Health and Safety

RIBA Plan of Work 2013 Guide

Peter Caplehorn

• Publisher: RIBA Publishing
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781000702378
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture General

Health and Safety is part of a brand new series providing must-read practical guidance to running efficient and successful projects using the new RIBA Plan of Work 2013. Each guide takes a core project activity – in this case those associated with managing and integrating health and safety - and explains the essential activities required at each stage.

Concise and easy to use with a consistent format these guides provide the ultimate quick reference support at your desk or on-site. An authoritative 'how to' full of pragmatic advice, examples and in-text features such as 'hints and tips' that illuminate best practice and clever solutions.

Designed to be used on all projects – large and small – and across all types of procurement, they are task rather than role-oriented acknowledging that a variety of people take on these responsibilities. They are also invaluable for architectural students at Part 3 who are getting to grips with the realities of practice.

Stage 1
Preparation and Brief

Chapter overview

Stage builds on the Strategic Brief developed in Stage 0. This is when the client’s Project Outcomes must be fully woven into the Initial Project Brief and the design team selected for Stage.

Key areas to be covered are Quality Objectives, desired Project Outcomes, Sustainability Aspirations and Project Budget. A critical element will be the review of Site Information and the completion of any Feasibility Studies.

The RIBA Plan of Work 2013 also highlights the importance of the Project Roles Table and the Contractual Tree. As the number of team appointments grows, these become essential to ensuring the project team is suitable for the project and that team members’ Schedules of Services are properly coordinated. At this stage a Design Responsibility Matrix, linked to the Project Execution Plan, and the Communication and Technology Strategies should also be developed. The latter require agreement over which technologies, common standards and forms of communication will be used on the project. These will all involve health and safety considerations.

Additional considerations during this stage include developing the Handover Strategy, to ensure there will be a smooth transition at Stage 6, after construction is complete.

Project Risk Assessments should also be drawn up at this stage (these should not be confused with health and safety risk assessments).

When developing the health and safety aspirations of the Initial Project Brief, consideration should be given to appointing a health and safety adviser. A suitably experienced architect or designer can undertake this role, but there are also independent specialists, who can be extremely valuable and offer a wider insight than would otherwise be available.

The key coverage in this chapter is as follows:

Project Objectives

Procurement and health and safety

CDM considerations at Stage 1

Assembling the project team

Site Information

Project Execution Plan

Handover Strategy

Risk assessments

Information Exchanges

Introduction

A large number of important actions occur at this stage. This chapter identifies how to implement them and how best to ensure they are understood by the client and the team. It is at this stage that the health and safety aspirations need to be fleshed out, ahead of preparing the Health and Safety Strategy at Stage 2. Unfortunately, good intentions can start to be sidelined, because they are thought not to impact on time and money.

From Stage 0

It is important to take full advantage of the Stage 0 preparations.

Make sure the health and safety aspirations have been developed and are in place.

Apply experience gained from your previous projects and, if possible, your client’s.

Ensure everyone is content with the legal and practical objectives.

Take note of possible site issues.

What are the Core Objectives of this stage?

The Core Objectives of the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 at Stage 1 are:

The Core Objectives at this stage focus on preparing the Initial Project Brief, which includes developing the Project Objectives, Quality Objectives, Project Outcomes, Sustainability Aspirations and Project Budget and considering other parameters or constraints. Feasibility Studies are undertaken during this stage, and Site Information reviewed.

It is the time to ensure that everything that will be needed is in place, including the Schedule of Services and the Design Responsibility Matrix, and that key Project Strategies have been prepared, particularly the Handover Strategy and Project Execution Plan. Focusing on the site and site requirements is also key at this time.

Project Objectives

The Initial Project Brief needs to contain specific references to health and safety. This brief will cover a wide range of subjects and so it is often easy for the health and safety elements to be overshadowed.

