ᐅ Construction site halted due to absence of a safety coordinator / site safety officer.
Created on: 11 Aug 2019 23:51
L
Lilalo71Hello everyone,
we are building a single-family house with Wolf Haus. Wolf Haus was recommended to us by several sources, but so far we haven’t really felt comfortable. After being promised during the selection meeting that the structural calculations would be completed in about two weeks, we expected things to move forward quickly. Unfortunately, the calculations took two months. OK, that can happen. However, not everything was calculated— a retaining wall was overlooked... which caused further delays. When we asked about the calculation of a required upstand, we received no response. Only four weeks later was it admitted that the upstand was also forgotten. Since Wolf Haus does not build basements (although the plans and structural calculations were done by Wolf Haus), we commissioned a company to build the basement. We first received partial building approval for excavation, and the basement builder started work. They set up a crane and excavated the foundation pit. Then we were allowed to pour the base slab. The structural calculations for a retaining wall and the upstand were still missing. When the building inspector (we are building in an earthquake zone) finally approved the retaining wall and upstand calculations, and thus the entire basement, we thought things would finally progress. Unfortunately, at the same time we received an email from our basement builder. In the meantime, someone from the professional association visited the site and found, among other things, that the safety and health plan was missing and that no coordinator had been appointed. Honestly, we had never heard of this before. Several other deficiencies were also noted, such as a lack of crane stability certification and insufficient slope protection of the foundation pit. Who is responsible for what now? The building authority told us that a stability test for the crane is not necessary since it is located on the neighboring property and not on the street. Now we are told we have no proof of this! Slope protection of the foundation pit? Shouldn’t the basement builder know what is necessary there? When talking to the safety coordinator, he says this is our responsibility. That may be true, but shouldn’t our construction company have at least informed us about it? We had actually, perhaps naively, thought that with a prefabricated house you buy the whole package. Right now, we are very uncertain about who is responsible for what and who we can ask to please take care of certain matters as their duty. Does anyone have experience with safety coordinators, and whom do we need to hire? Is this really our responsibility, or should Wolf Haus have taken care of it?
I would appreciate any tips you can offer.
Best regards,
Petra
we are building a single-family house with Wolf Haus. Wolf Haus was recommended to us by several sources, but so far we haven’t really felt comfortable. After being promised during the selection meeting that the structural calculations would be completed in about two weeks, we expected things to move forward quickly. Unfortunately, the calculations took two months. OK, that can happen. However, not everything was calculated— a retaining wall was overlooked... which caused further delays. When we asked about the calculation of a required upstand, we received no response. Only four weeks later was it admitted that the upstand was also forgotten. Since Wolf Haus does not build basements (although the plans and structural calculations were done by Wolf Haus), we commissioned a company to build the basement. We first received partial building approval for excavation, and the basement builder started work. They set up a crane and excavated the foundation pit. Then we were allowed to pour the base slab. The structural calculations for a retaining wall and the upstand were still missing. When the building inspector (we are building in an earthquake zone) finally approved the retaining wall and upstand calculations, and thus the entire basement, we thought things would finally progress. Unfortunately, at the same time we received an email from our basement builder. In the meantime, someone from the professional association visited the site and found, among other things, that the safety and health plan was missing and that no coordinator had been appointed. Honestly, we had never heard of this before. Several other deficiencies were also noted, such as a lack of crane stability certification and insufficient slope protection of the foundation pit. Who is responsible for what now? The building authority told us that a stability test for the crane is not necessary since it is located on the neighboring property and not on the street. Now we are told we have no proof of this! Slope protection of the foundation pit? Shouldn’t the basement builder know what is necessary there? When talking to the safety coordinator, he says this is our responsibility. That may be true, but shouldn’t our construction company have at least informed us about it? We had actually, perhaps naively, thought that with a prefabricated house you buy the whole package. Right now, we are very uncertain about who is responsible for what and who we can ask to please take care of certain matters as their duty. Does anyone have experience with safety coordinators, and whom do we need to hire? Is this really our responsibility, or should Wolf Haus have taken care of it?
I would appreciate any tips you can offer.
Best regards,
Petra
Lilalo71 schrieb:
Since Wolfhaus does not build basements (although the plans and structural engineering were done by Wolfhaus), we hired a company to construct the basement.As a layperson, I would say that you are responsible for securing the slope and excavation pit yourself, as this is not part of Wolfhaus’s scope. The company building the basement should assist you with this. It’s a typical situation: no one took responsibility, or you didn’t contract anyone for it. How would anyone know otherwise? You will likely have to cover these costs.Regarding the crane’s stability, that responsibility lies with whoever set up the crane. The basement company?
As for the safety and health plan, I would ask Wolfhaus.
It’s all frustrating, but if I haven’t missed anything, it is all solvable.
H
HilfeHilfe12 Aug 2019 07:38seek direct conversation with the basement builder
sigeko, congratulations. This is usually stated in the contract. With that, the slope and structural stability should have been noticed by you.
I was also sigeko without much knowledge, but the trades worked properly, so no one noticed it. I also did not realize that I was sigeko.
I was also sigeko without much knowledge, but the trades worked properly, so no one noticed it. I also did not realize that I was sigeko.
N
nordanney12 Aug 2019 11:06Silly question. Why do you need a SiGeKo? Where is that stated? For a standard single-family house with a general contractor, it is usually not required.
nordanney schrieb:
Silly question. Why do you need a safety and health coordinator (SiGeKo)? Where is that stated? For a standard single-family home with a general contractor, it’s usually not necessary.Of course, there are always more than one employer on site. The porta potty installer, the construction debris container provider, the temporary power electrician…As long as the contract does not specify that the general contractor is also the safety and health coordinator, the client is responsible.
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