Worth answering before you spend money, because the answer is in documents you already have.
It comes from the contract, not the job size
There is no dollar threshold that switches the SSHO requirement on. What switches it on is your contract invoking the safety manual. A small job under a contract that invokes EM 385-1-1 can carry the requirement; a larger job under a contract that does not, may not.
EM 385-1-1 is a USACE manual. Its front matter applies it to USACE, its subordinate commands, and USACE contracts and those administered on behalf of USACE. Everyone else reaches it by reference through the specification — which is why the contract, not the agency logo, is the thing to read. For Navy and Air Force work specifically, see does NAVFAC require an SSHO.
Where to look, in order
- Search the whole contract for "385". One search across the solicitation, the award and the specifications. Any reference to EM 385-1-1 — and particularly a direction to comply with the most recent edition — brings the manual in.
- Look for UFGS Section 01 35 26, Governmental Safety Requirements, in the specification index. This is the usual carrier. Read the tailored text, not the guide version.
- Read the rest of Division 01. Safety submittals, the accident prevention plan and the SSHO level can be specified there.
- Find the level. This is the step people skip. The default is one full-time Level 1 at each project site, but the contract may call for a Level 2 or Level 3, or a combination.
- Look for an exception. The full-time Level 1 requirement can be modified in the contract documents by the contracting officer together with the local safety office, based on job complexity, size and other pertinent factors, with the reasoning documented. Dredging, maintenance, service and limited-scope contracts are among the examples the manual gives.
- Ask the KO or COR in writing if any of it is ambiguous. They are the acceptance authority for your designation letter anyway, so their reading is the one that counts.
Do not use a previous contract as the answer. Guide specifications are tailored per project and the manual has changed — the current edition is 15 March 2024, which superseded the 30 November 2014 edition and rewrote this subject. A requirement you satisfied on last year's job is not evidence about this one.
If the answer is yes
Three things follow, and the third has a deadline attached:
- A qualified person at the level the contract requires — the bar is on SSHO requirements.
- Cover for their absence, designated in advance — how coverage works.
- An accepted ENG Form 6282 designation letter. Work must not be conducted until the government accepts it, so this is the one to start at award rather than at mobilisation.
And price it in. The cost of the role is a line item on federal work in a way it is not on private work, and bidders who leave it out are the ones who get hurt.
Sourced from USACE EM 385-1-1, edition of 15 March 2024 (which supersedes the 30 November 2014 edition) — paragraph 2-2.x for the SSHO levels, 2-3.b for training and experience, 2-4.b for roles and responsibilities, and 2-8.b for designation and site requirements. Reviewed 2026-10-02.