Construction Phase
Project Supervisor
The developer or commissioner of the works (the client) must appoint a supervisor for the construction phase. He must be reasonably satisfied that they have the competence to undertake the requisite tasks. He must be satisfied as to the resources of the persons appointed.
The project supervisor for the construction stage must develop the safety plan further, before the commencement of construction work. Adjustments must be made as necessary to take account of the progress. Specific measures must be included in relation to particular risks. The plan should include rules for the execution of the construction work which are required to protect health, safety and welfare.
The contractor who constructs must ensure as far as reasonably practicable, that construction is undertaken in a manner that is safe and without risk to health and complies with all with requisite statutory requirements.
Project Supervisor Construction Phase I
The project supervisor for the construction phase has a range of duties. He must
- develop the safety and health plan already prepared;
- adjust it, where necessary;
- include specific risk measures including, in particular, those listed in the regulations;
- provide rules for the execution of the construction work;
- ensure that the rules are in writing and brought to the attention of contractors.
Project Supervisor Construction Phase I
The project supervisor for the construction phase must coordinate other contractors;
- organise cooperation;
- coordinate reporting of accidents;
- coordinate checking of safe working procedures;
- coordinate welfare facilities;
- coordinate measures to permit entry by authorised persons only;
- make available records of names of persons on the site,
- keep copies of reports of accidents and dangerous occurrences.
Project Supervisor Construction Phase III
The project supervisor for the construction phase shall further develop, before the commencement of construction work, the safety and health plan for the construction site. He must make adjustments to the plan, which are required to take account of the progress of and changes in the work.
The project supervisor for the construction phase is to coordinate implementation, during construction, of the general principles of prevention when deciding technical, organisational and timing issues and aspects. If there is more than one contractor engaged, he is to coordinate implementation of the relevant requirements of the regulations and to instruct the contractor and others apply the general principles of prevention in a consistent manner. He is to monitor the implementation of the safety and health plan, in particular in relation to information requirements. He is to follow the safety and health plan, where applicable.
If the work on the construction site is planned to last more than 30 days or is scheduled to exceed 500 person hours, the project supervisor for the construction phase shall before commencement, give notice to the HAS in a form sent by registered post or as may be directed by the authority.
Project Supervisor Construction Phase Duties I
The project supervisor for the construction phase is to
- organise cooperation between contractors (including successive contractors on the same site) and others and the coordination of their activities in relation to a project with a view to protecting persons at work and preventing accidents and injury to health and monitor such cooperation and coordination,
- coordinate the implementation by contractors of obligations in relation to any accident or dangerous occurrence and keep available for inspection a record of any information provided to the project supervisor under the regulation,
- monitor such coordination,
- if the HSA requests information in relation to that record, comply with the request as soon as possible,
- provide access to appropriate information regarding safety, health and welfare required under the regulation to the site safety representative,
- coordinate arrangements for checking the implementation of safe working procedures and monitor the implementation of those arrangements, and
- coordinate measures to permit authorised persons only onto the construction site and monitor such coordination.
The project supervisor for the construction stage may appoint a competent person as health and safety coordinator for the construction stage to assist in undertaking the above duties. The appointment of a competent person as health and safety coordinator for the construction stage does not operate to affect any duty imposed on the client or the project supervisor.
Project Supervisor Construction Phase Duties II
The project supervisor for the construction stage shall coordinate arrangements which facilitate the provision and maintenance, in an appropriate condition, of site welfare facilities for all persons at work on the construction site. He shall monitor the implementation of the arrangements.
He shall take appropriate corrective action where contractors or others do not comply with their obligations. The project supervisor for the construction stage shall maintain and keep available for inspection a record of the names of persons at work at the construction site to whom the regulations apply.
The project supervisor for the construction phase shall coordinate the development and application by all contractors of arrangements made in consultation with employees, to enable contractors and their employees to cooperate effectively in promoting and developing measures in health, safety and welfare on the construction site and ascertaining the effectiveness of the measures.
The project supervisor for the construction stage of a project shall coordinate arrangements among contractors to ensure the provision of relevant information, in writing, necessary for the project supervisor for the design process to monitor the implementation of the arrangements and take any necessary corrective action. He shall provide in writing to the project supervisor for the design process all relevant information necessary for that project supervisor to complete the safety file.
Safety Representative
The project supervisor for the construction phase shall facilitate, where more than 20 persons are normally involved, in cooperation with contractors and persons employed in the project, the appointment of a site safety representative from among the employees of the contractors. The site safety representative must have access to the risk assessment carried out, information in relation to accidents or dangerous occurrences required to be reported, and information arising from protective and preventative measures taken under statutory provisions. He is to be informed when an inspector enters the construction site for the purpose of carrying out an inspection.
