health & safety at work

March 2014

HS& Health&Safetya t w o r k i n S A

www.lexisnexis.co.za®

®

• EnhancingSafetySupervisionthroughCommunication

• ShouldPPEalwaysbethe“lastresort”andisthe“one-size-fits-all”approachstillrelevant?

• Globalsafetystandardsformachinerycontrol

• Effectivehearingprotectionpreventsirreversiblehearingloss

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Health & Safety at work in SA Issue 1/2014 1

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Welcome to the first issue of 2014 of Health & Safety at work in SA

Editor:MelanieGovenderTel:0312683285Fax:0312683114E-mail:[email protected]

Deadlinedatesforsubmission:18January,18March,15July,16September

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Usingyourexpertknowledge,submityourarticleofaninformativenatureandwemaypublishitinourJournal.Pleasenotethatallarticlesaresubjecttotheapprovalandreviewofoureditorialboard.

Yourfeedbackisvaluabletous.PleasesendusyourviewsandopinionsregardingthecontentofthisJournal.Letterstotheeditorareonlypublishedontheapprovalanddiscretionoftheeditor.

IN THIS ISSUE:

ENHANCING SAFETY SUPERVISION THROUGHCOMMUNICATION ............................................................................................................ 2Hope Mugagga Kiwekete

SHOULD PPE ALWAYS BE THE “LAST RESORT” AND ISTHE “ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL” APPROACH STILL RELEVANT ................................................................................................................................ 4Isak Marais

GLOBAL SAFETY STANDARDS FOR MACHINERY CONTROL ................................................................................................................................. 8Derek Jones and Mike Miller

EFFECTIVE HEARING PROTECTION PREVENTS IRREVERSIBLE HEARING LOSS ................................................................................. 11Loren Pearson

A REVIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS, 2014 ............................................................................................................................................ 14

SERVICES DIRECTORY ................................................................................................... 16®

®

SHEQ MANAGEMENTAUDITING | CONSULTING | TRAINING

advantageact.co.za

Health & Safety at work in SA Issue 1/20142

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Enhancing Safety Supervision through Communication

Hope Mugagga KiweketeTransnet Freight Rail

Ensuring the well-being of personnel in the workplace requires vigorous supervision. At the center of thisaresupervisors.Supervisorsmotivatetheirco-workerstoworksafelywhentheyleadbyexample.Theyarechangeagents,supportiveandmindfuloftheirliaisonrolebetweenmanagementandco-workers.Despiteallthis,howdotheyenhancethewaytheysupervise?Inthisarticle,wewilldealbrieflyoncommunicationand

thesupervisor.


ENHANCING SAFETY

Supervisors are indebted to transfer skills andknowledge in the workplace through training. Theyremind personnel to bemindful of hazards and risksbothwithinandoutsideworkenvironment.Thismightbegivingfeedbackafterconductingtaskobservations.Observing personnel performing their tasks safelyusually gives assurance on the effectiveness of thesafetytrainingprovided. It isessential forSupervisorsaliketoenhancetheirskills.

In terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,1993(ActNo.85of1993),section14, “Generaldutiesofemployeeswork”,itstatesamongothersthat“Everyemployee shall atwork—…carryout any lawfulordergiven to him, and obey health and safety rules andprocedures laid down by his employer or by anyoneauthorised theretobyhisemployer, in the interestofhealth or safety”. In this case, supervisors performthe role of gate keepers. They will notify and updatethepersonnelabouttheirdutiesofwork inrelationtohealthandsafety.

Conclusion

Supervisors are exceptionally positioned to interactand work with different levels of structures in anorganisation.However, it is importanttoacknowledgethat supervisors need an environment that willenhancetheircommunication.p

Ensure Improved Communication

Forexample,intheUnitedKingdom(UK),EntecUKLtdprepareda literaturereviewforUK’sHealthandSafetyExecutive. It was titled “Different types of supervisionand the impact on safety in the chemical and alliedindustries”. Interestingly, the review, among others,highlighted communication as part of the successcharacteristics that are relevant to supervision. It isimportant that effective supervision is complimentedwithgoodcommunicationskills,whetherverbalornon-verbal.

