In this article we will provide Clients with a summary of the obligations imposed by the legislation on site safety, responsibilities and strategic tools to protect themselves.

In order not to make the treatment of the issues in question too complex, some regulatory steps have been simplified as they are aimed at a novice public. Please refer to in-depth articles on the discussion of specific topics.

Safety of construction sites: regulatory framework

The text of the law of reference is always the Legislative Decree 81/08, c.d. TUS (Consolidated Safety Act), and specifically the Title IV – TEMPORARY OR MOBILE CONSTRUCTION SITES.

Originally the text of the reference law was Legislative Decree 494/96 (now repealed) also called “Construction Sites Directive“, legislation transposing a Community Directive on safety on temporary and mobile construction sites released in the 90s.

In particular, the reference articles of the TUS are those from 88 to 104 inclusive, as well as Annexes from X to XIX inclusive.

What is a temporary or mobile construction site?

With reference to Article 89 and Annex X of Legislative Decree 81/08, a temporary or mobile construction site, hereinafter referred to as “construction site” is any place where construction or civil engineering works are carried out, i.e. “construction, maintenance, repair, demolition, conservation, rehabilitation, renovation or equipping work, transformation, renewal or dismantling of fixed, permanent or temporary works,  masonry, reinforced concrete, metal, wood or other materials“.

In practice, any intervention of ordinary, extraordinary maintenance and renovation of a property.

What are the obligations of the Client on construction sites or temporary or mobile construction sites?

With reference to Article 90, the Client or the Works Manager (RdL – we will see who he is later) has the following obligations:

• in construction sites where the presence of several executing companies is expected (even if not simultaneously), appoints the Coordinator for Safety in the Design Phase (CSP) and the Coordinator for Safety in the Execution Phase (CSE)
• verifies the Technical-Professional Suitability (ITP) of contractors, executing companies and self-employed workers in relation to the functions or works to be entrusted, in the manner set out in Annex XVII
• asks the executing companies for a Declaration of the Average Annual Headcount (DOMA), distinguished by qualification, accompanied by the details of the workers’ complaints made to the National Institute of Social Security (INPS), the National Institute for Accidents at Work (INAIL) and the construction funds, as well as a declaration relating to the National Collective Labour Agreement (CCNL) stipulated by the comparatively most representative trade unions, applied to employees.
• transmits to the granting administration, before the start of the works covered by the building permit or the declaration of commencement of activity, a copy of the preliminary notification, the DURC (Single Document of Contributory Regularity) of the companies and self-employed workers, and a declaration certifying the verification of the further documentation referred to in the previous points.

Who is the Construction Site Safety Coordinator?

Leaving aside the regulatory definitions, we can define the Safety Coordinator on construction sites as the technical consultant appointed by the Customer to design the safety of the construction site (CSP) and to verify compliance with the safety standards during construction (CSE). This role, formally defined by Articles. 91 and 92 of the TUS, in smaller construction sites is usually covered by a single professional.

Specifically, the CSP (Safety Coordinator in the Design phase) is the one who prepares:

• the Safety and Coordination Plan (PSC), the document that specifically defines the coordination and safety measures for the construction site in question
• the Technical File or Work File (FT), the document that must be kept by the Customer for future maintenance or adaptation.

On the contrary, the CSE (Safety Coordinator in the execution phase) is the one who supervises the compliance, by the executing companies, with the safety standards on site and the suitability of the documents produced by them, through:

• inspections recorded on the construction site (VIS)
• Security Coordination Meetings (RCS)
• checks on the documentation produced by the executing companies (POS and construction site safety documents specific to each company) and on the suitability of the workers operating on site.

In order to cover the role of CSP and CSE, a technical qualification (surveyor, engineer or architect) and a 120-hour specialization course (with subsequent refresher courses) are required.

Who is the Project Manager?

The RDL or Works Manager is instead the subject to whom the Customer can delegate the tasks indicated in the previous paragraph.

Unlike the construction site safety coordinator, to carry out the function of RdL no special skills or qualifications are needed, even if it is widely desirable to identify a subject with requirements similar to those of the CSP or CSE in order not to make the institution of delegation ineffective (translated: it is not very protective for a Client to transfer control and supervision tasks to a subject that does not have adequate skills).

Does the appointment of the RDL exempt the Customer from liability?

With reference to Article 93, the Client is exempt from the responsibilities related to the fulfillment of the obligations limited to the task conferred on the Project Manager. Furthermore, the designation of the CSP and the CSE does not exempt the client or the RdL from the responsibilities related to the verification of the fulfillment of the obligations referred to in articles 91, paragraph 1, and 92, paragraph 1, letters a), b), c) d) and e) ie the main obligations imposed by the legislator on the CSP and the CSE

It is important to underline that the Legislator and the judgments of the Supreme Court have identified the Client as the “economic engine” of the work, effectively imposing on them the task of carrying out assessments on the safety and health of workers operating on the site. In fact, it is the Client who almost always chooses the companies on the basis of technical-professional requirements or economic evaluations, who agrees with the designer the tender specifications and who often enters into the merits of the technical-operational solutions.

In all these cases, which can be defined by the judge as interference by the Customer on the choices of the companies and on the methods of execution of the works, there is a profile of civil and criminal co-responsibility of the Customer in the event of an accident at work.

