What is USACE EM 385-1-1?
Some contractors, military, and government employees of the U.S Army Corps of Engineers are required to comply with EM 385-1-1, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Safety and Health Requirements Manual rather than the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety requirements. The safety requirements in EM 385-1-1 are at least as effective as OSHA construction safety requirements but often have more comprehensive safety and training requirements that are unique to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineer contracts and jobs. Not knowing the difference could mean fines that are thousands of dollars per day for non-compliance.
Accident Prevention Plan (APP)
Both OSHA and EM 385-1-1 require employers to proactively find and fix workplace hazards before workers are hurt. OSHA’s requirements for accident prevention are the Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP). The elements of OSHA’s IIPP is applied to many large companies and many countries around the world.
The difference in The EM 385-1-1 requirements is that an accident prevention plan (APP) is contract or job specific. Any potential hazards that are unique to the job are required to be addressed. The APP is required to be submitted prior to work starting and a copy of the project-specific APP is required to be on the work site.
Employee Training
OSHA training goals are to ensure that workers to have a broad knowledge of workplace safety and health and to make workers more knowledgeable about workplace hazards. In comparison, EM 385-1-1 requires extensive training covering the specific standards for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects. The EM 385-1-1 training requirements are more thorough, and employers are required to conduct more regular safety training meetings.
EM 385-1-1 Training Course
Interpreting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Em 385-1-1 manual can be a challenge because the important safety information is written in dense, technical language. Safety Provisions has created an EM 385-1-1 training course that covers the most relevant and widely applicable topics. The course has been clearly rewritten with pictures and graphics without losing any of the important safety standards.