Supervisors need to inspire their counterparts andhold themaccountable for thesafetyofothers.Giventhat supervisors are at the shop floor, they are theintermediarybetweenmanagementandthepersonnel.Figure 1 gives a view of how information flows frommanagers,supervisorsandfinallytheworkers.Howeverthis role is impacted by how they effectively sendinformationtothebottom.Thelikelihoodofasuccessfulhealthandsafe tysystems/processesintheworkplaceis high when supervisors’ demonstrate desired com-municationtraits.

Hence the communication style should not beauthoritarian or even about status. It is not a blamegame. Personnel need to feel they are recognisedand appreciated for maintaining a health and safetyperformanceoftheirworkenvironment.

Figure1:InformationischannelledviatheSupervisor

Source:DepartmentofMinesandEnergy,Queensland

References

GuidanceNoteQGN14forEffectiveSafetyandHealthSupervision (2008). The Mines Inspectorate of theDepartmentofNaturalResourcesandMines.Availableat http://mines.industry.qld.gov.au/assets/mines-safety-health/guidance_note14.pdf

OccupationalHealthandSafetyAct,1993(ActNo.85of 1993) available at http://www.labour.gov.za/DOL/downloads/legislation/acts/occupational-health-and-safety/amendments/Amended%20Act%20-%20Occupational%20Health%20and%20Safety.pdf

Different types of supervision and the impact onsafetyinthechemicalandalliedindustriesavailableathttp://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr292a.pdf


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Isak MaraisChief Executive Officer

Bramhope Investments (Pty) Ltd

The draft bill seems to move away from this approach…

The draft Mine Health and Safety Amendment Bill, 2013 (Bill) published in Government Gazette No. 37027 on 15 November 2013, seeks to amend the Mine Health and Safety Act, No. 29 of 1996 (MHSA). The Bill aims to rationalise administrative processes, review enforcement provisions, reinforce offences and penalties, amend certain definitions and provide for matters connected therewith. Written submissions on the Bill can be submitted to the Department of Mineral Resources within 60 working days of the date of publication.

Should PPE always be the“last resort”and is the“one-size-fits-all” approach still relevant?


PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

One of the key amendments in the Bill isthedetailed requirementswith regard topersonal protective equipment (PPE).In terms of the MHSA, employers arerequiredtoprovideavarietyof“suitable”

personalprotectiveequipment(PPE).Section6oftheMHSA is amended as follows: “Every employer mustensure thatsuitableandsufficientquantitiesofall thenecessarypersonalprotectiveequipmentareavailableto enable every employeewho is required to use thatequipment to be able to (do so) use such equipmenteffectivelyforpersonalprotection”;andbytheadditionof the follow subsection: For the purposes of thissection “suitable”means appropriate in terms of: sizeand fit, type of workplace hazards and purpose andnatureofworktobeundertaken”.

In business, we can control a lot of things, but manyother things evade even our most gruelling efforts tomasterthemsuchastheweatherandnaturaldisasters.Maybewewillneverbeabletomakeitrainwhenwewantitto,butwecanapplyinnovationtolimittheimpacttheweatherhasonourbusinesses,anduseittobetterplanforfutureoccurrences.ThesameappliestoinnovativesolutionswithregardstoPPE–maybewecan’talwaysafford the best quality products, maybe we do not

havetheresourcestodoaproperriskassessmentandmaybe we can’t even guarantee that wearing PPE willalwayseliminatetherisk–butyoucanusedatafromapreviousincidentitdidn’tprovideenoughprotectiontounderstand how a risk assessment, training, selectionor amaintenance programmesmight have preventedthe incident from happening. It is called “innovativethinking” and applying a new approach to the “same”problems.

