Health & Safety Flashcards
1
Q
RIDDOR
A
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
2
Q
Construction (Design and Management) (COM) Regulations, 2015
A
- It is a criminal offence, policed by the Health & Safety
Executive (HSE), to breach COM Regulations - H&S during the design and management of all commercial building projects including residential development and refurbishment and maintenance work for both notifiable and non-notifiable work
- Aim is to improve the management and co-ordination of H&S at all stages of a construction project
- The legislation aimed to provide easier to understand regulations. The key parts are:
- The main duty holders are three: The Client, Principal Designer and Principal Contractor
- COM Co-ordinator is replaced by the Principal Designer
- All projects with more than one contractor working on site must have a Principal Designer and Principal Contractor and a H&S file
- Onus on the client and not the contractor to ensure COM arrangements
- A Construction Phase Plan is required for, all projects with safety considered at the design stage of a project by the Principal Contractor
- There is a need for risk assessment and a Principal Designer
- HSE to be notified in a F10 form if a project lasts longer than 30 construction days with 20 or more workers working simultaneously on site, more than 500 ‘person’ days of construction work or involves demolition
- A COM file must be maintained during construction and passed to the occupier/owner of the building, containing all aspects of H&S information regarding the property and operation/running of the building
- The regulations are policed by the HSE who can prosecute and issue fines
- The HSE can issue Improvement and Prohibition Notices when the regulations are breached
3
Q
Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
A
- This Act relates to gross breaches of a duty of care by a corporate body leading to a person’s death
- The penalties range from an unlimited fine, imprisonment and disqualification as a company director by a member of the ‘senior management team’
4
Q
Fire Risk Management Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order 2005
A
- Based on a risk assessment with emphasis on fire prevention
- Applies to non-domestic property in England & Wales
- The ‘Responsible Person’ is the employer, or occupier who controls the property, or owner if vacant
- Must be fire precautions in place following risk
assessment - Need for good record keeping - risk assessment, fire policy & fire procedures and staff training
- Regular review of assessments required and recorded
- Reasonable fire precautions measures could include a fire detection and warning alarm system, fire-fighting equipment, safe exit routes, a personal emergency evacuation plan, emergency lighting and signage and suitable fire exit doors
- Matter covered in Part B of the Building Regulations
5
Q
RICS Professional Standard: Surveying Safely Health and safety principles for property professionals, Second edition, 2018 (effective Feb 2019) - Other Information
A
- Assessing hazards and risks (to include risk
assessments, H&S policy etc) - Property professionals’ places of work (to include emergency arrangements and building services)
- Occupational health (to include stress and bullying)
- Procurement and management of construction work (to include COM Regulations)
- Precautions relating to potential hazards/risk assessments - refer to your own firm’s specific requirements
- Visiting premises and sites (to include travel arrangements, lone working, PPE etc)
- Tell someone where you are going and when you leave the building/site
- Wear appropriate protective clothing when appropriate such as a high visibility jacket, protective footwear, hard hat, protective goggles, gloves and ear defenders
- Sign in and out of a building or construction site and receive a site induction. Do not just enter the site or building, and wear suitable PPE
- Consider whether safe to inspect alone and observe special lone working arrangements
- Check dated tag if going on scaffolding
- Wear non-slip sole shoes/boots when going up a ladder
- Emphasis is placed on Members having correct operational practices in place
6
Q
RICS Professional Standard: Surveying Safely Health and safety principles for property professionals, Second edition, 2018 (effective Feb 2019) - Sets Out
A
- This Professional Standard sets out:
- Basic, good practice principals for the management of health and safety for RICS-regulated firms and RICS members.
