Health and Safety Executive

Health and Safety Executive

Management of

contractors: short duration

& fragile roof workLiz Standen

HM Inspector of Health and Safety

KEY ELEMENTS OF MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Managing for Health & Safety

Worker Involvement

Risk profile

Competent workforce

Legal duties

Managing Business Risks

Leading Managing(including business processes)

Outline of WAH Regulations

• Requirements for:-

• Organisation, planning & supervision (Reg 4)

• Competence (Reg 5)

• Avoidance of risk from WAH (Reg 6)

• Selection and use of work equipment for WAH (Reg 7)

• Requirements for work equipment (Reg 8)

• Risk assessment approach

Selection of equipment – regulation 7

• Choice of work equipment must take account of:

• Working conditions and the risks to persons safety

• Access and egress and the distance to be negotiated

• Distance and consequences of a fall

• Duration and frequency of use

• Ease of rescue/evacuation

• Risk of use, installation and removal of equipment

Safe means of access onto roof

• Existing means, internal/external staircase or ladder and roof access hatches

• General access scaffolds

• Stair towers

• Fixed or mobile scaffold towers

• Mobile access equipment

• Ladders

Preventing falls

Verge edge protection

Fall mitigation

Short duration work

• Tasks measured in minutes rather than hours

• Includes inspection, replacing a few tiles, adjusting TV aerial

• May not be RP to install edge protection or independent scaffold

• Precautions depend on overall assessment of risk

Minimum requirements for short duration work on roofs

• Safe means of access to roof level (secured ladder to eaves as a minimum)

• Safe means of working on the roof e.g.:– On a sloping roof a properly constructed and

supported roof ladder– On a flat roof a fall restraint harness secured

to suitable anchor points– Fall arrest as last resort – importance of

rescue plan– MEWPS – particularly appropriate for short-

duration minor work

Demarcation of access routes and work areas

• For short-duration limited work on sections of flat roof where edge protection not reasonably practicable

• Simple form of continuous physical barrier which identifies work area and access routes – “safe area”

• Barrier must be at least 2 m from edge of roof, leading edges and fragile materials

• No unprotected holes, breaks or fragile materials within “safe are” unless suitably protected

• Barriers should be durable and immediately obvious to all –bunting, tape, markings at foot level not acceptable

• Use of demarcation barrier requires high level of supervision and discipline

The things we see when out and about!

Fragile roofs

• Falls through fragile roofs account for 22% of all fatal falls

• An average of 7 deaths a year

• Not just construction – maintenance repair and cleaning

• Single layer roof lights

• Non-reinforced fibre cement sheets

• Corroded metal sheets

• Glass (including wired glass)

• Rotted chipboard

Fragile roofs

• Roof materials and fixings will degrade overtime (erosion, weather damage, UV, etc) and result in fragility

• All roofs should be treated as fragile until a competent person has confirmed they are not

Fragile roof hierarchy

• Work from underneath using a suitable work platform

• Work from a MEWP basket

• Perimeter edge protection and staging/crawling boards which spread load across roof (should span at least two purlins)

• Staging should be fitted with guardrails otherwise fall mitigation required (crash-decks, birdcage, nets, soft landing systems, fall arrest)

Work from below

Fragile roof protection

Fragile roof protection

Fragile roof protection

Health and Safety Executive

Health and Safety Executive

Fragile roof case

studies

Key elements of successful contractor management

• Procurement

• Competence & leadership

• Planning & selection of equipment

• Good communication

• Strong supervision

• Workforce buy-in

• Behavioural culture

What it looks like when done effectively What it looks like when it is done badly or not at all.

Leaders: -Maintain attention on the significant risks and implementation of adequate controls.-Demonstrate their commitment by their actions, they are aware of the key health and safety issues; -Ensure consultation with the workforce on health and safety.-Challenge unsafe behaviour in a timely way

Leaders:-Set no health and safety priorities-Don’t understand the need to maintain oversight.-Do not meet their own organisation’s standards/procedures e.g. wearing correct PPE on site/shop floor.Lack of engagement with health and safety by workers.Health and safety is seen as an add-on, irrelevance or nuisancePoor incident history (accidents, near misses, plant damage or other indicators e.g. poor maintenance, poor housekeeping).

Management of health and safetyA systematic approach is used to manage health and safetyPeople understand the risks and control measures associated with their work. Contractors adhere to the same standardsAppropriate documentation is available: current, organised, relevantPeople understand their roles and those of others.Performance is measured – to check controls are working and standards are being implemented, and learn from mistakes after things go wrong.Beyond compliance:A formal system (such as BS OHSAS 18001, ISO 9001) is used: has it been externally accredited?Health and safety is integrated into business processesBenchmarking is used to compare performance with others.Supply chains are influenced to improve health and safety.A ‘Wellness’ programme is in place.

Management of health and safetyIncomplete or missing paperwork. Does not link to actual risks in workplace.Confusion over roles, inaction as no one takes responsibility for health and safety, distrust of management motives.Widespread, routine violations of procedures. No oversight of contractors.Information is not passed on, not understood, or not implemented.Managers are unaware of employee concerns or do not respond appropriatelyLessons are never learnt.

Tips for managing contractors

• Use PAS91 for procurement competence

• Get early input from competent CDMC & designer

• Clear job spec with benchmarks & penalties for non-conformance

• Check supervisory competence

• Mechanism for RA review for job revisions

• Monitor actual site performance

• Clear communication, roles & responsibilities

• End of project review with contractor’s director

References

• PAS 91: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/business-sectors/docs/b/bsi-specification-pas91-construction-procurement.pdf

• Managing Health & Safety in Construction: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l144.htm

• INDG368 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg368.pdf

More references

• http://www.cpa.uk.net/p/MEWPS-and-Overhead-Crushing/

• http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/lwit/index.htm

• http://www.ipaf.org/en/publications/technical-guidance-notes/

• http://www.roofworkadvice.info/

• http://www.management-standards.org/standards/full-list-2008-national-occupational-standards

• http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/subscribe.htm