Construction Health and Safety Management

Construction Health and Safety Management By Dr Simon Smith – licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution – Non-Commercial – Share Alike License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/

Part 5: Legislation in Health & Safety Construction Health & Safety Management Simon Smith (University of Edinburgh) & Philip Matyear (Balfour Beatty)

Culture & Legislation There are many aspects to health & safety Culture is one of them, and this module will attempt to instil a general philosophy about attitude to H&S on a construction project But one must always be aware of the legislation Legislation could be considered the ‘rule book’ of constructing safely A useful analogy may be the highway code: The highway code does not make you a good driver But you still needs to know the highway code

Brief History of safety legislation The dangers posed to employees during the course of their work have been known for thousands of years Before the days of rigid guidelines and laws, fear was the motivator for safety Safety was first accepted by industries that had a propensity towards high-severity accidents Not in an attempt to protect employees, but in order to protect the business For example, not blowing oneself up whilst manufacturing nitro-glycerine was probably viewed as a fundamental requirement for success in that particular market

Brief History of safety legislation The Industrial Revolution saw increased use of powered machinery, This was often designed with little or no regard for safety and convenience, often operated by unskilled and untrained labour, and often overseen by uncaring and unscrupulous employers When an accident happened it was very difficult for an employee to get compensation The courts decided cases based on the ‘assumption of risk’ principle, which means that an employee accepts all customary work-related risk by undertaking said work Public demand for change arose due to the growing power of the labour organisations This led to the first Employer Liability Acts being passed in the 1870s, although the first real compensation act was passed in 1897

Early Legislation Perhaps the first ‘step-change’ was the removal of the ‘assumption of risk’ principle’ New legislation required employers to determine the risks to employees, though they did retain a ‘reasonably practicable’ principle, which remains to this day. The first ‘modern’ legislation, which related to construction, was the Factories Act of 1961 But the most important piece of legislation was the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act of 1974 Modern legislation sets out principles, not rules

The Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 An enabling act Sets out employers duties & obligations: the employer has a statutory duty to care for the health safety and welfare of their employees; to care for the health, safety and welfare of others who may be affected by their activities (e.g. the general public); to provide information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety at work of employees. Employer must put systems into place to ensure above Since its introduction workplace fatalities have reduced by >75% in 30 years

HASAWA 1974: Improvements From the HSE website: the number of fatal injuries to employees fell by 75%; the rate of fatal injury (per 100 000 employees) fell by 76%; the number of reported non-fatal injuries fell by 70%; there have been reductions in injury rates and numbers in all main industry sectors around 24% of the reduction in the rate of fatal injury in the last 10 years can be attributed to a shift in employment away from manufacturing and heavy industry to lower risk service industries; recent research suggests that about 50% of the reduction in non-fatal injury rate since 1986 is due to changes in occupations of workers.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (revision of earlier 1992 regs) Define more clearly employers obligations: to conduct risk assessments of their operations; to develop procedures to manage and reduce identified risks; to co-operate and co-ordinate their efforts with other employers; to appoint persons who are competent to deal with safety on site; to provide information and training to their employers; and to communicate their safety procedures to site visitors

The Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989 & Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 Set out the principles for selecting, providing and using PPE by assessing the risks involved in work operations. The assessments are to include most types of PPE, for example footwear, ear protection, eye protection and safety harnesses. The PPE regulations do not supersede the Head Protection regulations – these highlight the particular importance of the risk of head injury and require a hard hat to be worn whenever there is a risk of head injury. In practice, most construction sites have a policy of wearing a hard hat in all situations, whether there is a risk of head injury or not.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (revision of 1994 regs) Brought about to safeguard the health of employees working with hazardous substances: liquids gases micro-organisms dust Requires employers to assess the risks involved in exposure to these substances introduce appropriate control measures

Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 As a response to industry fatalities, which were not reducing as quickly as the industry would like First “CDM” introduced in 1994 Were not well received – too complex & bureaucratic Did not have a great initial impact The HSC agreed to a consultation on a new revised set of regulations (2002) Decision made to also incorporate CHSW96 into new CDM07 Main impact: clarity of responsibilities; clarity of processes Fundamentals essentially unchanged

Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 Previously two sets of legislation: Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 1994 & Construction (Health Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1996 Are now merged in to one new set of regulations Was introduced 1 April 2007 Together with an ACoP Free Download! From HSE website

Approved Code of Practice The CDM regulations are relatively straightforward – it is their implementation that is tricky. There are always multiple ways of undertaking operations which comply. The ACoP provides practical guidance on complying with the duties set out in the regulations. The HSC did not want an ACoP. They preferred instead ‘Guidance’. The difference is that it would be very difficult to prosecute a contractor who can demonstrate that they adhered to the ACoP even if, say, fatalities occurred. It is only through the insistence of the industry that an ACoP was prepared. Both the CDM regulations themselves and the ACoP can be downloaded for free

Purpose of the ACoP The Approved Code of Practice provides guidance on complying with the law. The document itself on its first page indicates: “This Code has been approved by the Health and Safety Commission, with the consent of the Secretary of State. It gives practical advice on how to comply with the law. If you follow the advice you will be doing enough to comply with the law in respect of those specific matters on which the Code gives advice. You may use alternative methods to those set out in the Code in order to comply with the law. However, the Code has a special legal status. If you are prosecuted for breach of health and safety law, and it is proved that you did not follow the relevant provisions of the Code, you will need to show that you have complied with the law in some other way or a Court will find you at fault.”

