Following on from our very popular guest blog series so far,this week we are tackling some of the dangers to be found in property. Today’s blog is from Rob Cameron.
Health & Safety and the Property Developer
A week or so ago, Roberta put out a request for people to contribute to a series on Risk in property development; once again this sparked my interest. In one of my prior appointments, as a Test Facility Manager, Health & Safety was one of my biggest responsibilities so I thought I’d offer my services. My observation about my time in that role was how easy it was for people working in a potentially hazardous environment to become so familiar with the environment that they become complacent about the risks involved. Therefore, it is critical to maintain an ongoing focus on the management and control of Health & Safety.
Why is Health & Safety important in Property Development?
Property Development is a subset of the construction industry; as an industry (according to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE)) construction has the highest number of fatal injuries of any main industrial group. In the 2008/09 they state that there were 53 fatal injuries, with most being caused by falling from height, falling objects, machinery, collapses and electricity.
Whilst there has been a marked decrease in fatalities over the past ten years, the very nature of construction work means that people are at risk. It is estimated that in the same year there were nearly 3 million lost working days in the industry due to workplace injuries and work related illness.
What is Health & Safety about?
Put simply, it is about preventing people from being harmed at or becoming ill as a result of the work they undertake by taking the appropriate precautions. To that end there are a comprehensive set of regulations that govern all aspects of workplace health & safety. Full details can be found on the HSE website.
Particular risks associated with Property Development
The very nature of property development and constructions means that there are some particularly high risk acitivies such as working at height, roofwork, asbestos/hazardous materials, excavations, manual handling and lifting, moving vehicles and electricity. This is not an exhaustive list but demonstrates clearly the point. A comprehensive list visit the HSE website.
Controlling Health & Safety in Property Development
If you are developing property commercially (not as a domestic client) you have legal duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM 2007). These regulations are in place to ensure that construction projects are safe to build, use and maintain; good health & safety planning and management are a key part of these regulations. You can also listen to a podcast about this here.
As a domestic client, whilst there is no duty, you should be aware that contractors who work on any development will have duties under CDM2007. The HSE have produced a guide Are you developing property? that outlines the legal responsibilities of a client within the CDM2007 regulations.