BramhopeSafetySolutions,asupplierofPPEandothersafety equipment, and a company leading throughinnovation, welcomes the amendments proposedin the draft Bill, as it does not encourage an inactiveapproach towardsmanagingPPEsuchas randomandad hocpurchasingofPPE.Rather,itpromotestheideathatemployersshouldspendmoretimeandeffortondetermining specificPPEneedsof all employees.Thiscalls for proper risk assessments of all hazards in theworkplaceandsuitableriskmanagementinterventions.The “one-size-fits”all approachwillnotbeacceptableaccordingtotheproposednewlegislation.

We believe that stricter measures such as these thatthedraftBillisproposing,canonlybeofbenefittoallinthemining industry. In2003, theSouthAfricanminingindustryagreed tobeworldclassby2013by reducingfatalities by 20% a year over ten years. Last year 112peoplediedonSouthAfrica’smines,158fewerthanthe270who died in 2003, and so far this year 87 peoplehavedied, two lessthanthe89whohaddiedoverthesame period last year. Although the new legislation isastep in the rightdirection, themining industryneedsto evaluate current practices and commit to executeworkplaceriskassessmentsoptimallyandeffectively.

Ofcourse, this isnotonly true for themining industry.General industry should take note of these newproposed legislative requirements as it will not betreated by Government in isolation and are definitelynotonlyapplicabletomines.

Why should PPE always be the “last resort”?

It is commonbelieve that PPE should only be appliedasthe“lastresort”toprotectagainstriskstosafetyandhealth,andonlyafterallengineeringcontrolsandsafesystemsofworkwereconsidered.

Maybeitistimetoreconsiderthisapproach.Inacountrywherehealthandsafety incidentsarepartofeverydaylife and statistics of accidents and fatalities are justnotgettinganywhereclosetothe“zeroincidents”goal,


PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

PPE, very fewof themodernPPE itemsare really toouncomfortabletowear.

What employers should do to ensure compliance to looming new legislation?

Employers, who have not done a comprehensive riskassessment on all PPE requirements, should considergetting this done as soon as possible. We do realisethat not all companies have the manpower and timetodotherequiredandthoroughriskassessments.NotallcompanieshavethefundsnorthestoragespaceforallthePPEtheyrequireandnotallemployershavetheknow-howonprocurementoftherighttypeofPPEforallthehazardsinvolved.

Therearemanycompaniesthatdoprovidethefullcycleof services when it comes to PPE procurement andmanagement. All factors are considered such as legalrequirements, individual usage, best fit per individual,the stateofhealthof thoseemployeesusingPPE, theindividual needs and job demands it places on thewearer, duration for which each items could provideprotectionaswellasotherfactorssuchasrequirementsforvisibilityandcommunicationintheworkplace.

PPE management leads to cost saving

AneffectivesystemofmaintenanceofPPEisessentialto make sure the equipment continues to providethe degree of protection for which it is designed.Maintenance may include; cleaning, examination,replacement,repairandtesting.WherePPEisprovided,adequatestoragefacilitiesforPPEmustbeprovidedforwhenitisnotinuse,unlesstheemployeemaytakePPEawayfromtheworkplace(e.g.footwearorclothing).

Once again, there are companies that offer high-endtechnology solutions that make the management ofthesetaskseasyandthatareguaranteedtosavemoneyandreducethetotalcostofownership.

Contact Bramhope Safety Solutions on 086000 27 26 / 011 397 5075/6 or

[email protected] or visit www.bramhope.co.za

wedonothavethe“luxury”ofusingPPEonlyasa“lastresort”.Maybeweneedtoapplyallpossiblemeasuresavailabletous,allthetime…

Instead of spending additional time and money ontime-consuming assessments to determine “when”,“how” and “why” to use PPE, maybe we should justaccept the fact that PPE is an extremely effectivepreventativemeasureandcosteffectivecomparedtootherexpen-sivemeasuresofeliminatingormitigatingrisksintheworkplace.

