Demolition Health And Safety Requirements

When working with demolition contractors, health and safety always takes paramount importance. Of course, this is the case when it comes to all types of construction, but there are specific requirements for demolition. The law states that structural alteration, dismantling, and demolition must be carefully planned and carried out in a way so that danger is prevented.

So, what do you need to know about health and safety for demolition projects? The most important factor to consider is that it is a team effort. Health and safety is achieved when Main Contractor and Specialists construction work together. Everyone has responsibilities. Your responsibility is to make sure you choose a demolition business with the relevant experience, knowledge, and skills. You need to ensure the company or specialist holds all of the relevant qualifications and accreditations. You also need to ensure that everyone who requires it has the necessary pre-construction information. This is something you should work alongside the principal designer to achieve. A range of reports and surveys will also be required. For example, you will need to check the location of below and above ground live services in the work area, as well as the structural stability of the site and nearby structures, and the presence of asbestos. These need to be carried out before the work starts. They should not be left to the demolition contractors to sort out once the work has begun.

There are other steps the principal designers need to take before the demolition contractor gets started. This includes planning, managing, monitoring, and coordinating the health and safety issues in the pre-construction phase, so that all contractors have as much information as possible to enable them to keep the public and site operatives safe from any potential risk. It is your responsibility to ensure the UK demolition contractors you hire have all of the details needed to perform their job safely. The contractor will then be able to plan, monitor, coordinate, and manage health and safety issues while the work is taking place. It is up to the site manager to supervise all workers and make certain that they’re following safe working procedures. Both site workers and sub-contractors need to follow the plans and instructions that have been provided to them by those in charge of the work. Some of the dangers you need to assess for this type of work include fire, noise and vibration, hazardous materials, traffic management, risk from connected services, uncontrolled collapse, injury from falling materials, and falls from height.

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of the role you play when it comes to health and safety for demolition works. The most important step is to hire the best demolition contractors for the job. Once you have done this, you have already won half of the battle. After that, follow the steps above to ensure the highest levels of health and safety are maintain on site throughout. The last thing you want is for someone to get injured.

About Paul Heming

Paul was a Quantity Surveyor who gained 10 years experience of managing £200 million worth of flagship UK projects, including 20 Fenchurch Street and Battersea Power Station. In 2015, Paul founded C-Link with the intention of sharing his expertise of managing major projects with the SME market.