What Is a Safety and Health Coordinator?
The Construction Site Ordinance obliges building owners to appoint one or more safety and health coordinators for construction sites if employees of several companies work on the site. The use of a safety and health coordinator is intended to ensure that the activities of all companies are coordinated with each other so that employees do not endanger each other.
According to § 3 of the Construction Site Ordinance (Ordinance on Safety and Health Protection on Construction Sites), the safety and health coordinator assumes tasks during the planning and execution of construction projects. The coordinator contributes to the fact that the work during the building project, the building process, and the structural plants are accomplished at each time under the necessary measures to industrial safety. The coordinator appointment does not release the client from its responsibility to fulfill its obligations under the Construction Site Ordinance (§ 3, 1a BaustellV).
What Does a Safety and Health Protection Coordinator?
In the planning phase, the tasks include coordinating all necessary measures for the protection of employees. For this purpose, he identifies possible safety and health risks on the construction site to develop appropriate measures for the employees’ safety and health. In doing so, he always keeps in mind the general principles formulated in §4 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
He is obliged to create a Safety and Health Protection Plan. This includes, among other things, occupational health and safety regulations and safety precautions for particularly hazardous work. In addition, he prepares the so-called “document”, which contains occupational safety measures for subsequent work (e.g. maintenance and servicing) on the structural plant.
Furthermore, the safety and health protection coordinator is involved in the planning of the construction site facilities and is an advisor when it comes to planning deadlines such as construction execution times.
In the execution phase of the construction project, the safety and health coordinator has additional tasks. The plan is continuously revised and adapted to changing conditions. Besides, the safety and health protection coordinator must ensure that the rules and principles set out in the plan are complied with.
Furthermore, he must take care of the coordination of the cooperation of all companies involved in the construction project, if it concerns the safety and health protection of the employee. If he considers a safety meeting or inspection useful in this context, he must organize and carry it out. If work regularly takes place on a construction site, it is advisable to conduct inspections and meetings at regular intervals and prepare reports.
There are currently no specifications for the deployment times from coordinators on construction sites. However, these should occur so regularly that the duties arising from § 3 Construction Site Ordinance are fulfilled. As a rule, construction sites are subject to a constant process of change. Regular or at least need-based construction site visits are required for successful safety and health coordination accordingly.
Every construction site must be secured from the outside to exclude mutual hazards. This is also the task of a safety and health coordinator. Further information on the tasks and duties can be found in the Rules for Occupational Safety and Health on Construction Sites , in particular in the RAB 30.
