Bidding OSHA 29 CFR 1926.35: Emergency Action Plan Steps for Bids
When an emergency action plan is required by a specific safety standard on a construction project, contractors cannot treat emergency planning as an afterthought. Under OSHA 29 CFR 1926.35, employers must establish designated actions that both employers and employees must take to ensure safety from fire and other emergencies. For estimators, project managers, and trade subcontractors, accounting for the labor hours, administrative setup, and equipment required by this standard is essential during preconstruction. Here is a step-by-step walkthrough to ensure full compliance is reflected in your estimates and project schedules.
Step 1: Confirm Written Plan Requirements and Crew Size Thresholds
The standard mandates that emergency action plans must be in writing and kept at the workplace where they remain available for employee review. However, there is a specific exception based on firm size: employers with 10 or fewer employees are not required to maintain a written plan and may communicate the emergency action plan orally to workers.
When preparing bids, estimators must look at company crew sizes and project staffing models. If your firm employs more than 10 employees, you must allocate project management or administrative labor to draft, maintain, and update the written document at the jobsite. These administrative hours belong in your project overhead or general requirements line items, alongside other site-specific management duties detailed in your general conditions estimate.
Step 2: Map the Six Mandatory Operational Elements
Whether written or communicated orally, OSHA 29 CFR 1926.35 dictates that the emergency plan must contain minimum baseline components. Missing any component creates both a compliance violation and an unbudgeted operational gap. Your preconstruction plan must incorporate:
- Emergency escape procedures and assigned emergency escape routes across the jobsite.
- Specific procedures for any employees who remain behind to operate critical plant operations prior to evacuating.
- A clear procedure to account for all employees once the emergency evacuation has been fully completed.
- Designated rescue and medical duties for employees assigned to conduct them.
- The preferred means for reporting fires and site emergencies.
- Names or regular job titles of individuals or departments available to explain plan duties or answer questions.
Estimators should recognize that identifying personnel for medical assignments or accounting for personnel after an evacuation requires coordination time, especially on multi-story or large commercial builds.
Step 3: Integrate Compliant Alarm Systems and Distinctive Signals
Under paragraph (c) of the standard, the employer must establish an employee alarm system that complies with § 1926.159. In addition, if that employee alarm system is utilized to alert fire brigade members or serves multiple functions, the employer must implement a distinctive signal for each separate purpose.
Subcontractors and general contractors must account for the direct costs of hardware, testing, and maintenance of alarm units. If distinctive signals are needed for separate emergency responses, estimators must ensure that appropriate signaling devices or site-wide communication tools are priced into safety equipment budgets rather than absorbed as unallocated overhead.
Step 4: Schedule Designated Evacuation Coordinators and Training
Planning is ineffective without trained field personnel. Before implementing the emergency action plan, the employer is required to designate and train a sufficient number of people to assist in the safe and orderly emergency evacuation of workers. The plan must also establish the specific types of evacuation used in emergency circumstances.
In your bid schedule and safety allocations, carry labor hours for training these designated evacuation leaders. Because these individuals require specialized instruction to direct fellow crew members safely off the site, their training hours should be budgeted alongside other mandatory trade education under standard safety training compliance.
Step 5: Allocate Labor Hours for Required Crew Reviews
The standard contains explicit triggers for reviewing the emergency action plan with every covered worker. Bidders must allocate paid non-productive labor time for supervisory staff to conduct these reviews at three distinct project milestones:
- Initially when the emergency action plan is first developed.
- Whenever an employee's designated actions or responsibilities under the plan change.
- Whenever the plan itself is changed or updated.
Additionally, employers must review with each worker upon initial assignment those specific parts of the plan the employee must know to protect themselves during an emergency. Scheduling this review during initial jobsite orientation ensures workers are protected without disrupting scheduled production cycles.
Sources
OSHA 29 CFR 1926.35 - Employee emergency action plans
OSHA Emergency Preparedness and Response Guidance
Published October 28, 2026. No affiliate links on this page. Facts come from the sources linked above; check them for updates.