Health & Safety Regulations 2013 and the Homeowner
Some homeowners are still not aware of legislation that came into force in August 2013 putting particular responsibilities upon them …
It is important to note first of all that the regulations apply to construction work that you pay to get done – and not to DIY jobs that you do yourself.
The Health & Safety Authority (HSA) publish a very useful guide to the regulations written in plain English. This guide can be downloaded here:
https://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_and_Forms/Publications/Construction/Guide_for_Homeowners.html
Firstly, no matter what size the project is, you now have an obligation to appoint ‘competent’ people to carry out construction work for you. Some guidance is given in the above document as regards assessing competency of contractors.
In addition, for projects that pass a certain threshold (as defined in the regulations) to become larger or riskier, you need to appoint ‘project supervisors’ who have defined roles in the safety matters on site. There are other obligations put on the homeowners including HSA notification and the keeping of Safety Files too.
The project supervisors have various responsibilities include the preparation of a written Safety and Health Plan for the project, the coordination of the work of designers and contractors, the preparation of the Safety Files etc.
So, when works are being carried out in or near your home, you need to make sure that they don’t put you, your family or anybody else at risk. These regulations help to achieve this objective.
S J CARROLL & CO ARCHITECTS can provide full architectural services in connection with your project. We can be contacted at simon@sjcarrollarchitects.ie or 086 8293293
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