January 2009

Following last month’s article on Health & Safety, the FMB Information Department now introduces the Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations 2007 which are intended to focus on planning and management of safety throughout construction projects (which includes electrical works), from design concept onwards.

The aim is for Health & Safety considerations to be treated as an essential and normal part of the project’s development. The 2007 Regulations completely replace the earlier 1994 CDM Regulations and the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996.

CDM 2007 aims to:
 

• Encourage everyone on the construction project team to work together to make Health & Safety an integral part of the design, construction and management of the project
• Improve planning and management to identify hazards so that they can be eliminated or properly managed
• Encourage co-operation and co-ordination of Health & Safety issues on the project.

The CDM Regulations apply to all construction work (regardless of size, duration or client) but there are additional duties for projects where construction work has to be notified.

Notification is required if the construction project is not for a domestic client and is likely to:
 

• Last longer than 30 days, or
• Involve more than 500 person days of construction work.

Any day on which construction work is carried out (including holidays and weekends) should be counted, even if work on that day is of short duration (a person day is one individual carrying out construction work for one normal working shift).

Please note that a domestic client is someone who lives, or will live, in the premises where the work is carried out - the premises must not relate to any trade or business undertaking.

Also you do not need to appoint a CDM co-ordinator or principal contractor, draw up a written construction phase plan or keep a Health & Safety file for a domestic client.

CDM 2007 lists the following key personnel and their key roles:

The client should
 

• Check the competence and resources of all the appointees that they propose to engage for the work
• Ensure that managerial arrangements made by duty holders (including time and other resources) enable construction work to be undertaken without risk to health or safety for all stages of the work
• Ensure that these arrangements are maintained and reviewed throughout all stages of the project
• Provide pre-construction information to designers and contractors and tell them how much time they have for planning and preparing construction work before starting on site
• Ensure there are suitable management arrangements for welfare facilities.

Where projects are notifiable clients must also:

• Appoint a CDM co-ordinator and a principal contractor who will be in place until the end of the construction phase
• Make sure that the construction phase does not start unless a construction phase plan is in place and there are suitable welfare facilities available
• Provide information relating to the Health & Safety file to the CDM co-ordinator
• Retain and provide access to the health and safety file.

The CDM co-ordinator
A CDM co-ordinator is only required where the project is notifiable. They should:
 

• Advise and assist the client with their duties
• Notify the HSE of the project using an F10 form
• Co-ordinate Health & Safety aspects of design work and cooperate with others involved with the project
• Facilitate good communication between client, designers and contractors
• Liaise with the principal contractor regarding ongoing design
• Identify, collect and pass on pre-construction information
• Produce and update a Health & Safety file.
   

The designer

On all projects designers need to:

• Avoid risks to the health or safety of any person, eliminate hazards as far as is reasonably practicable and reduce risks from any remaining hazards during design
• Provide information about remaining risks.

Where projects are notifiable designers must also:

• Check that the client is aware of his duties and that a CDM co-ordinator has been appointed (designers are prohibited from doing anything more than initial design work before the CDM co-ordinator is in place)
• Provide any information needed for the Health & Safety file.

The principal contractor

A principal contractor is only required where the project is notifiable. They should:
 

• Plan, manage and monitor the construction phase so that it is carried out without risks to Health & Safety, as far as is reasonably practicable
• Prepare, develop and implement a written Health & Safety plan and site rules and give contractors relevant parts of the plan (the initial plan should be completed before the construction phase begins)
• Check the competence of all the appointees on the project
• Ensure all workers have site inductions and any further information and training needed to carry out the work safely and without risks to health
• Liaise with the CDM co-ordinator regarding ongoing design and consult with the workers
• Make sure suitable welfare facilities are provided from the start and maintained throughout the construction phase
• Secure the site.

Contractors - on all projects

On all projects contractors need to:

• Plan, manage and monitor their work and that of their workers to ensure that it is carried out without risks to Health & Safety
• Check the competence of all their appointees and workers
• Train their own employees and provide information to their workers
• Comply with any requirements listed in Part 4 of the CDM Regulations, relating to Health & Safety on construction sites
• Ensure that there are adequate welfare facilities for their workers.

Where projects are notifiable contractors must also:

• Check that the client is aware of his duties, that a CDM coordinator has been appointed and that the HSE has been notified before starting work
• Co-operate with the principal contractor in planning and managing work, including reasonable directions and site rules
• Provide details to the principal contractor of any contractor whom he engages in connection with carrying out work
• Provide any information needed for the Health & Safety file
• Inform the principal contractor of any problem with the Health & Safety plan
• Inform the principal contractor of reportable accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences.

The workers on all projects

All employees or self-employed persons on construction sites should:

• Ensure that they only carry out construction work that they are competent to do
• Co-operate with others and co-ordinate work so as to ensure their own Health & Safety and that of others who may be affected by their work
• Report obvious risks
• Follow site health and safety rules and procedures.

