Updated MIOSHA Part 25, Concrete Construction

Updated MIOSHA Part 25, Concrete Construction

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) has officially updated Construction Safety and Health Standard Part 25: Concrete Construction, effective June 22, 2026.

This is the first comprehensive modernization of these rules in years, moving away from outdated voluntary standards (some dating back to 1983) to address the realities of modern concrete construction practices. For Michigan contractors, these updates introduce specific, strict compliance requirements.

Here is a breakdown of what has changed based on the official strike-and-bold revisions and how your business must adapt to remain compliant.

1. Enhanced Definitions & Terminology Clarity

MIOSHA has heavily revised and expanded its dictionary of terms to remove ambiguity. Notable additions and modifications include clear, distinct definitions for:

    • "Competent Person": Now explicitly defined as an individual capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards and who has the direct authorization to take prompt corrective measures.
    • Tensioning Operations: Refined definitions differentiating between Pre-tensioning (stressing tendons before concrete is placed) and Post-tensioning (stressing after concrete has hardened).
    • Flying Forms: Language updated to precisely cover modern modular formwork.

How to Comply: Review these updated definitions with your safety managers, estimators, and project leads. Ensure that when roles like "competent person" or "qualified person" are assigned on-site, the designated individuals possess the legal authority and technical background matching MIOSHA's updated language.

2. Reinforcing Steel, Stability, and Support

The rules governing reinforcing steel have been tightened to prevent structural collapses before concrete is even poured.

    • What changed: Text revisions emphasize that reinforcing steel for walls, piers, columns, and similar vertical structures must be guyed, braced, or otherwise supported to prevent collapse—and this work must explicitly be done under the direction of a qualified person.
    • Prohibitions remain strict: Reinforcing steel must not be used as a scaffolding hook or stirrup, or welded as a load-bearing member.

How to Comply: Never leave the bracing of rebar cages or vertical rebar assemblies to guesswork. Document the designation of the "qualified person" overseeing the guying and bracing on-site.

3. Concrete Mixing, Pouring, and Floating

Worker exposure to suspended loads and hazards during active concrete placement received a major overhaul.

    • What changed: A brand-new emphasis has been placed on pre-planning routes for suspended loads. MIOSHA now strictly requires that routes for concrete buckets and other suspended loads be mapped out in advance to ensure no employee is required to work directly underneath them (unless they are explicitly engaged in emptying the bucket).
    • Equipment updates require bull float handles to be nonconductive (or insulated) if they could contact energized electrical conductors. Powered, rotating troweling machines must feature an automatic shut-off switch that activates the moment the operator removes their hands from the handles.

How to Comply: Integrate "suspended load routing" into your daily Pre-Task Plans (PTPs) or Job Hazard Analyses (JHAs). Mark out clear drop zones and ensure spotters or physical barricades prevent workers from wandering beneath active crane or cableway concrete buckets.

4. Shoring, Reshoring, and "Flying Forms"

Shoring and structural formwork failures are among the most catastrophic events in concrete construction.

    • What changed: Inspection and documentation requirements have been enhanced. All shoring equipment must be inspected prior to, during, and immediately after concrete placement.
    • For flying forms (modular formwork moved by cranes), the rule language has been revised to strictly regulate worker positioning and rigging procedures, ensuring no workers are in the drop zone during transition.

How to Comply: Implement strict sign-off procedures. Before any concrete is poured, a competent person must inspect the forms and shoring, and that inspection should be logged in your project management system.

5. New Active Site Access and Layout Controls

Managing an active, chaotic job site is a major factor in avoiding struck-by or caught-between injuries.

    • What changed: MIOSHA added new requirements regulating active work zone layouts. Contractors must control site access around active concrete pours, pumpcrete discharge lines, and delivery truck staging areas.

How to Comply: Establish clear traffic patterns, swing radiuses, and physical "safe zones" before heavy concrete mixing or pumping equipment moves onto the site. Use standard hand signals, high-visibility apparel, and dedicated spotters.

6. Mandatory, Task-Specific Training

Perhaps the most significant addition to Part 25 is a brand-new, explicit mandate for documented worker training.

    • What changed: Employers are now explicitly required to ensure—and formally document—that all employees participating in concrete operations are trained by a qualified person on task-specific hazards (e.g., tendon tensioning, formwork rigging, or working near high-pressure pump lines).

How to Comply: You can no longer rely on general OSHA 10-hour or 30-hour cards to cover concrete safety. You must implement a task-specific training program for your concrete crews. Crucially, maintain written or digital training records detailing the date of training, the concepts covered, the name of the employee, and the name of the qualified person who conducted the training. If MIOSHA inspects your site, these logs will be among the first documents requested.

Bottom Line for Contractors

MIOSHA's updated Part 25 brings concrete safety rules into the 2020s. To protect your workers and shield your business from costly "Serious" citations (which routinely cost thousands of dollars per violation), act now:

    • Update your company's written Accident Prevention Program (APP) to reflect these Part 25 changes.
    • Audit your tools (check troweling machine shut-offs and bull float handles).
    • Roll out a documented training session for all field personnel on the new site layout and suspended load routing rules.

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