H & S regs and resonsibilities

1. Core 01 – Health, Safety and
Welfare in Construction and
Associated Industries
Regulations, roles and responsibilities

2. Tutor Copy

3. Everyone who works in construction is protected by:
Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act of 1974
HASAWA
The Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act covers all health
and safety legislation.
Within this legislation is smaller specific regulations:
affecting the employer
and employee
Health and safety legislation

4. • The Manual Handling Operations Regulations
• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
(PUWER)
• The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (PPE)
• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations
(COSHH)
• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences
Regulations (RIDDOR)
• The Control of Noise at Work
• The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations
• Working at Height Regulations
• Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations
Health and safety legislation

5. The building site environment changes all the time.
It is important to plan where you are going when moving
materials by manual handling.
You should also use correct lifting techniques.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/manualhandling.htm
Manual handling

6. Legislation used in Construction
• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER)
• The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (PPE)
• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations
(COSHH)
• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences
Regulations (RIDDOR)
• The Control of Noise at Work
• The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations
• Working at Height Regulations
• Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations
• Explosive Regulations

7. If you have to use power tools at work, your employer must
make sure that the tools are:
• The correct tool for the job you are doing
• Well maintained and looked after.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/puwer.htm
The Provision and Use of Work
Equipment Regulations (PUWER)

8. The Personal Protective Equipment
at Work Regulations (PPE)
Employers must provide you with the Personal Protective
Equipment you need to do your job.
They must also provide you with somewhere to safely store
your Personal Protective Equipment
You must look after this Personal Protective Equipment and
use it correctly.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/ppe.htm

9. The Control of Substances
Hazardous to Health Regulations
(COSHH)
Some materials you use on site could damage your health if you use
them without protection.
These materials will need to be labeled as dangerous and also moved
and stored correctly.
Injuries to health can be caused by:
• breathing in gases
• breathing in fumes
• breathing in mist or dust
• contact with the skin
• Swallowing
• contact with the eyes
• skin puncture
http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/

10. The Control of Substances
Hazardous to Health Regulations
(COSHH)
Some Substances you use on site could damage your health if
you use them without protection.
Substances such as:
• Lead Paint
• Solvents and adhesives
• Cements
• Dust
• Contaminated soil/water
• Materials containing Asbestos

11. Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and
Dangerous Occurrences
Regulations (RIDDOR)
Every accident involving any injury whatsoever, and no matter
how slight, should be reported.
An accident report book should be on every site or workshop,
usually with the Site Agent, Supervisor, or whoever is in charge
of the site.
Reporting all accidents will help
prevent them from happening again.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/

12. The Control of Noise at Work
Over 1 million employees in Great Britain are exposed to
levels of noise that puts their hearing at risk.
Employers are required to assess the risks and minimise
the dangers to their employees.
Noise is measured in Decibels dB.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/

13. The Control of Vibration at Work
Regulations
These regulations introduce action
and limit values for hand-arm and
whole-body vibration.
Employers are required to assess
the risks and minimise the dangers
to their employees.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/vibration/hav
/regulations.htm

14. Working at Height Regulations
Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of
fatalities and major injuries. Common cases include falls from
ladders and through fragile roofs.
Work at height means work in any place, including at or below
ground level (for example in underground workings), where a
person could fall a distance liable to cause injury.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/
height.htm

15. Control of Asbestos at Work
Regulations
http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos
/regulations.htm
Did you know that every week on average 20 tradesmen die
from exposure to asbestos.
Asbestos was extensively used as a building material in the
UK from the 1950s through to the mid-1980s. It was ideal for
fireproofing and insulation.
Asbestos materials in good condition are safe unless
asbestos fibres become airborne, which happens when
materials are damaged.

16. Explosives Regulations
www.hse.gov.uk/explosives
Essential information and guidance is given with regards to
the following:
• Manufacture and storage of explosives
• Classification of explosives including importation
• Storage of ammonium nitrate
• Fireworks
• Transfer of explosives

17. Precautions
Appropriate precautions need to be put into place for all
these substances.
Precautions such as:
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Respiratory Equipment
• Isolation (from substances)
• Exposure times (when working with substances)

18. Employers’ Duties
1. Provide and maintain a safe working environment, using Risk
assessments to create method statements.
2. Ensure safe access to and from the workplace.
3. Provide and maintain safe machines, equipment.
4. Ensure the safe handling, transport and storage of all machinery,
equipment and materials.
5. Provide their employees with the necessary information,
instruction, training and supervision to ensure safe working.

