PREVENCIONAR interviews GESPRE’s CEO, Ms. Rosa Luz Carreño González, regarding the panel she will moderate on ‘What Became of Occupational Risk Prevention in Construction?’ Rosa Luz Carreño, as an expert in the field, will moderate the construction panel. This interview addresses the most current topics on prevention in construction, existing problems, and the path that should be taken to achieve Zero Accidents…
INTERVIEW WITH ROSA LUZ CARREÑO. CEO GESPRE GROUP – GESTION PREVENTIVA EN OBRA, S.L.P.U. GESPRE GROUP
1 Who is Rosa Luz Carreño? What is her relationship with Health and Safety?
Rosa Luz Carreño González is the CEO of GRUPOGESPRE, a vocational Occupational Risk Prevention Technician. After completing my studies in Mining Technical Engineering, I began my in-person Master’s in Occupational Risk Prevention. The field of Health and Safety has been the central focus of my professional career. Working on the challenge of implementing a Safety Culture in the construction and mining sectors, continuously training in advances in occupational risk prevention, Official University Master’s in Occupational Risk Prevention, Auditor in Occupational Risk Prevention, Safety and Health Coordinator in construction works, Member of the Occupational Risk Prevention Commission of the Interprofessional Union, and with extensive experience in this field, I pride myself on being an Occupational Risk Prevention Technician, which is more than a profession; it is a full dedication to a common good: THE HEALTH OF ALL WORKERS.
My current relationship with Health and Safety involves the Coordination of Safety and Health in construction works, providing full dedication, innovation, and the implementation of a Safety Culture since 2006 when I created my own company, GESPREOBRA, and thus being able to implement my Occupational Risk Prevention policy in the service of construction and mining.
2. Perhaps one of GESPREOBRA’s most relevant activities is the Coordination of Safety and Health during the execution phase of construction projects. How do you assess the evolution of the safety culture and OHS management in construction works?
GESPREOBRA’s main activity is the Coordination of Safety and Health during the execution phase of construction projects.
Safety and health coordination during the execution phase is a highly undervalued field within the construction world. The evolution of the safety culture in construction was very good during the boom period in Spain; however, with an overflowing hope for greater implementation of the safety culture, it was cut short by the crisis affecting the sector. It was always thought that with fewer projects and fewer active workers, greater attention would be paid to occupational risk prevention. But contrary to all expectations, the objectives were not set on improving already achieved criteria, but rather on precarious work to such an extent that workers accept infinite hours for half-time contributions, a lack of information for workers, the purchase of training certificates to ‘comply’ with the requirements established by a good coordinator, and PPE in poor condition or inadequate for the execution of tasks.
It is evolving unfavorably, not due to a lack of information on the subject, which is now more abundant and better, but also due to a lack of work. Significant intrusion has been detected in the performance of Safety and Health Coordination by competent technicians who are not trained in Coordination, accepting such jobs to remain active during this period, and in other cases, accepting impositions from the developer or Site Management that go against the principles of a safety culture.
Currently, there is much talk about Safety Culture as an ‘easy’ resource for a company’s commitment to prevention; however, the reality is quite different, involving merely papering over the site without transferring information to the workers.
This OHS management in construction is only punctually fulfilled in large companies or small companies ‘committed’ to prevention, but in reality, no one has been informed of what those papers actually state and put into practice, leading to the belief that the coordinator is merely an executor of paperwork, nothing further from the truth.
3. Do developers, contractors, subcontractors, etc., truly understand the functions of the Safety Coordinator?
The functions of the Safety and Health Coordinator during the Execution Phase (CSSFE) are not correctly understood by any of the parties involved in the project, including the site management and execution management.
In some cases, developers interpret, believe, or are inadequately advised, requesting erroneous budgets or requirements as CSSFE functions. For example, developers request in their budgets that the site only be visited once a month or once a week, etc., when we all know that the CSSFE will visit as many times as deemed appropriate, and it is not mandatory to impose the number of site visits as a value of the CSSFE. Instead, it is the CSSFE who must indicate, depending on the scale of the project, what the coordination needs are, as well as due to the Civil Liability and, above all, the Criminal Liability to which a CSSFE is exposed, as this occupational risk prevention professional is the expert in the field.
Just like the Developer, Site Management, Execution Management, contractor, and much less the subcontractors, they forget, ignore, or do not know that it is the CSSFE who, according to Section a) of Article 9 of Royal Decree 1627/1997, which establishes minimum safety and health provisions for construction works, literally states the Obligations of the CSSFE, and I quote textually:
a) Coordinate the application of general prevention and safety principles:
- When making technical and organizational decisions to plan the different tasks or work phases to be carried out simultaneously or successively.