Strategies to reduce civil and criminal liability in the event of an accident on site

From the above and on the basis of the principle of “culpa in eligendo” and “culpa in vigilando” it is clear that the Customer must take specific actions to avoid civil or criminal co-liability profiles. Specifically, the priority strategies are:

• Appoint CSPs and CSEs that have previous skills and experience in the field of construction site safety (through the analysis of CVs and training certificates)
• Verify that the technical offer specifies the methods of service provision (e.g. number of inspections planned during the construction site, methods of recording inspections and coordination meetings, etc.)
• Be wary of “allologists”; the technician who plays the role of designer, construction manager, who presents the practice in the land registry, who processes the energy certification and also deals with the Restructuring Bonus, very rarely has experience in the field of construction site safety, a theme that with the evolution of the legislation requires technical-legal skills that cannot be acquired with a construction site safety course (even if lasting 120 hours)
• Check which IT tools the technician uses to effectively perform the role of RdL or CSE. And in this case we are not referring to the availability of a construction site safety software for the processing of PSC or FT but of computerized management tools (such as management platforms) able to simplify the verification processes of all the documentation concerning safety (priority and somewhat protective aspect for the Customer).

Conclusions

Based on the above, it can be said that safety on construction sites has evolved enormously in the last decade, presupposing increasingly specialized and targeted skills on the part of technicians operating in the sector. By analogy, the legislator has defined a central role of the Client as safety supervisor, it is in fact inevitable the interference of the same in the decision-making processes and in the choices of suppliers and making these tasks and responsibilities fall on the field of site safety.

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Title IV of Legislative Decree 81/2008 provides for detailed regulations for the protection of health and safety on construction sites. Title IV literally refers to “temporary or mobile construction sites“, but also contains special organizational measures applicable to construction or civil engineering work.

First, it is necessary to delimit the meaning of the term “construction site”. Art. 89 defines it as a place where construction or engineering work is carried out, characterised by two elements:

• The temporariness, understood as the provision of a limited duration in time of the activities aimed at the realization of the work.
• Mobility, as a peculiarity of not being fixed in a given place, as it is destined to be moved in the territory for the realization of a large work, such as road construction sites, which advance day by day.

Who are responsible for compliance with construction site safety regulations?

Basically all subjects are obliged to respect and enforce the rules on safety on site. However, each figure obviously has different responsibilities (both civil and criminal) in relation to the role covered. Below are the main figures involved in temporary and mobile construction sites:

• Client
• Works Manager (RdL)
• Design Safety Coordinator (CSP)
• Execution-Time Safety Coordinator (CSE)
• The Contractor, often called simply “Custodian”
• Construction companies and self-employed persons

The figure of main responsibility within the construction site is certainly the Client, the subject for whom the entire planned work is carried out.

The Customer can be a private or public entity. In the latter case, the person responsible must be identified as the person who has decision-making and spending powers for the management of the contract.

The figure of the Client is fundamental because it responds to the decision-making and programmatic – design obligations of the construction site. However, these powers may be transferred to the Project Manager, exempting the client from any liability.

Originally, the assignment of the assignment to the Works Manager did not exempt the client from liability, but the corrective decree no. 106/2009 modified the discipline, eliminating the duty of the client to carry out checks on the work of the Works Manager.

What are the main duties of the Client to ensure safety on construction sites?

The Customer, in order to protect himself and not incur both civil and criminal sanctions, must:

• Apply general protective measures. It is a programmatic obligation to identify and assess all the risks for its activity, also in order to adopt all the appropriate prevention and protection measures to eliminate at source the risks present in the construction site
• Designate the Designer and the Safety Coordinator in the Design Phase (CSP), the latter in the event that more than one company will be present on site (even if not at the same time)
• Designate the Safety Coordinator during the execution phase, before the assignment of the works, in the event that there are several companies on site (even if not at the same time)
• Identify the contractor or self-employed person for the realization of the work
• Verify the Technical Professional Suitability (ITP) of self-employed workers or contractors and executors. In particular, it must request the appropriate documentation required by law
• Consider and apply the provisions contained in the Security and Coordination Plan (PSC)
• Require the executing companies:
  • the declaration of the average annual staff, broken down by qualification
  • the details of the INPS and INAIL complaints of workers
  • the Single Document of Contributory Regularity (DURC)
  • the declaration relating to the National Collective Labour Agreement (CCNL) applied
• Communicate the name of the CSP and the CSE to the executing companies and make it public in the cartel of the construction site
• Check the work of the CSP and CSE and if this is not considered adequate to the extent and characteristics of the processes, replace them with more prepared subjects
• Transmit to the competent administration, before the start of the works subject to SCIA (Certified Report of Start of Activity) all the documents necessary for the start of the works
• Suspend activity in case of serious and imminent danger

Finally, it should be noted that the appointment of the CSPs and the CSE does not relieve the Client of the obligation to supervise the fulfilment of the relevant and respective obligations.

From the analysis of the duties described above, it clearly emerges the importance of the role of the Client within the safety system on construction sites and the need to create a network of subjects that assist it and that implement a protection system suitable to avoid accidents or damage during the realization of the works.

Are you looking for an experienced professional in construction site safety? Let’s stay in touch!

SV Srl has decades of experience in the field of site safety, holding positions as CSP / CSE / RdL and Safety Supervisor for any type of temporary and mobile construction site.

If you are looking for professional and qualified support in the field of safety on construction sites throughout the national territory we are your ideal partner.

L'articolo Construction site safety: who is responsible for safety? proviene da Safetyone.it.