Health and Safety Advice
The construction industry has had a poor health and safety record in the past. Health and safety matters are now rightly being given great priority within the industry. In 1994, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations were brought into effect, concerning health and safety. The legislation aimed to reduce the occurrence of accidents and occupational ill health arising from construction work, by introducing procedures to improve the planning and management of health and safety. The legislation was updated in April 2007 and places duties on employers, designers and contractors, and includes a new role known as planning co-ordinator.
A client will therefore have various duties under the legislation, unless they are a domestic client (who lives or will live in the property). If the project is notifiable to the Health & Safety Executive, a client will also need to employ a planning co-ordinator. A project is notifiable if it will last longer than 30 days or involve 500 person days of work.
We are able to fulfil the role of planning co-ordinator on our building projects. This role typically involves assisting the client with their duties; providing notification to the Health & Safety Executive; identifying, obtaining and passing on pre-construction information; co-ordinating health and safety aspects of the design and enabling good communication between client, designers and contractors; preparation of a final health and safety file.