The first week of a site decides most of what happens on it. Welfare, boundaries, access and the traffic plan are all cheap to get right before anyone starts and expensive to retrofit once the programme is running. Schedule 2 to CDM 2015 sets the welfare requirements, and they apply from the moment work begins rather than once the job is big enough to justify them.
Welfare, which is not optional and not phased
Sanitary conveniences and washing facilities, an adequate supply of drinking water, somewhere to change and store clothing, and a facility for rest and for taking meals with means of boiling water. Schedule 2 requires them so far as is reasonably practicable, and the practical test is that they are available on day one rather than promised for when the site cabin arrives.
Boundary, access and security
The site has to be secured against unauthorised access so far as is reasonably practicable, which regulation 14 makes the principal contractor's duty. Children entering construction sites remains a cause of deaths, and the control is a physical boundary maintained through the job rather than a sign. Separate pedestrian and vehicle entrances if the site allows it, because sharing one gate is where most struck-by risk concentrates.
Vehicles, plant and the banksman
Most vehicle incidents on sites happen during reversing. The hierarchy is to design reversing out with a one-way system or a turning circle, then to segregate people from vehicles, and only then to control the manoeuvre with a trained signaller. A banksman standing in a blind spot to guide a reversing lorry is the lowest control in that list and the most commonly used, which is why the signals must be agreed and the signaller must be visible to the driver at all times.
MEWPs and mobile plant
Mobile elevating work platforms are the usual answer to short duration work at height, and their risks are entrapment against a structure overhead, overturning on soft or uneven ground, and being struck. Ground conditions and a rescue plan for a stranded or entrapped operator are the two things assessments most often omit. A MEWP is lifting equipment, so it needs a LOLER thorough examination as well as its pre-use checks.
Site rules, induction and SSIP
Every person on site gets an induction covering the layout, the hazards, the rules, the emergency arrangements and who to tell. SSIP stands for Safety Schemes in Procurement, an umbrella body under which member schemes assess contractors' health and safety arrangements and recognise each other's certificates. An SSIP certificate is a prequalification signal about the company, not a competence certificate for the individuals arriving on site.
Cold, heat and the weather
There is no statutory minimum or maximum working temperature for outdoor work in Great Britain. The duty is the ordinary one: assess the risk and control it, which for cold means shelter, warm clothing, warm breaks and rotation, and for heat means shade, water and rescheduling. Employers who look for a legal temperature and find none often conclude nothing is required, which is the wrong reading.
Questions people ask about site set up
What welfare facilities are required on a construction site?
Sanitary conveniences, washing facilities, drinking water, changing and clothing storage, and a rest facility with means of boiling water, under Schedule 2 to CDM 2015, so far as is reasonably practicable.
What is a banksman?
A trained signaller who directs a vehicle or plant movement, most often reversing. It is the lowest control in the hierarchy, used after designing out reversing and segregating people from vehicles.
Is there a minimum working temperature in the UK?
There is no statutory minimum or maximum temperature for outdoor work. The employer must assess the risk from cold or heat and control it like any other risk.
What is an SSIP certificate?
Recognition under a Safety Schemes in Procurement member scheme that a contractor's health and safety arrangements have been assessed. It is a prequalification signal about the company rather than proof of individual competence.