3.1 Safety - statutory framework
The Safety Planning Cycle
| 1 Collect information |
Carry out site survey using Red or Amber systems, gathering information on site hazards, environment and design. |
Carry out site survey. |
Surveyor or site manager. Owners, users, statutory organisations. |
Up to 2 years before work. |
| 2 Plan work programme. |
Assess safest work period for each site and incorporat into the year’s programme. |
Prepare annual or site works plan. |
Manager. Owners, funders, users. |
1 year before. |
| 3 Design and specify plan. |
Assess construction and use hazards of path design and specification, and collect key information on site. Make changes to design to reduce potential risk. |
Prepare pre-tender health and safety plan. |
Planning supervisor. Safety consultant. |
3-6 months before. |
| 4 Visit site with contractors. |
Look at safety issues on site as part of tender visit. Discuss key risk hazards to be managed, lay down parameters for solutions and listen to good ideas from all present. |
Reissue updated design and plans. Add info to pre-tender plan. |
Contractors and site manager. |
2-4 months before. |
| 5 Prepare bid for work. |
Identify all site operations and design best controls to manage risk for each. Assess effectiveness of controls and add extra controls or redesign specification to reduce. |
Method statement and risk assessment. |
Contractor. Team members, advisors, suppliers, subcontractors. |
2-4 months before. |
| 6 Select contract for work. |
Assess bids for job based on safety proposals and skills/experience of each team. Only consider bids from competent teams. Prefer good safety proposals. |
Safety record sheet and tender record sheet; contract. |
Manager. Often with an internal ‘double check’. |
2-3 months before. |
| 7 Prepare to start site work. |
Contractor and manager get together to produce final safety plan. Add extra detail. Agree changes. Prepare any safety logs to be kept. Inform HSE of project start. Appoint site safety deputy. |
Site safety plan HSE form and notification. |
Manager and contractor. HSE. Safety advisor. |
2-6 weeks before. |
| 8 Site work gets under way. |
Contractor and manager meet on site at start of work to brief work team and mark out zones on site. Site safety signs go up before work commences. |
Site signs and safety plan on site. |
Contractor and manager.
Team members, site staff, neighbours and other affected by work. |
Day 1 of work. |
| 9 Site work in progress. |
Regular visits to check progress and review implementation of the safety plan. Occasional ‘spot checks’ on equipment. |
Daily log by team. Site visit report by manager. |
Contractor and manager. |
At least every fortnight. |
| 10 Finishing site work. |
Check all completed work and review users and maintenance safety issues. Check site is cleared and left safe. As-built drawings. |
Completion letter.
Submit logs and any safety reports. |
Contractor and manager. |
Within 2 weeks of completion. |
| 11 Project handover. |
Review safety performance for future jobs. Compile plan for safe use and maintenance of route, highlighting and risks still to be managed. |
Site safety file.
Handover letter to owners. |
Manager.
Owner, funders and users. |
1-3 months after completion. |
| 12 Maintenance. |
At least annually, review safety file and add information from maintenance inspections and other sources. Act on any new risks. |
Maintenance reports and updates to Site Safety File. |
Manager. Maintenance contractor. Owner and other parties. |
Annually thereafter. |
Site safety: public safety
Managing outdoor access involves combining practical projects, including teams, equipment and site operations, with a natural environment that is often hazardous and largely uncontrollable. There is a high potential safety risk to manage because of continued access by the public while work is in progress and continuous use of the site all year round. Safety management is the most important area of managing outdoor access sites.
Health and safety is a major management challenge, particularly in outdoor footpath projects, if your project is to achieve its aims and outputs safely, within budget and on time. The challenge applies equally to the site manager, who often takes responsibility for planning safety, and to the contractor or team leader, who often takes on responsibility for ensuring safe working on site. These two roles overlap and rely on each other; as with all outdoor activities, safety requires good communication and teamwork.
Establishing a safety culture for the project team
No matter which organisation the team members come from, a safety culture must be established from start to finish. This can be enabled by:
- accepting responsibility, starting from the top, which is exercised through a clear chain of command that is felt throughout the organisation;
- believing that high standards can be achieved through proper management;
- setting and monitoring safety objectives and a clear system for planning how this will come about;
- systematically identifying and assessing hazards, and devising and exercising preventative systems that are subject to audit and review;
- rectifying deficiencies immediately;
- providing safety training, equipment, advice and encouragement;
- rewarding enthusiasm and good safety performance.
