Whatever the size of your project, you decide how much money, time and resource is available and which Designer and Contractor will undertake the work. The decisions you make as a Client have an impact on the health, safety and welfare of workers and others affected by the work. As a Client, you need to do the following –
- Appoint the right people at the right time (ie Designer, Contractor)
- Ensure there are arrangements in place for managing and organising the Project
- Allow adequate time (Allow enough time for the design, planning and construction work to be undertaken properly)
- Provide information to your Designer and Contractor
- Communicate with your Designer and Contractor
- Ensure adequate welfare facilities are on site (Ensure that your contractor has made arrangements for adequate welfare facilities for their workers before the work starts.)
- Ensure a Construction Phase Plan is in place (This should be proportionate to the scale of the work and associated risks and you should not allow work to start on site until there is a Plan.)
- Retain the H&S File (At the end of the project you should be given a H&S File.)
- Protect members of the public and your employees
- Ensure workplaces are designed correctly (It must meet the standards set out in the Workplace [Health, Safety and Welfare] Regs)
- Notify Construction Projects, if applicable (Work lasting longer than 30 days with more than 20 workers working at the same time, or involving 500 person days of work needs to be notified to the HSE, as soon as possible before construction work starts. In practice, you may request someone else to do this on your behalf.)Further, more detailed, information is available in the HSE publication (INDG411)
