On occasion, we have mentioned that the construction sector possesses certain characteristics that make the management of occupational risk prevention and the coordination of safety and health difficult. For this reason, we will dedicate the following lines to the coordination of business activities in construction, one of the areas most affected by these characteristics.
Main legal provisions to consider.
The main regulation affecting the coordination of business activities in construction is, evidently, Royal Decree 171/2004 on the coordination of business activities. We emphasize this aspect because, at least for some time, it was common to encounter supposed specialists in the field who claimed that this royal decree was not applicable, as construction works were only affected by Royal Decree 1627/1997. This is a serious conceptual error stemming from poor advice. Hence the importance of resorting to specialists who provide legal, not just technical, advice.
The second legal norm to consider in the management of the coordination of business activities in construction is the aforementioned Royal Decree 1627/1997. In our article on Safety and Health in homeowner associations, we already discussed some of the developers’ responsibilities and other obligations derived from compliance with the said royal decree.
Management of the coordination of business activities in construction
The main objective of managing the coordination of business activities in construction, as in other sectors, is to prevent health damage resulting from the concurrency of work in the same workplace. All of this must be carried out through the application of preventive action principles and the application of appropriate work methods by concurrent companies.
This concurrency of work can aggravate certain risks, making them serious or very serious due to the incompatibility of certain tasks. Therefore, we will highlight the main issues to consider to avoid such situations.
Exchange of documentation
Firstly, to achieve this objective, an exchange of documentation regarding the risks affected by the overlapping of activities must be carried out. Preventive and emergency measures arising from the concurrency must be defined.
Agree on preventive measures
Secondly, preventive measures must be planned and agreed upon. Here, the role of the safety and health coordinator will be fundamental.
- If necessary, work procedures and different operations will be adapted to the concurrency situation. The safety and health plan must address these situations.
- Likewise, the type of supervision to be carried out for these tasks must be determined. In this case, the contractor must provide the preventive resource, if applicable, as stipulated in Article 32 bis of the Occupational Risk Prevention Act. In this regard, it is worth noting the duty to supervise for companies that subcontract activities of their own business.
Ensure training and information
Finally, it must be ensured that workers have been trained and informed of all risk situations and the corresponding preventive and emergency measures.
Developer’s responsibilities regarding the Coordination of Business Activities
Once these actions have been implemented, the work will proceed using the coordination means established by Royal Decree 1627/1997, Law 31/1995 on Occupational Risk Prevention, and the guidelines of the safety and health coordinator, appointed by the developer. Some of these responsibilities were already discussed in the article on Safety and Health in homeowner associations.
The appointment by the developer of a specialist safety coordinator will ensure the proper management of these actions. This will be reinforced by adequate task monitoring, safety and health inspections, regular site visits, coordination meetings for action follow-up, continuous review of preventive measures, etc.
It should be noted, with regard to the coordination of business activities in construction, that the project developer is the owner of the workplace for the purposes of the provisions in Royal Decree 171/2004. This circumstance will have, among others, the following implications:
- Provide information on the specific risks of the workplace to contractors, through the basic study or safety and health study
- Provide instructions, through the safety and health coordinator, or, where appropriate, the technical management, on the risks and preventive and emergency measures to be applied during execution.