Safety requires competent people, and the expression ‘Competent Person’ occurs frequently in construction safety law. The onus is on the employer or client to decide whether a person is competent to undertake certain duties. Competence to manage safety can be demonstrated by:
- attending training courses and gaining qualifications;
- your experience and track record of projects inside or outside the access industry;
- your ability to take responsibility and communicate clearly with others.
Health and safety requires competence even more than path construction work. A badly built path can always be put right, but a badly managed project can lead to irreversible damage, injury and potential prosecution. It is therefore necessary to invest in training, take advice and carry insurance for all the work you are undertaking.
Statutory framework
Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1992
Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 1994
- Manual Handling Regulations 1992
- Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992
- Noise at Work Act 1988
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1989
- Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995
The Health & Safety at Work Act in 1974 laid the foundations for a unified system of statutory control for health and safety in the UK. Subsequent regulations under HSAW detail how the act applies in particular industries or situations, and the minimum standards for systems to manage safety. The most important regulations in pathwork are the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1992, which set out the system for risk assessment, and the Construction, Design & Management Regulations 1994, which identify the system to be used for managing safety on construction sites. Specific regulations relating to noise, manual handling, work equipment and protective clothing set the standard in each of these areas for work on site. RIDDOR describes what to do if an accident does occur, and the steps for recording, reviewing and preventing a recurrence.
A simple system for managing health and safety on outdoor access sites is described below. This system was developed by The Footpath Trust, with advice from the Moray Firth Training Group, and is based loosely on the BS8800 Safety Management System. This system has been used on over 100 outdoor access sites, from urban housing estates to mountain summits, on projects ranging from the erection of signposts to the construction of complex paths in remote areas. You will need to adapt and establish your own system that covers the basic steps and prompts the many actions and judgements which may otherwise be missed out.
A systems approach is essential and is based on the four tenets of identifying hazards, assessing risks, applying controls and reviewing their effectiveness. Health and safety at work is not a one-off situation: it is part of a constant cycle, most of which takes place before you even commence work on site.
Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
This act requires that you use reasonable care to ensure against the risk to health and safety of the people affected by the work.
It is the duty of employers to:
- establish healthy and safe systems of work;
- establish a safe working environment;
- provide safe access to the workplace;
- provide information to ensure employees’ health and safety;
- provide safe plant, machinery, equipment and appliances;
- provide methods of handling, storing and transporting of materials.
If five or more people are employed, it is the duty of the employers to:
- supply a written statement of health and safety policy;
- appoint a health and safety representative from the workforce.
The act imposes a general duty upon designers, manufacturers and importers of all construction work, and substances used in construction.
Employees have a duty to take reasonable care of their own health and safety at work, and of the health and safety of others.
The act imposes a duty on all people, both at work and members of the public, including children, not to intentionally interfere or misuse anything provided in the interest of health, safety and welfare.
Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1992
The regulations set out a method for risk assessment for all tasks. The employer must:
- assess the risk of all activities so that preventative and protective measures can be identified;
- establish a system for managing health and safety based on risk assessment;
- appoint competent people to carry out risk assessments and recommend controls;
- set up emergency procedures;
- give employees information about health and safety, and cooperate with other employers who share a work site.
The regulations also place a duty on employees to follow health and safety instructions and to report danger.
Construction, Design & Management Regulations 1994
The regulations are aimed at construction site safety management. Duty holders must be appointed before work commences, and the duties for each of them must be specified.
- The client must appoint designers and a planning supervisor who are competent, and ensure that all stages of the process have been carried out.
- The designer must design a structure that is both safe to use and safe to construct and liaise with all who use the site.
- The planning supervisor is the central point of communication and must ensure that risk assessments are carried out and safety plans prepared, and that all involved in the project work together throughout its life. The planning supervisor must include safety competence as part of the judgement of prospective contractors.
- The principal contractor is responsible for managing all health and safety aspects on the construction project, including coordination of any subcontractors.