The health and safety perspective

• Ensure high standards throughout, enabled by good design.
• Strive for a zero-harm record throughout the project.
• Ensure all processes follow the prescribed path.
• Identify and review any near misses from previous projects.
• Consider health as well as safety.
• Do not accept second best.

Consider the project ‘in use’ from the start

Remember that Practical Completion is not the end of the story. It is essential that, as the design starts to emerge, there is a focus on the completed project, and that this is reflected in the Initial Project Brief. Whatever the building, facility or asset, it will be used, cleaned, maintained and, eventually, demolished. The emerging design must provide for these activities to be entirely safe. Simply put, provide a finished building that presents minimal risk to users and maintenance staff. Feedback from previous projects will be particularly valuable in planning for Stage 7: In Use.

Quality Objectives can support health and safety

When setting the Quality Objectives, health and safety can be overlooked. However, there are many examples of projects where a focus on quality has led to the delivery of exemplary health and safety outcomes. In short, ensure you maintain high quality across the project and this will deliver high levels of health and safety.

The quality of coordination is particularly important. High-quality design coordination will ensure that all components and building operations fit together as intended. There will be little left to chance, and therefore few unintended hazards, especially arising from unseen complexities, to cause harm. Controlling this aspect can have good results right across the project. This is about management that is efficient and organised, design that is comprehensive and buildable, and details that do not create harmful situations during construction or in use.

Project Objectives need to be clearly identified

Ensuring that the Project Objectives, the end results, are well established and understood will give the team focus and direction. The project team members will understand where the project is intended to be going and be able to work towards the end goal.

Project Objectives could include specific health and safety objectives, such as:

• stated limits on health and safety statistics, eg so many person hours without injury
• stated health improvements for all workers during the project
• provision of on-site occupational health facilities or periodic visits
• creation of healthy environments during construction, with stated limits or objectives

• limiting the impact of construction work on the health and safety of occupants and people in areas adjacent to the site.

Sustainability Aspirations can have an impact on health and safety

There is a clear connection between a project’s Sustainability Aspirations and its health and safety outcomes. One can aid the other. However, while top-level considerations, targets and legislation have been ever present, sustainability has struggled to be seen as relevant. Boardrooms may have become full of sustainability directors, and many companies now publish sustainability policies, but progress has been slow on the ground. Embedding sustainability criteria within the whole range of construction has been difficult; there is an obvious focus on energy conservation, but even this is driven by regulation, not by philosophical change. Other aspects have taken much longer to achieve any practical prominence.

In many ways the same is true of health and safety – having been driven by regulation, some principles have taken years to be implemented in practice. It is true that hard hats, high-visibility vests etc are rarely missing from site these days. But ensuring all designs reflect good practice and that all health issues are addressed on site is still to be achieved, and design has its part to play.

Sustainability introduces new risks

Some sustainability requirements are changing how buildings are designed, and quite rightly. For example, roofs now often include energy collection or rainwater harvesting systems, and elevations might incorporate passive shading or brise soleil. These elements are often complex assemblies and, as they are currently not very common, can lead to unforeseen problems on site. The Initial Project Brief, through the Sustainability Aspirations, should outline any requirements for sustainable technologies, so that they can be reviewed during the course of the design development. This will ensure that the implications of adopting these technologies can be clearly explained to the project team, and that the installed applications will be as harm-free as possible.

Maintenance and cleaning conside...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Series editor’s foreword
• Acknowledgements and dedication
• About the author
• About the series editor
• Introduction
• The RIBA Plan of Work 2013
• Stage 0 Strategic Definition
• Stage 1 Preparation and Brief
• Stage 2 Concept Design
• Stage 3 Developed Design
• Stage 4 Technical Design
• Stage 5 Construction
• Stage 6 Handover and Close Out
• Stage 7 In Use
• Appendix 1 The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
• Appendix 2 The workplace regulations incorporated as part of the 2015 CDM regulations
• Appendix 3 Risk evaluation templates
• Further reading
• Health and safety glossary
• RIBA Plan of Work 2013 glossary
• Index