- When estimating the required duration for the execution of these different tasks or work phases.
I want you to realize the vital importance of this section for the safety of all parties involved in the project, and that, furthermore, the most important parts are unknown, and when explained, they are not accepted or seen as normal.
For all the above, we have a long way to go in raising awareness for the proper implementation of a Safety Culture on site, which begins by introducing occupational risk prevention from the earliest ages of study—nursery, early childhood education, primary, secondary—and so on, incorporating an increase in safety and health concepts at each level of study.
Are they confused with the Coordinator of Business Activities?
In most cases, the members of a construction project do not know the term Coordinator of Business Activities (CAE), and if they do, it is often confused. It is unclear when to apply one or the other; it is the CSSFE who ultimately also acts as CAE to prevent potential problems on site.
Are they considered a ‘supervisor’ of the work? What is needed to change this perception? In this regard,
The CSSFE is considered everything and nothing; as long as there hasn’t been an accident, no one will ask for you. However, if there is a problem, an accident, a report to prevent the work from being stopped, or a justification for not paying the contractor or subcontractor, the CSSFE is used as a tool for non-compliance, and reports are requested from them. In these cases, they demand that you have been continuously on site, like a supervisor.
And yes, most consider us ‘supervisors’ of the work.
What is needed to change this perception? The reality is that we should be considered part of the site team, which often makes it very difficult to be integrated as a professional with as much or more knowledge than the rest of the Site Management or Site Managers.
For this perception of a supervisor to change, it is necessary to increase training for execution technicians in occupational risk prevention, that is, by enhancing the Safety Culture and, above all, raising awareness among all members of the project—foremen, preventive resources (a fundamental figure for good safety implementation on site), site managers, and workers—by indicating our main objective, which is to safeguard the lives of workers through procedures, annexes, information, plans, induction talks, etc.
How do you work at GESPREOBRA to ensure the Safety Coordinator is considered an important figure in Site Safety and Health management? First, by earning respect and valuing our work, equating it, as it is, with Site Management and Execution Management. By making the developer who hires us aware that we are not mere signatories, but professional technicians who act under the criteria of preventive action principles.
Establishing with the Contractor the criteria for carrying out efficient coordination based on a cordial relationship and synergy summation that benefits from the combination of two or more factors or products to be more complete and effective. Using the expression 2+2=5 to indicate that the combination of two or more factors produces a joint effect superior to the sum of their isolated effects. That is, working with a common objective for all parties: to complete the work on time and in proper form and, of course, with Zero Accidents.
At GESPREOBRA, we have a multidisciplinary technical team, composed of engineers, technical engineers, architects, technical architects, and lawyers, all with advanced theoretical and practical training in occupational risk prevention. This training is focused within their professional area and specialized in the prevention areas relevant to their profession. This training is backed by more than fifteen years of practical experience on site as professionals.
All our professionals who perform Safety and Health Coordination on site are registered as Safety and Health Coordinators in all Autonomous Communities that have this type of registration.
GESPREOBRA offers a clear and efficient service for the needs required by the project to perform the functions mandated by Occupational Risk Prevention legislation.
The main objective of GESPREOBRA during safety and health coordination in the execution phase is “ZERO ACCIDENTS”. GESPREOBRA, in its effort to implement a safety culture on site, proposes the following improvements to achieve its objective: Advice on occupational risk prevention, Preparation of monthly photographic reports, Weekly preparation of documentary audits for the project.
4. One of the problems that arise in Project Coordination is the time dedicated by the Safety Coordinator on site (the visits they make, their duration…). At GESPREOBRA, what criteria do you follow to establish the Safety Coordinator’s dedication, considering the responsibilities this role may incur?
That’s a great question. As I mentioned in question #3 of this interview, the criteria for establishing the CSSFE are clear and concise:
- Firstly, the magnitude of the project will be taken into account, not only by its Material Execution Budget but also, and more importantly, by the tasks to be carried out on site, considering their inherent danger.
- Secondly, the approximate number of workers on site will be considered.
- The estimated duration of the project.
- When the work will be carried out on site, how many shifts are established, whether work is done on weekends, day or night, etc.
Upon receiving this data and the client’s requirements, the offer is evaluated according to our criteria. If the client does not accept them, the assignment will not be accepted, as these are the basis for proper CSSFE. Who better than the coordinator knows how to establish the time requirements for the project?
5. Do you believe the Safety Coordinator has assumed more supervisory and control functions (OHS documentation for contractors and subcontractors, coordination of business activities…) to the detriment of other functions that add more value to occupational risk prevention on site?
