A lesson of leadership in construction…(with strong wind in its sail).
Amidst the sounds of hammers on steel and the whirr of drills, there was a subtle tension in the air at one of our client’s construction sites. It was not…
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Don’t worry, these aren’t a bunch of strange Health and Safety rules for builders under 6ft tall. Hoho! Sorry, couldn’t resist that one.
Bad jokes aside, the ‘small builders’ we’re talking about are contractors undertaking private domestic projects (refurbs, repairs and extensions on private homes) and smaller business projects (short duration repairs and refurbs for business clients, less than 30-day jobs). Is this you? Well here’s all you need to know…
As the contractor, you have certain responsibilities by law, which vary slightly for each of these two types of project. The law is pretty strong on this because most fatal injuries in construction happen on small building projects! So it’s worth paying attention. Here’s a nice clear run down of what you should be doing. (And see the great list of resources at the bottom for guidance on how to do it all!)
Your workers have to have all the info and training they could possibly need covering;
A great deal of injuries come from bad communication or co-operation. It’s your responsibility to make sure both are top notch on your construction site, no matter how small.
Here’s where the ball of H&S responsibility is 100% in your court. The person living in the house or flat has absolutely no responsibility for Workplace Safety. But they certainly have the same interest as you to protect the resident (themselves) from risk during the construction project. So close co-operation and communication is important. This means things like making sure they aren’t put at risk during the work. Or after it – make sure the site is nice and safe at the end of every work day. Share all plans with them and ask for their thoughts too.
Your business clients do have safety responsibilities themselves, even for the very smallest of projects. So you need to co-ordinate on all the above. For example, if there is a threat on site, like a fragile roof window, then you need to tell the client exactly how you intend to reduce and mitigate that risk to make your workers safe.
Hard hats off to the HSE! They’ve put together some excellent leaflets explaining clearly and quickly how to deal with each H&S risk. Here are the top ones:
What Health and Safety challenges do you face as a small construction site builder? Do you have any questions for us? Ask away, we love to talk!