Managing Subcontractors

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Managing Sub-contractors

• Why are Sub-Contractors engaged to carry out work
  ?

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Work undertaken for a client by a contractor is
usually covered by a civil contract. It is good
practice for health and safety requirements to be
written in to such a contract. However, health
and safety responsibilities are defined by the
criminal law and cannot be passed on from one
party to another by a contract.
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In any client/contractor relationship, both
parties will have duties under health and safety
law. Similarly, if the contractor employs
sub-contractors to carry out some or all of the
work, all parties will have some health and
safety responsibilities.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO DOIdentify the jobClients need
to clearly identify all aspects of the work they
want the contractor to do, including work falling
within the preparation and completion phases.
The level of risk will depend on the nature of
the job. Whatever the risk, clients need to
consider the health and safety implications of
the job they want done.
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Small firm fined 32 000for dangerous site

• Firm pleaded guilty to
• two contravention's of
• Section 4 of HASAWA
• requiring persons in
• control of non-domestic
• premises to take
• reasonable measures to
• ensure that other people
• are not put at risk.

• Subcontractors allowed to work
• in an unsupported trench
• on poorly erected scaffolding that was overloaded
• on a site that had not been notified to HSE

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House Building Contractor Fined due to actions of
a Sub-Contractor

• Local Authority prosecution - Control of
  Pollution Act 1974 Section 60
• Highbury Corner Magistrates were told that
  sub-contractors working for main contractor
  persistently unloaded lorries outwith the
  Councils noise permitted hours
• 20 separate offences resulted in 30,000 fine

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Client Held Liable for Contractors Negligence

• High Court Ruling
• When a firm engages a contractor and fails to
  make reasonable enquiry's about that contractors
  competence then the firm may be held liable for
  injuries caused by the contractors negligence

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Case history - Civil Court 1967McArdle v Andmac
Roofing

• Company engaged as main contractors
• They hired a sub-contractor to repair a roof
• Employee of the sub-contractor fell through a
  hole left by employees of another sub-contractor
• The court ruled that the main contractors were
  liable - it was their duty to supervise and
  ensure that gaps were not left in the roof

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CONIAC (Construction Industry Advisory Committee)
Strategic 5 Year Plan 1991Managing Health and
Safety

• Changes in recent years have made it much harder
  for the industry to achieve an acceptable
  performance in health and safety.
• Besides the general upturn in activity, which has
  served to stretch resources, the industry has
  fragmented due to growth in the number of firms
  and greatly increased sub-contracting

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Continued

• The fragmentation, which has increased with the
  use of management contracting in construction
  projects, has resulted in a weakening of control
  in the health and safety aspects of site
  activities.
• The growth in casual working and self employment
  gives rise to similar problems.
• For it is much more difficult to exercise
  control over those on site who do not work for
  them and who consider that such control is not
  warranted

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Falsework Collapse
HSE Inspector - Being on site at the time gave
me a rare opportunity to analyse the cause of
the failure before any urgent clearing up
operations
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CLIENT DESIGN TEAM
DESIGN ENG. Temp. Works
MANAGING CONTRACTOR
MAIN CONTR. RC Frame
100
Scaffolding Sub-Contractor
Formwork and Re-bar Sub-Contr.
Concreting Sub-Contr.
S/Emp. Casual Scaffolders
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Managing the Health and safety of sub-contractors

• Those having control of the site should
• CO-ORDINATE the activities of all other parties
  on site
• SEEK AND USE INFORMATION from the client and
  designer to plan work and avoid hazards before
  work begins
• CHECK that subcontractors are competent
• MONITOR AND CONTROL work on site

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Managing the Health and safety of sub-contractors

• The sub-contractor, in addition to satisfying
  their responsibilities for their own work and
  employees, should
• ACCEPT at the tender stage the main contractors
  right to manage the site
• AGREE to co-operate on Health and Safety matters
  with other contractors
• OBEY site rules
• ENSURE that the same rules and arrangements apply
  to any work which is further sub-let

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Appointing sub-contractors

• The appointment of sub-contractors must not
• depend solely on technical ability but should
• take full account of their competence in
• health and safety matters.
• This may be judged by their attitude to safety,
• their safety policy and past performance.

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Sub-contractors Health and Safety Assessment
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High Risk Activities in Construction

• Demolition-Use of explosive/Asbestos Removal
• Excavations
• Piling Works
• Frame Erection-Steel/Concrete
• Cladding
• Roofing
• Scaffolding
• Work At Heights-Steeplejacks
• Work In Confined spaces
• Work With Hazardous Materials

Detailed Method Statements should be requested at
Tender Stage for any high risk activity
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Conclusion

• Check their competence, e.g.
• Send out questionnaire
• Contact previous clients
• View HSE webpage for prosecutions
• Check with CHASPI or Local Authority Database
• Involve your own people, e.g.
• Contracts
• Purchasing
• Projects
• Operations
• Review their plans
• Check method statements, dont just accept them
• Monitor their work
• Keep records