Forexample,whydosomeemployersstillspendhourson job safety analysis trying to find alternative waystodoa certain job so thatPPEwill notbenecessary.Productivity is essential in all operations, thus, if thejobneedstobedoneanddonequickly,justdoit–butuse the suitable and appropriate PPE to eliminatefurtherriskfactors.Applyingengineeringmeasuressuchasmachinesafe-guards areessential –butwhycompromiseand takefurther chances by not issuing eye protection, forexample? Why not provide PPE to the employeesoperatingthesemachinesaswell– itcanonlyfurthereliminateanychanceofinjury.Itshouldnotalwaysbethe “last resort” – it should always be considered foreachandeveryhazardoustaskintheworkplace.

Somemight argue thatPPEonlyprotects thepersonwearing it, whereas measures controlling the risk atsourceprotecteveryone in theworkplace.But is thisnotacontradictorystatementonitsown?Isitnot“theperson”thatwewanttoprotect?

Othersarguethatitisdifficulttodetermineandassesstheexact levelsofprotectionofPPE.Withthetestingand quality standards that today’s reputable PPEmanufacturers need to adhere to, in order to deliveraccording to market expectations, this argument ishardtofollow.IfsuitablePPEisselectedandpurchasedfrom a reputable PPE supplier and/ormanufacturerswho complywith international quality standards, andif it is correctly fitted, maintained and used – thesetheoriesbecomeabsolute.

Afinalargumentthatwewanttochallenge is thefactthat PPE may restrict the wearer to some extent bylimitingmobilityor visibility,orby requiringadditionalweighttobecarried,thuscreatingadditionalhazards.If the right type and grade of PPE is specified andprovided, this should never be a problem. Again, webelieve that perhaps this argument was relevant10 years ago, but with modern light-weight fabricsand enhanced technology in the manufacturing of


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Derek JonesBusiness Development Manager

for Safety Rockwell Automation

Mike MillerFS TÜV Expert, Global Safety

Market Development Rockwell Automation

Global safety standards for machinerycontrol


Theautomation industryhasset2016asthedeadlineforanENISO13849andIEC62061merger, but some OEMs, especially thoselocated outside of the European Union,question the need and relevance of the

merger.WhilemanyOEMsrecognisethatthepotentialgains from the merger justify climbing what mightappeartobeanotherstandardsmountain,thesegains,for example, may include capitalising on advancedtechnologiesandeliminatingtechnicalbarriersinglobaltrade.

OEMsshouldbeoptimistic,however.Themerger, thatwillbecomeIEC/ISO17305,signalsthesummitintermsofchallengesrelatedtoglobalmachinerysafetycontrolstandards. The basic methodology and essentialrequirements introduced in ISO 13849 and IEC 62061shouldnotrequiresignificantalterations.Unifyingthemshould simply combine the best achievements fromboth,simplifyingandmakingasingle,moreuser-friendlystandard. Itmay also resolve some known issues andgreyareasidentifiedduringthelastsixyearsofusingthetwoexistingstandards.

Navigating the previous safety-standardmigration willbe a useful preparation to adopting IEC/ISO 17305.With the EN 954-1 to EN ISO 13849-1 experience inhand, OEMs will find the next transition to be amoremanageable leap. They can leverage any lessonslearnedfromcontinueduseoftheexistingISOandIECstandardstostreamlinetheirtransition.

OEMsmovingfromthesimplesafetycategorisationofEN954-1 to thesignificantlymorecomplex ISO 13849or IEC 62061 standards did not greet the transitionwith universal acclaim. At the same time, there wasa consensus that increasingly sophisticated safetyautomation technology clearly required parallel androbustenhancementstosafetystandards.

Growing worldwide adoption of the ISO and IECstandards that superseded EN 954-1 at the end of2011 is validating that prediction. The new generationof complex electronic and programmable safetyautomation technology exceeds the ability of therelatively simple and semi-prescriptive EN 954-1,which essentially provided guidance on controlsystem structure. The newer, more comprehensivefunctional safety standards enable confident use ofnew technology by requiring designers to assess allaspects relevant to the long-term reliability of safetycomponents.

Morerigorousdocumentationrequirementscombinedwith a quantitative calculation for assessing reliability

GLOBAL SAFETY STANDARDS

10 Health & Safety at work in SA Issue 1/2014

GLOBAL SAFETY STANDARDS

importersalike.Butcurrentstandardsareoftensimilar;sometimes up to 90 percent similar from one to thenext. What are the most frequent commonalities?Predictably,theysharesignificantelementswithISOandIECstandards.