The project supervisor is to inform the representative of the venue and time for all safety meetings and is to facilitate attendance by the representative at such meetings. The site representative may inspect the whole or part of the construction site after giving reasonable notice to the project supervisor. He may inspect immediately in the event of an accident, dangerous occurrence or imminent danger or risk to the safety, health and welfare of any person.
The site safety representative may investigate accidents and dangerous occurrences provided he does not interfere with the performance of any statutory obligation by any other person. After giving reasonable notice to the supervisor, he may investigate complaints made by employees whom he represents. He may accompany inspectors on an inspection of the construction site.
Participation and Representations by Safety Representative
He may attend interviews of employees following accidents or dangerous occurrence. He may make representations to the project supervisor for the construction stage and to the contractor on the construction site. He may make representations to inspectors in matters relating to health, safety and welfare at the construction site, including investigation of accidents and dangerous occurrences.
The project supervisor for the construction phase and any contractor on the project shall take account of representations made by the site safety representative on matters affecting health, safety and welfare at work. The representative is to be afforded time off from duties as may be reasonable, without loss of remuneration, to acquire the necessary knowledge to discharge his functions.
Contractor’s Duties I
The contractor is the person who manages or controls the construction site. It includes persons who supply materials, labour or both. The general health and safety powers and rules apply to construction sites. There are HSA guidelines in relation to the risks in particular areas.
Contractors have obligations in relation to a wide range of matters impacting on the site. These include site safety and access, emergency routes, stability, traffic routes, loading bays, machinery and equipment, helmets, lighting, electrocution, avoiding collapse, fire detection, floors, walls and ceilings, windows, air space, escalators, travelators, supervision of works, excavation, fencing, air ventilation, temperature, waste disposal, vehicles, operation of vehicles, washing facilities, sanitary conveniences, persons with disabilities, demolition.
Contractor’s Duties II
The contractors must
- cooperate with the supervisor;
- provide a copy of the safety statement and information to the supervisor;
- comply with directions of the supervisor;
- report accidents to HSA and supervisor;
- comply with site rules and health and the safety plan covering its employees;
- identify hazards and reduce risks;
- facilitate the site safety representatives;
- ensure the workers have a safety awareness card and a construction skills card where required;
- appoint safety officers on sites with more than 20 persons
- consult workers and safety representatives.
Particular Risks
The following is a non-exhaustive list of works involving particular risk to safety, health and welfare of persons and works.
- works which put persons at risk of falling from a height, burial under earthfalls or engulfment in swampland, particularly where the risk is aggravated by the nature of the work, the process used or the environment at the place of work or construction site;
- work which puts persons at risk from chemical or biological substances constituting a particular danger to safety and health of such persons or involving a statutory requirement for health monitoring;
- work with ionising radiation;
- work near high voltage power lines;
- work exposing persons to drowning;
- work on wells, underground earthwork or in tunnels;
- work carried out by divers having a system of air supply;
- works carried out in a caisson with a compressed air atmosphere;
- work involving the use of explosives;
- work involving assembling or dismantling of heavy prefabricated components.
General Matters
The following is a non-exhaustive list of matters to be considered in particular, as regards the application of the general principles of prevention to construction work.
- keeping the construction site in good order and in a satisfactory state of cleanliness;
- choosing the location of workstations, bearing in mind how access is obtained;
- conditions under which various materials are handled;
- technical maintenance, pre-commissioning checks and regular checks on installations and equipment with a view to correcting faults which may affect safety, health and welfare of work;
- demarcation, or laying out of areas for the storage of various materials, in particular where dangerous materials or substances are concerned;
- conditions under which dangerous materials are removed;
- storage and disposal of waste and debris;
- adaptation based on progress made on the construction site of the actual time allocated to various types of work;
- cooperation between employees and self-employed persons;
- interaction with industrial activities at the place within which or in the vicinity of which construction site is located.
References and Sources
Irish Books
Safety, Health and Welfare and at Work Law in Ireland 2nd Ed 2008 Byrne Ch 13
Safety & Health Acts Consolidated & Annotated 2013 Byrne
Health, Safety & Welfare Law in Ireland 2012 Kinsella Ch 5
Health & Safety: Law and practice 2007 Shannon
Health & Safety at Work 1998 Stranks Ch 14
Civil Liability for Industrial Accidents 1993 While
Websites
The Health and Safety Authority www.hsa.ie
Health and Safety Executive (UK) www.hse.gov.uk
UK Books
Tolleys Health and safety at work, 2017 29th ed Bamber,
Corporate liability: work related deaths and criminal prosecutions 3rd ed. Forlin
Health and safety at work: European and comparative perspective Ales.
Health and Safety Law 5th Ed 2005 Stranks
Principles of Health and Safety at Work (8th ed) Holt, Allan St. John; Allen, Jim;
The Law of Health and Safety at Work 2014/15 (23rd ed) Moore, Rachel; Winter, Hazel;
Statutes
Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005
Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 291 of 2013)