Construction Health Safety and

The regulations apply to construction projects which employ more than four workers, or last longer than 30 working days or 500 person-days. This includes any such work carried out in GB Territorial Waters. The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 (CHSWR) apply to all construction work including that within GB Territorial Waters. 

The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, 1996 require the safe transport of any person conveyed by water to or from their place of work. 

The relevant legislation is The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations which in Schedule 2 refers to supporting structures , i.e. any structure or device that supports a platform, and includes scaffolding, working platforms, access equipment, etc. However, since scaffolding is used so extensively it will be dealt vdth in some detail. 

The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 deal with the main hazards likely to be found on a construction site. In addition to these specific hazards, there will be the more general hazards (e.g. manual handling, electricity, noise etc) which are discussed in more detail in other chapters. The hazards and controls identified in the Construction Regulations are as follows. 

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRFSO) SIN. 1541 was made on 7 June 2005. This chapter has been written on the assumption that the Order will be in force in October 2006. A summary of the Order has been included in Chapter 20. The Fire Precautions Act 1971 is repealed and The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 are revoked by the Order. The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 are to be taken within the revised CDM regulations in April 2007. The five regulations in CHSW are likely to be removed. 

Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) (CHSW) Regulations 1996... 

The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 were made on 14 June 1990 and came into force on 2 September 1996 to implement part of Directive 92157/EC and should be read in conjunction with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations. There are no specific electrical requirements, but Regulation 17 states that plant and equipment has to be safe and maintained in a safe condition. This would include the electrical installation. Standards for electrical installations on construction sites are explained in Chapter 11. 

General requirements for safe access and equipment can be found in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the more detailed requirements of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 or the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. 

When work cannot be carried out safely from part of a permanent structure or building, working platforms can be used. These include scaffolds, towers and power-operated mobile work platforms. Where these measures are not practicable, safety nets or harnesses (properly anchored) may be used. The hierarchy of fall protection measures is set out clearly within the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996. 

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