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Safety & OSHA

First Aid

In Plain English

Basic emergency medical care given immediately to an injured worker on the job site.

Definition

First aid in construction refers to the immediate, temporary care given to an injured or ill worker before professional medical treatment is available. OSHA requires that at least one person trained in first aid be present at a construction site when a hospital or clinic is not in reasonable proximity. First aid supplies, AED availability, and emergency response procedures must be documented in the site safety plan.

Why It Matters in Bidding

Estimators must price first-aid provisions because OSHA non-compliance can trigger citations, work stoppages, and inflated experience modification rates that raise insurance markup on every future bid. General conditions line items typically carry the cost of trained personnel, stocked kits, and AED units, so omitting them erodes margin once the project is underway.

Example

A GC bidding a remote highway job with no clinic within reasonable proximity adds a certified first-aid responder and an AED to its general conditions, pricing roughly $1,500 into the safety line rather than absorbing it later.

Related Terms

Site Safety PlanOSHAOSHA 300 LogPersonal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Frequently Asked Questions

First-aid costs usually fall under general conditions or project overhead rather than direct work. Estimators price trained-responder labor, kit restocking, AED units, and emergency signage, scaling the line to crew size, site remoteness, and project duration. On large jobs these costs are often distributed across the schedule of values.
Yes. When no hospital or clinic is in reasonable proximity, OSHA expects a trained responder on site, raising the bid's general-conditions burden. Estimators reviewing site conditions during takeoff should flag remote locations early so the safety budget reflects dedicated personnel and possibly transport arrangements for emergencies.
The employer of each worker is responsible for that worker's safety provisions, so subcontractors typically carry their own first-aid costs while the GC covers site-wide resources like AEDs and a central station. Bidders should confirm scope splits in the contract to avoid double-counting or coverage gaps.

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