When do I have to follow the Construction rules (29 CFR 1926) versus the General Industry rules (29 CFR 1910)?
You must follow the Construction rules whenever you are doing construction, even if you are normally subject to the General Industry rules. [See 29 CFR 1910.12(a)] OSHA defines construction as follows: work for construction, alteration, and/or repair, including painting and decorating” [29 CFR 1926.32(g) and 29 CFR 1910.12(b)]. Construction is considered to be separate from maintenance. If you are doing maintenance, you will follow the General Industry rules. OSHA does not have a specified definition of the term “maintenance.” However, in a Letter of Interpretation dated August 11, 1994, it stated the following: “Maintenance activities” can be defined as making or keeping a structure, fixture or foundation (substrates) in proper condition in a routine, scheduled, or anticipated fashion. This definition implies “keeping equipment working in its existing state, i.e., preventing its failure or decline.” However, this definition…is not dispositive; and, consequently, determinations of whet
