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FACTORS RELATING TO REASONABLE CARE

Factors that affect how frequently and closely a controlling employer must inspect to meet its standard of reasonable care include:

1. The scale of the project.
   
2. The nature and pace of the work, including the frequency with which the number or types of hazards change as the work progresses.
   
   
3. How much the controlling employer knows both about the safety history and safety practices of the employer it controls and about that employer's level of expertise.
   
4. More frequent inspections are normally needed if the controlling employer knows that the other employer has a history of non-compliance. Greater inspection frequency may also be needed, especially at the beginning of the project, if the controlling employer had never before worked with this other employer and does not know its compliance history.
   
5. Less frequent inspections may be appropriate where the controlling employer sees strong indications that the other employer has implemented effective safety and health efforts. The most important indicator of an effective safety and health effort by the other employer is a consistently high level of compliance. Other indicators include the use of an effective,  graduated system of enforcement for non-compliance with safety and health requirements coupled with regular jobsite safety meetings and safety training.

EVALUATING REASONABLE CARE

In evaluating whether a controlling employer has exercised reasonable care in preventing and discovering violations, consider questions such as whether the controlling employer:

1. Conducted periodic inspections of appropriate frequency.
   
   
2. Implemented an effective system for promptly correcting hazards.
   
3. Enforces the other employer's compliance with safety and health requirements with an effective, graduated system of enforcement and follow-up inspections.

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