Need an SSHO now?
Tell us what the job is, where it is and when you need somebody standing on it. A person reads these — your details are not posted anywhere public and you are not signing up for anything.
What happens next
We read the request and come back to you about what you need and what we can do. If it is faster to talk, call (813) 678-5701 and leave a message with the project and a number.
Before you send it
If you are not sure the contract actually requires an SSHO, or whether the person you already have clears the bar, those are both worth two minutes first:
Four things that catch contractors out
Every one of these has cost somebody a start date. They are all in the 15 March 2024 edition of EM 385-1-1, and none of them are obvious from the specification.
The ENG Form 6282 timing trap
The designation letter is mandatory at every level, it is signed by both your corporate safety official and the SSHO, and work must not be conducted until the contracting officer or COR has accepted it. Acceptance is somebody else's calendar, not yours. Finding your SSHO on the Friday for a Monday start means the form has not been submitted, let alone accepted. The accepted copy then stays at the site of work, and a new or additional SSHO means a whole new letter.
A high RAC forces a Level 1
Level 2 is collateral duty and Level 3 is a qualified or competent person carrying the duties alongside their own job — but neither can be assigned to a project with a residual risk assessment code of high or extremely high. So the risk assessment, not the budget, decides whether you can use a part-time arrangement. Work out your residual RACs before you plan the staffing, because discovering it afterwards means hiring a full-time Level 1 you had not priced.
The 45-minute multi-site rule
Where an activity, task or definable feature of work covers multiple sites and the residual RAC is low or medium, any level of SSHO may be appointed for each site more than 45 minutes' travel time from the primary Level 1's site of work. That is the rule that makes scattered small sites affordable — and it is also the rule people misread as permission to drive one person between sites. Inside 45 minutes, or above medium risk, it does not apply.
Cover is measured in hours, and the DR is gone
If the Level 1 has to leave for something unforeseen or an emergency, a Level 1, 2 or 3 SSHO may cover up to 24 hours and must be on site at all times while work is performed. Beyond 24 hours you need an additional or alternate Level 1 at the site. The “Designated Representative” that the 2014 edition allowed no longer exists — if a consultant is offering you one, they are working from a superseded manual. Line up your alternate before you need them.
One more that works in your favour: the full-time Level 1 requirement can be modified to another level, or a combination of levels, by the USACE contracting officer together with the local safety and occupational health office, in the contract documents — a documented decision based on the job's complexity and size. Dredging, maintenance, service and limited-scope contracts are the examples the manual gives. It is a conversation to have before award, not an argument to have after.
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.