HS1 PREVIEW

Building Engineering Services Association Guide to good practice: SITE SAFETY HS1 July 2021 www.thebesa.com

ISBN ISBN 0-903783-57-6 First Published in 1969 as the H&V Safety Guide ©2021 BESA BESA Publications Old Mansion House Eamont Bridge Penrith CA10 2BX 01768 860405 [email protected]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The BESA wishes to record its sincere thanks to Rob Hughes, Consultant without whose direct input of knowledge, time and experience this publication would not have been produced. The BESA also wishes to gratefully acknowledge the wealth of resources provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) much of which this publication is based. NOTE: This document is based on knowledge available at the time of publication and is meant for general purposes, not for reliance on in relation to specific technical or legal issues, in which case you should always seek independent advice on such issues. No responsibility of any kind for any injury, death, loss, damage or delay however caused, resulting from the use of the advice and recommendations contained herein, is accepted by the authors or others involved in its publication (including the Building Engineering Services Association). The Building Engineering Services Association Guide to Good Practice - Site Safety 1

FOREWORD Construction sites are high risk working environments. Every year many construction site workers are killed or injured as a result of their work; or suffer ill health, such as respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, dermatitis or asbestosis. It’s crucial that construction activities are adequately controlled and that health and safety regulations are followed closely to reduce the chance of accidents and to protect the lives of your employees and the general public. Previously known as the “H&V Safety Guide” this publication was introduced to the industry in 1969. Since its inception, it has been regularly updated and revisited to meet changes in health and safety legislation and evolving business practices. HS1 not only covers the health and safety issues that directly affect those in the HVACR industry but also the wider aspects of site health and safety that are expected to be considered today. This publication explains the essential tasks for achieving healthy and safe construction sites. It will help you to identify hazards and control risks and it explains how to plan, organise, control, monitor and review health and safety throughout the life of a project. Although it is five decades have passed since its first appearance, this new guide builds on the proven, core principles of site safety from previous issues and incorporates recent advances and case studies of good practice within the construction industry. Safety remains everybody's business; and all Employers, managers, supervisors and operatives have a part to play in making sites safer. Adhering to the advice in this Guide to Good Practice will help you to look after yourself and to avoid causing harm to other people - make good use of it. The guidance is simple but comprehensive and the solutions provided are straightforward and easy to adopt. Treat it like a trusted friend and refer to it whenever you need to. Remember - Keep safety in your sites. 2 The Building Engineering Services Association Guide to Good Practice - Site Safety

CONTENTS Acknowledgements 1 Foreword 2 Contents 3 Objective 4 Quality Assurance 5 Sections Section 1 Health and safety advice 6 Section 2 General responsibilities 8 Section 3 Safety signs and signals 13 Section 4 First aid 15 Section 5 Fire safety 18 Section 6 Welfare, health and hygiene 22 Section 7 Risk assessments and method 26 statements Section 8 Accident reporting and investigation 29 Section 9 Contractor control 33 Section 10 Co-operation, co-ordination and 36 consultation Section 11 Workforce involvement 38 Section 12 Personal protective equipment 40 Section 13 Work equipment 46 Section 14 Manual handling 50 Section 15 Site transport 54 Section 16 Working at height 58 Section 17 Excavations 67 Section 18 Confined spaces 70 Section 19 Hot works 73 Section 20 Respiratory risks 77 Section 21 Hazardous substances 80 Section 22 Asbestos 84 Section 23 Dermatitis 87 Section 24 Noise 90 Section 25 Vibration 92 Section 26 Monitoring of health and safety 94 Bibliography 96 Appendices Construction Design and 97 Appendix A Management Regulations (CDM) 100 Competency and training Appendix B Figures Types of Extinguisher 21 Figure 1 Key Symbols - new vs old 83 Figure 2 Layers of the human skin 87 Figure 3 The Building Engineering Services Association Guide to Good Practice - Site Safety 3

OBJECTIVE The objective of HS1 - Guide to Good Practice is to provide health and safety advice to help all employees and those working around them to avoid injury or death. It will also help to protect their general health and the environment. The information in this Guide is broad and will provide individuals with a good knowledge of the general aspects of safety on site. In addition, it includes key information concerning health and safety legalisation and in particular the specific duties to control activities and reduce risks. This publication is primarily intended to: • Provide information to help you avoid being injured and to look after your health • Provide help to protect those working around you and the environment. • Assist with compliance to health, hygiene and safety regulations and building • insurance conditions. Help to determine the level of competency and skills required This publication is presented in easy-to-read parts; each of which has general guidance that tells employers and employees how to protect their health and safety from multiple risks. It covers general advice and information on responsibilities; welfare, health and hygiene, workforce involvement, the importance of undertaking risk assessments and method statements, and the need for accident reporting and investigation. It gives emergency procedures to follow if an accident happens, on first-aid, accident and fire prevention and the risks from plant and vehicles that operatives face, as they move around the site. It also gives more specific guidance on the personal aspects of health and safety including, taking care of your body and health; personal protective equipment (PPE), handling and lifting and using hazardous substances safely. There is also information about the safe way to use tools and equipment and the noise and vibration risks associated with them. Working at a height, the use of welding, brazing and soldering equipment are also covered. HS1 – Guide to Good Practice is a comprehensive document but it is not a substitute for health and safety training. However, do not put this Guide to one side after you have taken the relevant Health and Safety Test; Keep it at the place of work, in company vehicles, or in toolboxes. It has a lot of very useful information in it that you may want, or need to refer to, in the future. ACADEMY HEALTH & SAFETY ENVIRONMENT COURSE AND TEST Are you or your employees new to the industry or need to renew your SKILLcard? Take BESA Academy's Health and Safety Environment course and test in less than three hours. The course and test have been developed in partnership with Mitsubishi Electric and meets the health and safety requirements for all Craft and Operative SKILLcards. Visit thebesa.com/hse to find out more. 4 The Building Engineering Services Association Guide to Good Practice - Site Safety

