OSHA 1926 — the phase where most people get hurt.
Gigawatt campuses are going up faster than the workforce building them can be qualified. Construction is where the fatality data actually is — and on a live campus it happens on the other side of a wall from energized equipment.
1926 covers construction, alteration and repair. New build, fit-out, expansion, and any structural or system modification. Routine maintenance of the running facility is 1910. On an operating campus with an active build-out, both apply simultaneously — and the boundary between them is a real management problem, not a paperwork one.
§ Subpart by subpart
| Subpart | Topic | Data center relevance |
|---|---|---|
| C | General safety and health — 1926.20–.35 | Accident prevention program, training, competent persons, EAP |
| D | Occupational health and environmental controls — 1926.50–.66 | First aid, sanitation, noise, lead, HAZWOPER |
| E | PPE — 1926.95–.107 | Including 1926.97 electrical protective equipment |
| F | Fire protection and prevention — 1926.150–.155 | Combustible storage on a live campus |
| G | Signs, signals and barricades — 1926.200–.203 | Separating construction from operating space |
| H | Materials handling and storage — 1926.250–.252 | Laydown, staging, rigging loads |
| I | Tools — 1926.300–.307 | Including powder-actuated tools |
| J | Welding and cutting — 1926.350–.354 | Hot work adjacent to live space |
| K | Electrical — 1926.402–.449 | Temporary power is the number one electrical finding. Detail → |
| L | Scaffolds — 1926.450–.454 | |
| M | Fall protection — 1926.500–.503 | 6-foot trigger, leading edge, roof and steel. Detail → |
| N | Hoists, elevators and conveyors — 1926.552 | Material and personnel hoists |
| O | Motor vehicles and mechanized equipment — 1926.600–.606 | Struck-by on a site with hundreds of pieces of mobile equipment |
| P | Excavations — 1926.650–.652 | Duct bank and utility trenching. Enormous scope on greenfield campuses |
| Q | Concrete and masonry — 1926.700–.706 | Core drilling and slab penetrations |
| R | Steel erection — 1926.750–.761 | |
| T | Demolition — 1926.850–.860 | Decommissioning and data hall refit |
| V | Electric power transmission and distribution — 1926.950–.968 | Building the substation and the utility tie |
| X | Stairways and ladders — 1926.1050–.1060 | |
| AA | Confined spaces in construction — 1926.1200–.1213 | Vaults, pits and tanks during construction |
| CC | Cranes and derricks — 1926.1400–.1442 | Generator, chiller and transformer picks. Detail → |
| Z | Toxic and hazardous substances | Silica 1926.1153 during coring and cutting |
§ The five that matter most on a data center project
Temporary power — 1926.404(b)(1). GFCI or an assured equipment grounding conductor program. This is the highest-volume electrical finding in construction, full stop.
Fall protection — 1926.501. Six feet, leading edge, roof work, steel. Consistently in OSHA's most-cited list.
The energization boundary — when construction gear becomes live gear. The single most dangerous transition in the building's life.
Multi-employer liability — creating, exposing, correcting, controlling. With a dozen subs on site, this determines who gets cited.
Critical lifts — 1926.1400. Generators, chillers and transformers, frequently near energized overhead lines.
Training for both sides of the wall
NFPA 70E for the electrical crews, and full-practice EHS breadth for everything else on the project.
Onsite training Get in touch