For further help and guidance:
The HSE has a section on the CDM Regulations on their website at www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm.htm Detailed guidance aimed specifically at each of the duty holders can be downloaded from the ConstructionSkills website at

www.cskills.org/supportbusiness/healthsafety/cdmregs/guidance/index.aspx

Further help is also available from the FMB Health & Safety Helpline.

Contact the FMB Information Department on 0870 162 0947 or your Regional Office for advice on how to access the Helpline.

October 2009

“Most of my day-to-day work involves refurbishing and repairing old properties. The stripping out of old kitchens and bathrooms etc – not to mention the demolition of walls, results in clouds of dust. We keep windows and doors open where we can – but we still breathe in a lot of muck – are we damaging our health and if so, what measures can we take to reduce the risk?”

One of the most common illnesses resulting from prolonged exposure to building dust is silicosis, caused by crystalline silica. This is present in sand, sandstone and granite, clay, shale, slate, concrete and mortar and the use of power tools to cut or dress stone opens up workers to high exposure. People with silicosis suffer from scarring of lung tissue which leads to breathing difficulties.

The most common is progressive silicosis, caused by exposure over a longer period. Victims suffer severe shortness of breath and the effect continues to develop after exposure has stopped. It is also irreversible.

You should certainly reduce your exposure to silica. In most cases it is possible to control this using dust suppression techniques or local exhaust ventilation. Exhaust ventilated tools are widely available, and capturing or controlling the dust at source is nearly always better than attempting to control exposure by ventilating the whole area.

Respiratory protective equipment (RPE) may need to be provided as well. Guidance on the selection and use of RPE is contained in the HSE booklet: Respiratory protective equipment: A practical guide.

Where workers are regularly exposed to respirable crystalline silica then health surveillance which includes a respiratory questionnaire and lung function testing should be provided, plus, if on an individual basis the doctor thinks it’s necessary, a chest X-ray.

For more detailed information refer to the HSE Guidance Note: Respirable crystalline silica.

May 2009

A new film demonstrates the behavioural changes businesses need to make to reduce deaths and accidents in the construction industry.

ConstructionSkills and UCATT have joined forces to encourage construction firms to improve on-site communication in a bid to reduce numbers of accidents in the industry.

Through the Worker Engagement Toolkit, a new film developed by ConstructionSkills and the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT), construction firms can learn that communication between employers and workers can dramatically increase health and safety awareness, and therefore lead to a reduction in the number of accidents. In addition, effective worker engagement can help to increase turnover, and help firms to safeguard their business during tough times. The interview-led, 30-minute film examines all levels of a variety of businesses, speaking to managing directors, foremen and workers, and offers working examples of how accidents have reduced over time when worker engagement has been effectively carried out. The Health and Safety Executive was also involved in developing the DVD, which has been identified by the Strategic Forum for Construction Worker Involvement Group as the best toolkit on the market.

Good communication prevents accidents

Recent research by Glasgow Caledonian University, commissioned by the HSE, found that the lack of communication between management and the workforce was an on-going problem that led to accidents taking place when simple communication could have prevented them. As a result ConstructionSkills and UCATT have been working together to address the root causes of the patterns in behaviour that can lead to accidents occurring.

Kevin Fear, Head of Health, Safety and Environment at ConstructionSkills said:

“This Toolkit aims to encourage firms to take on-site health and safety a step further and implement worker engagement at a higher level, in order to help eliminate the number of accidents across the industry. We have already seen evidence that worker engagement is vital in terms of driving down accident and fatality rates, and as the industry’s Sector Skills Council, we want to promote this across the board using this film as a guide. With entire workforces becoming more open and honest, both productivity and safety can be improved.”

Alan Ritchie, General Secretary of the Construction Union, UCATT, said: “All the evidence shows that construction sites which are well organised, where workers are directly employed and where there are a high number of independent health and safety representatives, are far safer than casualised sites where bosses pay lip service to safety.

“This new DVD is a useful tool in reinforcing the message to employers that effective worker involvement is a major factor in reducing deaths and injuries at work.”

About ConstructionSkills

ConstructionSkills is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the construction industry. As a partnership between CITB-ConstructionSkills, CIC and CITB Northern Ireland, it is UK-wide and represents the whole industry from professional consultancies to major contractors and SMEs.

About UCATT

UCATT represents 125,000 members employed in the construction industry throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. UCATT’s General Secretary Alan Ritchie is the Chair of the Strategic Forum for Construction (SFfC) Encouraging Worker Involvement Working Group.

The first 20 copies of the DVD are free on a first come first served basis after which it will cost £20 and is available to buy from ConstructionSkills at: http://www.cskills.org/supportbusiness/publications/index.aspx?productid=3537