Schedule, budget and quality—these are the big three in a construction project, and it’s up to management to deliver them while juggling large sums of money, lots of equipment and hundreds, sometimes thousands, of employees.

When a client puts together a building team, many times a general contractor, or GC, is in charge and does the work. GCs sometimes hire and manage trade and specialty contractors. They have to be up to date with all building codes and well versed in what their subcontractors do—including plumbing, electrical systems, cabinetry, flooring, roofing, foundations, landscaping, and framing. GCs may provide project manager or construction manager services as well.

Critical to every project, these inspectors ensure safety to the public, workers, suppliers, and the users of a facility. Safety is a major concern in the industry and a central part of every job that is undertaken. In the last four decades, national safety organizations, employers, safety and health professionals, unions and advocates have worked together to make construction sites safer. Workplace fatalities have decreased some 65 percent and occupational injury and illness rates by 67 percent. Companies are eager to help employees understand safety law and policies, and typically have safety meetings at the start of a job and routinely thereafter. Some of the topics they address: proper cables to ensure workers are safely lifting loads, elevated platforms with the right fall protection, up-to-date tools, effective harnesses, hazard communications. These and many other elements are required for a safe working environment.

Because safety is a top priority on all job sites, large projects typically have a construction safety manager who makes sure that employees are educated about job safety and that safe practices on site adhere to government requirements.