1
Site requirements differ, and workers do not stay put.
One site needs OSHA 30 for supervisors, another wants a local site safety card, a third adds a client-specific orientation. The same worker is cleared for one and blocked on the next. A spreadsheet per project falls apart the first time crews are reassigned mid-week.
The risk: a worker turned away at the gate on the morning of a pour.
2
Cards expire on their own schedules.
Powered industrial truck evaluations, aerial lift authorisation, fall protection refreshers, first aid and CPR, HAZWOPER refreshers and respirator fit testing each renew on a different interval. There is no single date to watch, which is why lapses are usually found late.
The risk: work performed by someone whose certification lapsed last month.
3
Task-specific qualification is verified after the fact.
Confined space, silica exposure, lockout/tagout, scaffold competent person and trenching are assigned by the work, not by job title. Verification tends to happen when something goes wrong, or when a record is requested.
The risk: an unqualified worker on a high-hazard task.
4
You are accountable for people you do not employ.
On a multi-employer worksite the general contractor is expected to demonstrate that everyone on site is trained, subcontracted crews included. Collecting that by email, per sub, per project, is a full-time job that produces an answer already out of date.
The risk: prequalification stalling on paperwork you cannot produce.