- Principles for those engaged in the built environment as property professionals and includes health and safety responsibilities:
- At a corporate level (whether the RICS-regulated firm large or small), and at the level of the individual RICS member
7
Q
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
A
- The trigger date for reporting injuries is over 7 days incapacitation
- Such an injury must be reported to HSE within 15 days from the date of the accident
- All employers must also keep a record of all , 3-day plus injuries
- This information can be kept in an accident book which must be kept tor a minimum of 3 years after an occupational accident or injury
8
Q
Smoke-free (Premises & Enforcement) Regulations, 2007
A
- Illegal to smoke in all enclosed and substantially enclosed public places
- ‘No smoking’ signs must be displayed
- Local authorities enforce the law
- Penalties range from fixed penalty notice (£50) to maximum fine of £2,500
9
Q
Asbestos
A
- Asbestos is an insulating material which can cause serious health problems and
fatal diseases - Left undamaged and undisturbed, it poses no risk to health. However, when it
is disturbed or damaged, it can release very small toxic fibres which can lodge in the lungs and cause illness - HSE estimate that over 4 million UK properties contain asbestos and cause
5,000 deaths per annum
10
Q
Asbestos - Background Regulation
A
The duty holder must undertake risk assessment -
express obligation to manage the risk and a written plan
prepared and implementation & reviews recorded
* All work undertaken must be done by a licensed contractor
* Asbestos register must be produced and regularly updated. It should contain a priority score to triage remediation
* Newly constructed buildings require an architect’s certificate to confirm there is no asbestos present
* Defence - that the person took all reasonable precautions & exercised all due diligence
* Health & Safety (Offences) Act 2008 enables fines to a maximum of £20,000 and the possibility of 12 months’ imprisonment for many offences. It also enables more serious offences to be tried in higher courts where there is no limit on the fines to be imposed
11
Q
Asbestos - Regulation and Legislation
A
- White asbestos been an illegal material in the UK since 1999. The other forms
were banned in 1985 - There is a statutory duty to manage existing asbestos in commercial buildings
- Key legislation is The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
- Non-compliance is a criminal offence
- There are two separate obligations to the ‘duty holder’ and an ‘employer’
- Duty holder is the owner of the premises if vacant or a tenant if holding a repairing lease
- Purpose of a survey is to make a ‘materials assessment’
- Non-licensed work with asbestos needs to be notified to HSE
- Brief written records should be kept for notifiable non-licensed work (NNLW)
12
Q
Building Safety Act 2022
A
- This legislation is intended to enhance regulations for building safety and ensure residents have a stronger voice in ensuring safety in buildings
- The Act implements elements of The Hackitt Review recommendations for high-rise residential buildings to provide a new system to oversee the whole built environment, with local enforcement agencies and national regulators to strengthen:
- The accountability and duties for those responsible for the safety of high-rise buildings during construction and occupation
- Residents’ ability to contribute to maintaining safety
- Enforcement to deter non-compliance
- A national framework to ensure the suitability of construction materials
- The requirement for new build developers to belong to a New Homes Ombudsman Scheme
13
Q
Building Safety Act 2022 - Background
A
- The Act was granted Royal Assent in April 2022 with provisions coming into force over the next two years as the secondary legislation is developed
- Key provisions include:
- The Act has introduced the Building Safety Regulator which will oversee the safety and standards of all buildings, help and encourage industry and professionals to improve their competence and
lead the implementation of a new regulatory framework for high rise buildings - The Building Safety Regulator is the Building Control Body
- The HSE is responsible for verifying building works to ensure they meet the standards set out in building regulations, before providing a completion certificate
- A golden thread of information is now required for each higher-risk building
- A mandatory occurrence report is now required for each higher-risk building
- New high rise residential buildings must now be registered before they are occupied
- Further provisions are still to be introduced under the new legislation
14
Q
Defective Premises Act 1972
A
- This Act imposes an obligation on the landlord to ensure that the premises comply with its requirements
- Section 4 of the Act states that the landlord owes to all persons who might reasonably be expected to be affected by defects in the premises to provide a duty of care as is reasonable in the circumstances
- Landlords are not required to make a building safe and to keep it in a safe condition
- Where personal injuries result from a failure to repair, there may be a remedy under the Act
- The Building Safety Act 2022 has extended the period of liability from 6 years after the date of completion of the works to 15 years for a claim arising after June 2022
15
Q
EWS1 Forms
A
- The EWS1 form is not designed for use for hotels
- EWS1 enables a “qualified professional” to confirm that an external wall system on residential buildings has been assessed for safety, in line with government guidance. The criteria consider:
- The height of the building
- The type of cladding and how much of it there is on the building
- The presence of balconies and combustible material
- EWS1 forms are valid for an entire building for five years but not every building will require an EWS1 form. RICS has published guidance for valuers which includes criteria to help decide whether particular buildings need an EWS1 form but valuers must always follow instructions given by their lender clients and have a rationale to justify the request for the EWS1 form
- In March 2022 the RICS updated the EWS 1 form following consultation with the government and the Building Society Association and also updated their valuation advice reflect government advice
- An interactive decision tree is now available online on the RICS website to understand when an EWS 1 is required
