OSHA Steel Erection Requirement?

[Stress02]

A Contractor working on my project has requested a letter, based on the concrete test results, stating that it is "Safe" to erect the structural steel on the foundation he has built. He claims that based on OSHA regs, a Structural Engineer must give the go ahead.

No one has asked such a thing in 35 years.

I am of the belief that the designers should not assume responsibility for the physical construction. That would have the liability cross over to the Owner's team.

Besides, no one can make that type of judgement unless he was on the job full time, and even then, there is no way of knowing about material defects that might affect safety.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

Don't ignore the Contractor's request - that could come back to "haunt" you. However perhaps you could give him a "political" answer - maybe something like a short letter stating that compliance with the technical specification is mandatory. I do not mean this to be "flippant" response to your question - have had to do this kind of thing from time to time.

 

[Stress02]

I actually just found the OSHA regulation and found out why no one has ever asked for "permission to erect steel" before.
The regulation clearly states that it is the controlling contractor's responsibility to aquire the concrete test results and provide them to the erector for evaluation of the current conditions.
No where is Engineer mentioned so my instinct to resist are well founded. Our liablilty insurer advises to never vouch for physical work unless done by oneself.