Under the regulations, emphasis is placed on planning, communication and documentation throughout the project life, and on safety continuity in maintenance and use of the site.
Manual Handling Regulations 1992
The act lays down minimum health and safety requirements for the manual handling of loads and requires a risk assessment of all manual handling to be made by a competent person. Employers must reduce and avoid the need for manual handling, and, where it is unavoidable, take measures to minimise risk, particularly from back injuries. The act sets out the weights and types of loads that can be handled. Employees have an obligation to comply with the regulations, and to use the right technique or equipment for lifting and handling jobs.
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992
Under these regulations employers must:
- provide suitable equipment for every task;
- ensure that equipment is in good condition and only used for suitable operations;
- provide training, instruction and information on all equipment;
- ensure equipment conforms with EC product safety directives.
The act specifically extends to maintenance operations and provision of warnings and markings on site.
Noise at Work Regulations 1988
The act sets out specific limits for noise levels, and the action required to reduce noise risk at each level.
- Level I, 85–90 dB: the employer must supply ear protection.
- Level II, 90–140 dB: the employer must reduce noise level to as close to 90dB as possible and provide noise protection and ear protection.
- Level III, 140 dB and over: the employer must ensure that nobody is exposed to noise at this level.
Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992
The act describes equipment for protecting against risk to health and safety for all workers. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the last resort for personal protection, and it is only used when all other methods to make a task safe have been applied. Employers must ensure the suitability of PPE provided, maintain good PPE provision, provide storage for PPE when not in use, and give training and information on how to use PPE correctly.
All PPE must conform to current EU directives and should bear the ‘CE’ mark.
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995
The act requires that all accidents resulting in more than 3 days’ absence from work, or where the person cannot return to their normal tasks, or involving more than 24 hours in hospital, are reported. A responsible person must make a report. The act defines major injuries, dangerous occurrences and recordable diseases that must be notified. Specific reporting forms must be used and are available from HSE field offices.
Breaches of any of the acts are criminal offences and can incur penalties of up to £20,000, 2 years’ imprisonment, indictment to a High Court or unlimited fines. A clause that appears in many of the regulations states that “all reasonable precautions or steps, and exercise all due diligence” to prevent an accident or offence should be taken. This concept comes from the food safety industry, and has been incorporated into recent health and safety legislation. The word all is significant for both steps and diligence. Reasonable steps can be demonstrated by:
- a well-written statement of health and safety policy with clearly identified responsibilities;
- identifying competent persons and their responsibilities;
- providing information, instruction and training to staff;
- providing information on safe routing of visitors to the site and their orientation on the site;
- keeping fully documented systems of work, including method statements;
- instigating safety monitoring procedures, such as safety audits and regular site meetings;
- writing the Health and Safety Manual in plain language;
- providing staff with a procedure for reporting concerns and recommendations for improving health and safety.
As a new set of statutory health and safety regulations is issued approximately every 10 weeks in the UK, it is essential to keep abreast of health and safety changes by registering with the Health & Safety Executive Update Service, or engaging a professional H & S advisor.
Issues
A lot of time is invested in planning health and safety before anything happens on the site, with the focus on preventing and avoiding dangerous situations rather than complex ways of dealing with danger when on site. It is better to get safety right, rather than risk injury if something goes wrong.
The safety management system, described in the following sections, is based around the needs of Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, and is equally applicable to all sorts of site project work. You will need to adapt it to your own sites, your own organisation, and your own way of working. Whatever system you adopt will need to meet the same legislation, incorporate the same key steps to prevent accidents, equip and train your team, and monitor and review safety.
Most of the emphasis on safety communication works down the line – checking that staff and contractors have the right information and are working safely by taking the right steps. Do not forget to go ‘up’ the line: funders, shareholders and trustees all have safety responsibilities too. They must ensure that you have the training, support and resources you need to deliver health and safety according to the policy they have established. Build health and safety planning time into your project; add additional safety resources into your project proposals and plans. Include health and safety as a routine part of your project reporting. Do not forget to seek help when you need it, and if you are unsure about potential safety, stop the project immediately and seek assistance. Site work can only proceed when all links in the chain are confident that they are able to manage and perform the task safely.