Part 4: Responsibility for construction projects

These regulations impose requirements on five specific duty holders - clients, designers of projects, planning supervisors, principal contractors and other contractors - and these duties are largely of an absolute nature.

Duties under the Regulations must be read in conjunction with the more general duties on employers under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations and the accompanying Health and Safety Commission (HSC) Approved Code of Practice Managing construction for health and safety.

Two HSC Guides also apply - 'A guide to managing health and safety in construction'and 'Designing for health and safety in construction'.

Individual responsibilities

1. Clients - The client must be satisfied that each of the four categories of duty holder are competent and ensure the allocation of sufficient resources, including time, to the project. He/she must further ensure that work does not begin until a satisfactory health and safety plan has been prepared.

2. Designers - The designer must ensure that structures are designed to avoid or minimise risks during construction and maintenance. He/she must provide adequate information where risks cannot be avoided and alert clients to their duties.

3. Planning supervisors - The planning supervisor has overall responsibility for co-ordinating the health and safety aspects of the project at the design and planning stages. He/she is responsible for the early stages of the health and safety plan (pre-tender stage), and must ensure that the health and safety file is prepared and delivered to the client at the end of the project.

4. Principal contractor - The principal contractor must develop and implement the health and safety plan (construction phase). He/she must take account of health and safety issues when preparing and presenting tenders and co-ordinate the activities of contractors to ensure compliance with health and safety legislation. He/she must check on the provision of information and training for employees, and on safety consultation arrangements with employees and the self-employed. The principal contractor must further ensure that only authorised personnel are allowed on site.

5. Contractors - All contractors must co-operate with the principal contractor and provide relevant information on the risks to health and safety arising from their work and on the means of control. They must provide information to the principal contractor and to employees. The self-employed have similar duties to those of contractors.

What about documentation?

The following documents must be produced and maintained.

1. Health and safety plan - The plan covers two stages. At pre-tender stage it must include a general description of the work, timings, details of risks to workers, and information for the principal contractor on welfare arrangements.

At the construction stage it must include arrangements for the health and safety of all those affected by the construction work, arrangements for the management of the work and for monitoring legal compliance, and information about welfare arrangements.

2. Health and safety file - This document contains information for the client or user of the building on the risks that could arise during maintenance, repair or renovation.