Health & Safety

The Health & Safety legislation is continually being updated. All information is available through the Health & Safety Authority, HSA website.

In the last few years, the HSA has become stronger and more aggressive with regard to clients and their responsibility. A client (person or company director) must take responsibility for the appointment of the correct personnel to act as their representatives. There are checks to be carried out and questions answered.
Upon receiving satisfactory answers, it is then necessary for the client to appoint/contract with the correct consultants. We, at PCS can assist in this whole process, but there is still an onus on the client to ask the question. Penalties are fines and/or imprisonment under criminal prosecution.

The law has been designed to make the clients/PM/design teams/etc take note of the health and safety of all parties in the industry.

There are exclusions for small project work that is determined by the number of man-hours a project takes to complete.

The client often now appoints a Client Agent/Project Manager to act on his behalf with the powers to make decisions with a view to reaching the objectives taking into account the key criteria of time, cost, quality & safety. This removes the client from any day to day involvement in the project; however it does not remove any legal obligations that the client may be required to legally fulfil. This statement is made with particular regard to the Health & Safety legislation. There is an onus on the client (private individual, company director) to ensure that all responsibilities are met. He cannot distance himself and off load blame onto an appointee.

At PCS, we can assist the client is asking the right question of potential H&S Consultants, ensuring that the consultant ultimately appointed is the correct choice.
Under the Law, a Project Supervisor for the Design Process must be appointed. A Project Supervisor for the Construction Stage must also be appointed. Hazard analysis and risk assessment must also be completed.