Managing Client – Contractor Relationships

Courses Syllabus

Introduction

Health and safety law imposes strict duties on employers to protect the health, safety and welfare of persons not employed by them whilst on their premises. Anyone managing contractors working on site, or managing contractors working on construction projects, needs to understand the legislation and its practical implications. The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health therefore drew up the syllabus for the three-day training course presented here, which we have updated to reflect the changes to the CDM Regulations introduced in 2007.

Objectives

This course will give participants:

• An overview of relevant aspects of the British legal system
• An understanding of the relevant sections of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• A detailed understanding of the CDM Regulations (including the 2007 changes), the main duty holders and the roles they play
• An understanding of the competence requirements for the key duty holders and the principles involved in the selection of competent contractors
• An overview of the key elements of HSG65 (‘Successful health and safety management’ HSE Guidance)
• An understanding of how risk assessment, safe systems of work, method statements and permits to work play a pivotal role in managing safety on site
• The ability to set up control arrangements for contractors arriving and leaving site
• The knowledge to plan for emergencies
• The skills to monitor and audit contractors on site

Course outline

Introduction and course overview

What is health and safety and why manage it?

• Legal considerations
• Moral considerations
• Financial considerations
• Business considerations

UK legislation

• Civil liabilities and law
• Duty of care

Common law

Syndicate exercise

The CDM Regulations

• Application
• Identification of duty holders
• Competence
• Designers/ architects
• Main contractor
• Planning supervisor
• Health and safety plan 
• General contents 
• Pre-tender 
• Construction phase
• Health and Safety File 
• Format 
• Content 
• Link to contract documents 
• Ongoing use and integration
• Duty holders’ roles and responsibilities
• Information and training
• Competence
• Communication and cooperation
• Exclusion of civil liabilities
• 2006 amendments

Successful health and safety management (HSG65)

• Policy statement
• Organisation
• Arrangements
• Implementation
• Monitoring
• Review
• Audit
• Application to CDM

Individual exercise – How well do you manage contractors?

Mock assessment and feedback

Planning and pre-tender

Risk assessment

• Hazards
• Risk
• Evaluation of risks
• Hierarchy of controls

Syndicate exercise – Identifying hazards, assessing risk and introducing controls

Permit to work

• Introduction
• Description
• Requirements
• Activities requiring a permit to work
• The system principles
• Selection of contractors
• Selecting a competent contractor and building a checklist
• Syndicate exercise – Producing a reasonable enquiries checklist
• Method statements and safe systems of work
• Evaluation
• Syndicate exercise – Using risk assessments to produce method statements
• Contractors on site
• Induction
• Controls
• Arrangements
• De-briefs
• Syndicate exercise – Induction checklist
• Emergencies on site
• What can go wrong
• Planning and being prepared
• Carrying out simulated exercises
• Syndicate exercise – Considering emergency arrangements and planning
• Monitoring
• Purpose
• Strategies
• Review of contractors and the job
• Purpose
• Strategies
• Syndicate exercise – Reviewing of contractors
• Mock assessment two
• Auditing
• Purpose
• Strategies
• Setting of project
• Final assessment
• Summary and close