate on the thin edge of bankruptcy in the best of times, with a 1-2% net profit margin, it’s a foolish risk to take. If your projects are with the government, particularly with the Army Corps of Engineers, you’re really asking for an ass-kicking by not providing proper oversight.