Construction, health, safety and welfare

The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 bring to construction work the standards that the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 demand for other workplaces. 

The duties summarized below deal only with safe working on normal construction sites and only where they refer to matters not covered by the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. They do not deal with particular duties covered in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994, which are covered in Section 14.1, nor to the precautions necessary in specialized construction work. 

Guidance on complying tvith these Regulations is given in HSE publication L54, Managing construction for health and safety . 

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CHSWR Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 CIP Construction Industry Publication... 

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 The Fire Precautions Act 1971 is repealed and The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 are revoked by the Order.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. 

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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