That’s right, they want to turn us into a management resource, but carrying out a CSSFE, especially at GESPREOBRA, guarantees fundamental values and principles that ensure the project is developed under the principles of preventive action and exhaustively complies with Royal Decree 1627/1997.
6. There are scenarios where OHS seems insufficient, for example, in the case of Homeowners’ Associations when undertaking renovation, rehabilitation, and maintenance works on buildings. What OHS recommendations would you give to Homeowners’ Associations facing such projects?
Firstly, they should consult their administrator, if they have one, to inform them of the obligations and responsibilities they assume as PROJECT DEVELOPERS, and especially the responsibility assumed by the Legal Representative of the Homeowners’ Association, who is the President of the community and often does not know what they are facing.
In cases where they do not have a property administrator, they should contact the competent occupational risk prevention body of the autonomous community to which they belong, to inform them of everything necessary to undertake the works.
In cases where property administrators are available, they often do not know or do not want to know the responsibility that the Homeowners’ Association assumes when starting a project irregularly.
As well as urging Property Administrators and their Association to inform their clients about the reality of what a project entails, and if they don’t know, to inform themselves to avoid the high accident rate that occurs in Homeowners’ Associations’ projects.
Through this platform you provide me, I want to convey this paragraph extracted from the “Practical Guide for the Preventive Management of Works in Neighborhood Communities”, published by the IRSST of the Community of Madrid and the Official College of Quantity Surveyors, Technical Architects, and Building Engineers of Madrid.
- The representation of this developer falls to the President of the Community. It is for this reason that, in application of current regulations on prevention, safety, and health, this DEVELOPER becomes the first agent and initiator of the contracting chain and must assume and lead the preventive aspects of the different types of work to be carried out in the Community.
7. Another area of GESPREOBRA’s activity is training. The construction sector regulated worker OHS training and the Construction Professional Card in its collective agreement. How do you assess the implementation of this training and the TPC included in the General Collective Agreement for the Construction Sector?
The concept of training and the TPC regulated by the General Construction Collective Agreement has been a very good idea and a great contribution to construction.
But like everything, it has some flaws, especially the TPC. It was a great idea but it has remained just that, as there is no mechanism to facilitate management for the Coordinator when reviewing a worker’s documentation through a platform, a QR code, and the obligation to have the card, including all the information indicated in the agreement. Although it is true that, after the latest revision of the agreement, it is established how the TPC will proceed, including the novelty of the QR code; now it only remains to be implemented.
Regarding training, I believe it is a great advance, but it is becoming a mere compliance exercise, as companies do not train workers in their corresponding specialty but rather in whatever is available at the moment, hoping it ‘slips through’. And on the other hand, due to the lack of many unprofessional colleagues who provide training without believing in the profession, they cannot convey the objective of the training, and sometimes, even worse, students only attend class for a few hours, as indicated by the trainer or the training company.
8. GESPREOBRA is a sponsor of the 1st Prevencionar Congress. You are moderating the panel “What Became of Occupational Risk Prevention in Construction?”. Can you give us a preview of the issues that will be addressed on the panel? Why shouldn’t attendees miss it?
The panel, with its title, already very briefly reflects the main problem of occupational risk prevention. Issues such as:
- Why do we speak of ‘what became of’ and not ‘what is’ occupational risk prevention in construction?
- What were the causes that led to a loss of quality in risk prevention on site?
- What causes were decisive for this loss of quality? The crisis? Intrusion in Safety and Health Coordination? Precarious employment?
- What are the reasons that have led to the current state of OHS in construction?
- If large and small projects were developed during the crisis, why were the established safety measures not applied?
- Has the lack of personnel in subcontractors and resorting to self-employed workers who lower their prices to maintain a salary influenced this, and coincidentally, according to the Law, they should only contribute their work, meaning they depend on what the contractors provide to protect them?
- Are we talking about ignorance or profitability?
All professionals attending the Congress should attend this panel, as it reflects the greatest setback in occupational risk prevention on site, not seen in other sectors, motivated by letting down our guard and prioritizing other aspects, such as those championed by today’s consumerist and greedy society, without prioritizing the most basic of principles, which is THE LIFE OF PEOPLE, including our own.
Current hot topics will be addressed, identifying the causes of ‘why’ and the conclusions we must adhere to, serving as an example for other sectors not to let their guard down.
This is an awareness panel on safety culture in construction as a fundamental pillar of respect for human life.
9. Why do you believe professionals in the Safety, Health, and Well-being at Work sector should attend the 1st Prevencionar Congress?
The 1st Prevencionar Congress is a benchmark for professionals in the Safety, Health, and Well-being at Work sector, where a multitude of sectors and disciplines of Occupational Risk Prevention converge, which will attract the attention of all professionals who love this profession, born of vocation.