19. Employees’ Duties
1. Take care at all times.
2. Co-operate with their employers with regards to health
and safety.
3. Use the equipment and safeguards provided by the
employers.
4. Not to misuse or interfere with anything provided for
health and safety.
5. Report hazards, near misses and accidents correctly.

20. Health and Safety
Following these strict guidelines will help
companies prevent accidents.
Accidents cost money and lives
Messing about may cause someone harm.

21. Personal Safety
The following are possible consequences of poor
site safety with regards to employees on site:
• Dermatitis
• Skin Cancer
• Infections
• Eye damage
• Head injuries
• Cuts
• Leptospirosis (Weils Disease)
• Burns

22. Health and Safety at
Work Etc. Act 1974
HASAWA

23. Health and Safety Executive
The HASAWA gives HSE inspectors powers to:
• enter workplaces and offer advice
• ensure that work is being done safely
• investigate accidents and complaints
• stop work if it is dangerous
• take people to court where an offence has been
committed.
Enforcement of Construction safety

24. General Legal Requirements
All construction and demolition work is
subject to the Health and Safety at Work
Etc. Act and in appropriate circumstances
the Construction Design and Management
Regulations (CDM).
The following sets out some of the legal
requirements, which apply to employers.

25. Notification needs to be given
to the HSE When:
A) Work starts on a construction site
B) Accidents, Dangerous Occurrences
or ill Health happen on site
If a construction project is going to last more than 30 days
or will take more than 500 man-days work, or involve more
than five people on site at any time, or it involves any
demolition work, then the main contractor must notify the
HSE about the project.
This gives the HSE the opportunity to visit and check up
on health and safety on site.

26. The local HSE office
must be notified by the
employer if:

27. A person dies as a result of an accident
caused by or connected with work on the
site

28. A person suffers a listed ‘major injury’
accident (this includes accidents where a
person is admitted to hospital for more
than 24 hours) or a health condition
caused by or connected with work on the
site.

29. A listed ‘dangerous
occurrence’ takes place
because of or in
connection with the work
(e.g. collapse/partial
collapse of a scaffold
more than 5m high and
certain buildings and
structures).

30. A person at work is prevented from
working for three or more days as a
result of an injury or illness caused by
an accident at work.

31. A person at work is affected by a
‘specified disease’ (e.g. lead poisoning
or vibration white finger)

32. Safety Policy
Every employer who has five or more
employees must prepare a written safety
policy.
It must be revised when necessary and
brought to the attention of all employees.

33. Welfare
Every contractor on site must make sure that welfare
facilities are available for their employees.
Suitable and sufficient washing facilities.
Suitable and sufficient adequate toilets.
Drying rooms or other accommodation for sheltering
during bad weather, storing clothes and taking breaks.

34. Personal Hygiene
You are responsible for your own personal hygiene when
on site.
Washing your hands and using the welfare facilities
provided will help you maintain good personal hygiene.
Think about the impression you give to the people you
work for.
If you look untidy, future customers may be put off.

35. Other sources of health and
safety information
• HSE (Health and Safety Executive)
• CITB (Construction Industry Training Board)
• C-Skills (Construction Skills)
• BSI (British Standards Institute)
• ROSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of
Accidents)
• RSPH (Royal Society for Public Health)

36. Site Protection
Fencing is used to:
• Protect the public from the dangers of
excavations, holes and stacked
materials.
• Prevent vandalism and theft
• Prevent access to higher levels.

37. HSE
• An Improvement notice requires the employer to put
right something which is wrong, usually within 14 or 21
days.
• A Prohibition Notice. This requires the employer to
stop immediately any activities which are likely to result
in serious personal injury.
This ban on activities continues until the situation is
corrected.

38. Tool Box Talk
A specified meeting slot on site, where important
information regarding site is given to employees.
Site Hazards such as:
• Site developments
• Plant and vehicles
• New personnel
• Extreme weather conditions
Record of attendance of these meetings will be
kept by employers

39. Weather / Elements
Weather can have a dramatic affect on site
safety.
• Wind
• Rain
• Flood
• Heat
• Snow and Ice

40. Risk Assessment
Employers have to assess risks associated with any
task.
This is called a
Risk Assessment
Risk assessments are a careful examination of what
could cause harm to people at work.
Employers can then weigh up whether they have taken
enough precautions, or should do more to prevent harm
to the workforce.
Risk assessments must be done
It is LAW

41. Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment
•Identify the hazards
•Decide who might be harmed and how
•Think about the risks and decide on how to
prevent it
•Record the findings and put them into
practice
•Review your assessment and update if
necessary

42. Method Statement
Once the risks have been highlighted a
description of how tasks should be done is
created, this is called a
Method Statement
Specific instructions on how to do a task in
the safest way minimising injuries and ill
health.