Key Aim of CDM Regulations “The key aim of CDM2007 is to integrate health and safety into the management of the project and to encourage everyone involved to work together to: improve the planning and management of projects from the very start; identify hazards early on, so they can be eliminated or reduced at the design or planning stage and the remaining risks can be properly managed; target effort where it can do the most good in terms of health and safety; and discourage unnecessary bureaucracy.

Key CDM Principles • CDM Co-Ordinator • Construction Phase Plan • Health & Safety File • Client Responsibilities • Designer Responsibilities

Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 The CDM Co-ordinator co-ordinates the design phase so that risks to H&S are limited should be independent to other project parties responsibilities are: give suitable and sufficient advice and assistance to clients in order to help them to comply with their duties; notify HSE about the project; co-ordinate design work, planning and other preparation for construction where relevant to health and safety; identify and collect the pre-construction information; …cont.

Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 Cont… provide pre- construction information to all involved; manage the flow of health and safety information between clients, designers and contractors; advise the client on the suitability of the initial construction phase plan; produce or update a relevant, user friendly, health and safety file suitable for future use at the end of the construction phase.

Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 Construction Phase Plan (Previously Health & Safety Plan) A core element, before & during construction The CDM Co-ordinator should liaise with the contractor to oversee this preparation includes all significant risks that have been identified during pre-construction stages allows contractors to develop their H&S systems The contractor should prepare a ‘final plan’ which details their safety management system for construction

Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 Health & Safety File contains all H&S information about the project for those that follow (i.e. clients & users) should contain information about the design & construction of every structure & element of the project responsibility lies with the CDM Co-ordinator who must keep it up to date deliver to client at end of project

Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 The Client’s main responsibilities under CDM: must appoint a CDM Co-ordinator and a Principal Contractor, who are competent and have allocated adequate resources to the project; must provide information about the state of the site to the CDM Co-ordinator as soon as possible before work commences; must ensure that, whilst allowing sufficient time to do so, the Principal Contractor has developed the Construction Phase Plan before permitting construction work to begin;

Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 The Designer’s responsibilities: ensure designs avoid foreseeable risks to the health and safety of all persons constructing, maintaining and using the project; include information in the designs for contractors about the risks associated with the design and the materials to be used; co-operate with the CDM Co-ordinator From the CDM 2007 ACoP:

Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 In CDM there is: a Principal Contractor employed by the client entrusted to supervise safety on the construction site; and contractors otherwise known as sub-contractors employed by the Principal Contractor

Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 The Principal Contractor’s responsibilities: develop the Construction Phase Plan into its final form before construction work can begin, and to keep it up to date during construction; supervise and assess the performance of contractors to ensure they are complying with the Construction Phase Plan ; co-ordinate the activities of multiple contractors with respect to H&S; provide information on health and safety to all contractors; ensure only authorised persons are allowed onto the site;

Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 Cost the extra parties and responsibilities incur an additional cost if the safety input is appropriately planned, costs should be limited contractors have already found that good safety procedures introduced early have reduced problems and associated costs later in the project this is an underlying principle of the regulations. Breaching the law Both civil and criminal liabilities may be incurred through a breach of health and safety legislation. Specifically, a failure to comply with CDM regulations may expose corporate bodies and individuals to unlimited fines and/or up to two years imprisonment.

Health, Safety & Welfare Previously issues relating to general health, safety & welfare were contained in a separate set of regulations Now contained in regulations 26 to 44 of CDM 2007 Provides for duty holders, who have a level of duty in proportion to the level of authority and must comply with the regulations

Health, Safety & Welfare Duty Holders (Reg 25) (1) Every contractor carrying out construction work shall comply with the requirements of regulations 26 to 44 insofar as they affect him or any person carrying out construction work under his control or relate to matters within his control.

Health, Safety & Welfare Duty Holders (Reg 25) (2) Every person (other than a contractor carrying out construction work) who controls the way in which any construction work is carried out by a person at work shall comply with the requirements of regulations 26 to 44 insofar as they relate to matters which are within his control.

Health, Safety & Welfare Duty Holders (Reg 25) (3) Every person at work on construction work under the control of another person shall report to that person any defect which he is aware may endanger the health and safety of himself or another person

Health, Safety & Welfare – general regulations 26. Safe places of work 27. Good order and site security 28. Stability of structures 29. Demolition or dismantling 30. Explosives 31. Excavations 32. Cofferdams and caissons 33. Reports of inspections 34. Energy distribution installations 35. Prevention of drowning 36. Traffic routes 37. Vehicles 38. Prevention of risk from fire etc. 39. Emergency procedures 40. Emergency routes and exits 41. Fire detection and fire-fighting 42. Fresh air 43. Temperature and weather protection 44. Lighting

Construction Health and Safety Management