subject: Health and Safety on a Construction Site [print this page] Health and Safety on a Construction Site Health and Safety on a Construction Site
Health and Safety on any building site is an absolute essential, you must make sure you have it right first time otherwise you could injure yourself, a member of the public and not to mention you will be breaking the law.
Organising your project before hand and obtaining the correct information is a must. Here is a guild to follow, to make sure you have the correct procedures in place.
Traffic Management
The law says that you must organize a construction site so that vehicles and pedestrians using site routes can move around safely.
The routes need to be suitable for the persons or vehicles using them, in suitable positions and sufficient in number and size.
Protecting The Public
The law[1] says you must conduct your business without putting members of the public at risk. This includes the public and other workers who may be affected by your work.
The project client or co-ordinator should provide information about:
boundaries
adjacent land usage
access; and
measures to exclude unauthorized persons
This will influence the measures contractors take.
Materials Storage and Waste Management
The law[1] says you must keep every part of your construction site in good order' and every place of work clean. The objective is to achieve what is usually called a good standard of housekeeping' across the site.
In addition, all contractors must plan, manage and monitor their work so it is carried safely and without risks to health. This includes careful planning on how the site will be kept tidy and housekeeping actively managed.
Welfare
Everyone who works on any site must have:
access to adequate toilet and washing facilities;
a place for preparing and consuming refreshments; and
Somewhere for storing and drying clothing and personal protective equipment.
If mobile teams work at a number of locations over a few days (e.g. road repair and cable-laying gangs), these facilities can be provided at a central location accessible within a reasonable distance or time.
Decisions and action on welfare facilities need to be taken at an early stage of project planning.
Administration
The required notifications, assessments and reports etc. are necessary to support the practical steps taken to secure health and safety on site.
You must have systems in place to ensure that these requirements are met and that the required paperwork' is in order and submitted or available to Inspectors and others as required.
All of the information you will need can be found in many places, your local authority will help, the H&S Website and all qualified builders will have experience with Health and Safety. A good project manager will also be able to help you with what is required by law for your project.