QUALITY ASSURANCE This Guide to Good Practice should be used by all individuals involved in construction work, including clients, designers, contractors and individual workers. In particular it is aimed at those who have duties, as set out in the various regulatory instruments, to ensure the safety of those using a building or premises. It will enable those duty holders to determine their compliance with health and safety regulations, and to ensure the competency and skill set of their workforce meets the legal requirements. It will appeal most to: • directors and partners running construction businesses; • site managers and supervisors; and • operatives and workers undertaking the construction work, • Clients, designers, planning supervisors and others who specify construction work Scope This Guide to Good Practice covers all aspects of site safety usually found in non- domestic premises and facilities where employees and the public are potentially at risk. It makes use of terms “should”, “shall” and “must” when prescribing procedures: • The term “must” identifies a requirement by law at the time of publication. • The term “shall” prescribes a procedure, which it is intended to be • complied with, in full and without deviation. The term “should” prescribes a procedure, which it is intended to be complied with unless, after prior consideration, deviation is considered equivalent or better. Publication and Review User feedback on the content or the requirements of the Guide to Good Practice will be welcomed to assist in the ongoing updating of this document. [email protected] The Building Engineering Services Association Guide to Good Practice - Site Safety 5

SECTION 1 HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVICE Health & safety is a broad subject and it is important to ensure you can obtain the necessary information and knowledge to ensure the measures imposed upon the employer are complied with. If the organisation does not have the relevant competency to identify what legal duties it needs to comply with then it cannot hope to comply with those legal duties fully and further it may well put its employees and others at risk of injury or ill health. 1.1 Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations there is a legal requirement for an employer to appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in undertaking the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by the law. 1.2 Who can I appoint as our competent health and safety advisor? The law requires that whoever the employer appoints as providing competent advice has sufficient training, experience or knowledge as well as any other qualities they feel necessary to enable that person to assist the employer in complying with their legal duties. Ideally the employer should look to appoint the position internally or appoint themselves the competent advisor, again provided the person has the right competence to take on the role. 1.3 If there is no relevant internal competent person or the level of competence is insufficient then you should look at employing an external service or person and this may be used conjunction with an internal person. 1.4 As mentioned above the person must have sufficient training, experience or knowledge to undertake the role and this can be through formal qualifications such as via NVQ, NEBOSH or similar and practical experience for industry/work or area. If engaging an external person then you should check that they have Professional Indemnity insurance in place and ideally identify if they are registered with the Occupational Safety & Health Consultants Register (OSHCR). 1.5 Using external help If you engage an external health and safety consultant or service then it is a good idea to consider the following: • Ensure you clearly explain what you need and what services you expect from them and further what you are not expecting them to undertake. This should form • part of a contract between you and the external party. Check their training, qualifications and practical experience; can they explain how • they are competent to advise you. Identify if they are registered on the OSHCR. Check they have the right insurances in place e.g. Professional Indemnity insurance and possibly Public Liability and if they have employees, Employer • Liability insurance. Keep in touch with them, don’t just setup the agreement and then ignore the assistance or advice. Remember it is your legal duty to provide information as is • necessary for them to assist you. Provide information to help you avoid being injured and to look after your health. 1.6 What sources of health and safety advice are there? There are lots of sources of health and safety information available, more than ever before You can find information from: • Trade Associations such as Building Engineering Services Association (BESA). • Safety Groups. • Trade unions. • Local councils 6 The Building Engineering Services Association Guide to Good Practice - Site Safety

• Health and Safety Executive (HSE). • Manufacturer associations such as the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), Prefabricated Access Suppliers' & Manufacturers' Association Ltd (PASMA) etc. • Health and safety training and equipment providers. • Health and safety consultants. Case Study A mechanical contractor wanted to expand its business and reduce its health and safety risk and so engaged an external health and safety consultant to assist them in identifying what they needed to improve their health and safety performance. The consultant worked with the management to complete a gap analysis of what was missing and then worked with the company to put in place better management of construction risks including identifying new access equipment that could be used which reduced the risk and improved productivity on site. As a result of the work that was undertaken the contractor applied for a health and safety accreditation that enabled the contractor to tender for work with new clients. The overall effect was to reduce the contractor’s risks, improve productivity and give the contractor tools to grow their business. The Building Engineering Services Association Guide to Good Practice - Site Safety 7