ᐅ Construction site halted due to absence of a safety coordinator / site safety officer.
Created on: 11 Aug 2019 23:51
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Lilalo71
Hello 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
N
nordanney12 Aug 2019 12:17You don’t have to hire an external safety coordinator! Who even does that for a regular single-family home? Formally, you are responsible yourself, and a safety and health plan is definitely not always required. You’d have to be building more than just a single-family house, and certain regulations must be met to need one.
I haven’t seen an external safety coordinator used in a private residential project for years.
I haven’t seen an external safety coordinator used in a private residential project for years.
nordanney schrieb:
You don’t have to hire an external safety coordinator! Who does that for a typical single-family house? Formally, you are the coordinator yourself, and a safety and health plan is not mandatory at all. You need to be constructing more than just a single-family house and meet certain requirements to need one.
I haven’t seen an external safety coordinator in the private sector for years. Regulation on Safety and Health Protection on Construction Sites (Construction Site Regulation – BaustellV)
§ 3 Coordination
(1) For construction sites where employees of multiple employers are working, one or more appropriate coordinators must be appointed. The client or a third party commissioned by them under § 4 may carry out the coordinator’s tasks themselves.
(1a) The client or the third party commissioned by them is not relieved of their responsibility by appointing suitable coordinators.
(2) During the planning phase of the construction project, the coordinator must
1. coordinate the measures specified in § 2 paragraph 1,
2. prepare or have prepared the safety and health protection plan, and
3. compile a document containing the necessary information regarding safety and health protection to be considered for possible later work on the building structure.
(3) During the execution phase of the construction project, the coordinator must
1. coordinate the implementation of the general principles according to § 4 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,
2. ensure that employers and contractors without employees fulfill their obligations under this regulation,
3. adjust or have adjusted the safety and health protection plan in the event of significant changes during the execution of the construction project,
4. organize the cooperation between employers, and
5. coordinate the monitoring of the proper application of work procedures by the employers.
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nordanney12 Aug 2019 13:08So? There is nothing different in it from what I wrote. Careful reading helps – sentence 2 in (1) describes the usual procedure.
By the way, the explanations about the SG plan are missing.
By the way, the explanations about the SG plan are missing.
Oh, while reviewing the Safety and Health Coordinator (SiGeKo) requirements, I realized that I probably need something like that for my renovation as well.
My ridge is 9.5 meters (31 feet) high, so according to Appendix 2, it’s considered a hazardous construction site where falls can occur.
Does something like this really cost €2,000 or even more?
My ridge is 9.5 meters (31 feet) high, so according to Appendix 2, it’s considered a hazardous construction site where falls can occur.
Does something like this really cost €2,000 or even more?
nordanney schrieb:
And? There's nothing different written there than what I wrote.
Careful reading helps – sentence 2 of point (1) is the usual procedure.
By the way, the details about the safety and health protection plan are missing. There’s nothing different there either than what I wrote. I’d say we just give each other a quick pat on the back.
@Tassimat You are the safety coordinator.
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