On September 23, 2017, OSHA’s comprehensive silica standard for the construction industry went into effect.¹ The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) has free resources available through its “Work Safely with Silica” website (www.silica-safe.org) to help workers and employers engaged in silica-generating tasks understand how to effectively comply with the standard.

A central feature of this site is the “Create-A-Plan” tool, which is recognized in OSHA’s “Small Entity Compliance Guide for the Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for Construction” as“a tool to help employers develop written exposure control plans.” The “Create-A-Plan” tool allows a contractor to develop the written exposure control plan required by the standard in three easy steps.

Three Steps for Using the “Create-A-Plan” Tool

Step 1 – “Will you generate dust containing silica on the job?”
This step includes a list of materials containing silica and a list of tasks for each one (e.g., cutting/sawing, grinding). An employer can select multiple materials and tasks that will be performed using each material. If a contractor is not sure if a material contains silica, they may select the “learn more” prompt at the bottom of the page, which provides four different ways to find out if a material contains silica. Once the materials and tasks have been selected, the contractor can proceed to Step 2.