How the agent chooses the rule: OSHA, EPA, your manual and the stricter requirement
Where the agent's requirements come from (official OSHA, EPA and DOT text, your confirmed manual, your company rules), and how it applies the stricter one.
Every answer, finding, checklist, JSA and toolbox talk the agent writes is built from sources you can check. There are up to four, and when they disagree the more protective requirement wins.
The four sources
- Official federal regulations. The actual text of OSHA (29 CFR 1926 Construction, 1904 recordkeeping, and the general-industry sections construction relies on), EPA (40 CFR 280 USTs, 112 spill prevention, 63 Subpart CCCCCC gasoline dispensing) and DOT (49 CFR 177.834 and 177.837 cargo tank unloading), from the official eCFR and kept current. See The regulations and standards the agent uses.
- Industry standards for fuel-system work. For tanks, dispensers and tanker work, standards such as PEI RP1700, API RP 1604 or NFPA 30A. These are copyrighted, so the agent names them by number and title but never quotes them.
- Your company's safety manual (HSE / EHS manual). Used only after someone at your company uploads it and confirms it is your current, approved manual. See Upload and confirm your company safety manual.
- Your company rules. Short standing rules you add, such as "Fascia and soffit work at height is done from scaffolding or a lift, never a ladder". See Company rules.
LaunchPad Safety does not supply a manual of its own.
How it picks what applies
For each photo, question or document, the agent first works out which regulation sections apply (for example a trench photo brings in 29 CFR 1926.651 and 1926.652) and reads their actual text. If your manual is confirmed, it also picks the chapters of your manual that cover the same subject. Your company rules are always in front of it. For fuel-system work it adds the fuel rules for that activity (tank removal, transfers, dispensers, confined space, hot work and so on).
How the stricter rule wins
The agent compares what each source requires and applies the more protective one. It says plainly which it used.
| Situation | What the agent does |
|---|---|
| Your manual requires a protective system at 4 ft; OSHA at 5 ft | Applies 4 ft and says: "Company manual requires protection at 4 ft; OSHA at 5 ft — the company rule applies." |
| Your company rule says "no fascia work from ladders"; OSHA allows a properly set ladder | Says "OSHA allows this, but our company rule is …" and requires scaffolding or a lift. |
| Your manual is less strict than OSHA on a point | Applies OSHA. Your manual can add to the regulation, never lower it. |
| Only the regulation covers it | Applies the regulation and cites it. |
| Nothing it was given covers it | Says so plainly and suggests checking with your safety lead. It doesn't guess. |
Where you see it: - Photo review: the drafted corrective action uses the stricter requirement in Action required, and a Stricter requirement applied note says which source won. Both citations go into the Procore observation. - Ask Safety: the answer cites your manual (with the page) and the regulation section, and says which is stricter. - Templates, JSAs and talks: each line lists its sources; where your rule is stricter, the line says so, and the reviewer notes point out places where you may want a stricter company rule.
Before your manual is confirmed
The agent works from the federal regulations and your company rules only, and says so. Nothing from an unconfirmed upload is used. Once confirmed, your manual is used from then on; documents drafted earlier aren't rewritten automatically, so revise them if you want your manual cited.
How you can trust the citations
- A regulation is shown only if it is one of the sections the agent actually read; anything else is dropped.
- Quotes must match the official text (or your manual) word for word, or they are removed.
- Pages for your manual come from the document itself, not from the AI.
- Industry standards are shown only from the known list, and never quoted.
Good to know
- These are federal rules. If you work in a State Plan state (for example California or Washington), your state's rules may be stricter: add them as company rules or in your manual so the agent applies them.
- The agent supports your competent person. It never declares a condition "safe", and a person confirms every finding and approves every document.