Contractual Guidelines for Construction Safety–Related Issues under Design–Build Standard Forms of Contract

Abstract

A lack of clear-cut contractual safety responsibility is one of the main problems in construction safety. Therefore, it is in the interest of all project parties to assign proper contractual safety responsibilities before the execution of the contract. Despite the increased popularity of design–build (DB) contracts, there is a scarcity of research work that addresses DB contracts in general and the contractual safety aspects in particular. This research study fills this critical knowledge gap by providing contractual safety guidelines in relation to the parties’ rights and responsibilities and the tort liability/negligence under national DB standard forms of contract. To achieve that, the authors used a multistep methodology. First, the authors analyzed and compared the safety-related provisions as stipulated by national DB standard forms of contracts. Second, the authors presented law case studies to provide practical perspectives on the different aspects of the safety-related provisions and their relation to tort liability/negligence. Third, the authors developed the advantages and disadvantages for each of the studied contracts. Fourth, the authors developed a checklist to enable contract administrators to avoid poor or unclear contract language and to better draft new contracts in terms of safety-related issues. The outcomes of this research work will enable contract administrators to clearly assign safety responsibilities between the different parties of the project. Clear assignment of safety responsibilities in contracts will enhance the overall safety performance of projects and minimize claims, conflicts, and disputes related to safety injuries in the construction industry.