Thereisno“goingback”basedoncomplexityanddatademands.Today’ssafetyfunctionisoftennotasimplecaseofswitchingoffthepower.Safety-capablelogicthatenablesintelligentsafetyoperationsisonlyoneexampleoftheflexible,advancedfunctionalityrequiringgreaterprovisions against mistakes and faults. The increasedcomplexityandrequirementsforreliabilitycalculationsdid create some understandable frustrations, not theleastofwhichhasbeenalackofdata.Butinmanycasesthis issue has now been resolved. There is no benefitof delaying, hoping that the complexity will disappear.It will not. Understanding the existing ISO 13849 andIEC 62061 will certainly allow easier transition toIEC/ISO17305.

The bottom line is that global trade means globalstandards. The IEC/ISO 17305 is scheduled to publishby 2016. The intervening time between now and thenis best spent getting familiar with its ISO 13849 andIEC62061 foundations.Organisations familiarwith thetwostandardswillbeverycomfortablewithwhatisintheunifiedstandard.Themergerprocesswillnotintroduceany significantly different requirements. Rather, itwill clarify and simplify. Industry simply is steering acourse toward an optimised global-reaching standardthat will helpOEMs build safer, higher performing andinternationallycompetitivemachinery,whilehelpingtotake cost out of the multinational safety-complianceprocess.

Formoreinformation,visittheRockwellAutomationSafetyResourceCentreat

http://discover.rockwellautomation.com/safetyandtheRockwellAutomationGuardmanBlogat

http://www.guardmanblog.com.p

increases the complexity. But those types of trade-ups resulted in a methodical approach that is helpingOEMstodevelopsafermachinery–usingstandardsthatallowuseofcontemporarytechnologyandcanbeusedto show compliance across worldwide markets – withmore predictable performance, greater reliability andavailability,andimprovedreturnoninvestment.AllIndicators“Go”

Reasons for OEMs to take a wait-and-see position onIEC/ISO 17305 are becoming harder to find. Themostobvious indicator that a unified standard will emergeis the approaching end of development activity onISO 13849 and IEC 62061 as separate standards. TheIEC/ISO17305preliminaryplanningprocesshasalreadystarted,anddraftingbeganin2013.

Otherleadingindicatorsforasingleglobalsafetystandardinclude:

ISOandIECarerelevanttoUSmachineryandequipmentbuilding.Thereisoneparticularlycompelling,mainstreamprecedent on this topic. ISO 12100 is a basic principlemachinery safety standard providing a best-practiceframework to identify risk andeliminate hazardsduringthe design stage. It demonstrates forcefully that whathavebeenperceivedas “Europeanstandards”are trulyinternational.NotonlyisISO12100aconsensusstandardintheUS,someofitsmajorinfluencesareprovidedbyUSOEMs,machineryusersandsafetydevicemanufacturers.

Many national standards already have provisions incommon with the equivalent ISO and IEC versions.An increasing number of regions around the world areadopting ISO and IEC standards as national standards.ConsideraUSmanufacturersellingtoChinaandtheEU,oraChina-basedcompanyexportingtotheUnitedStates.The different standards that come into play – fromULandANSItoENandGB–mightappeartobesilo-creatingguidelines that complicate life for global exporters and

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation

and information, makes its customers more productive and the world

more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., Rockwell Automation employs over 22,000 people serving

customers in more than 80 countries.

Health & Safety at work in SA Issue 1/2014 11Health & Safety at work in SA Issue 1/2014

The African division of MSA – a global leader in the development, manufacture and supply of sophisticated products that protect people’s health and safety – is aiming to increase awareness of the importance that hearing protection plays in industries.

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Effective hearing protection prevents

irreversible hearing loss


HEARING PROTECTION

Pearson stresses that adequate hearing protectionmustbeusedandfittedcorrectly.

“It is important to make the right choice when itcomes to hearing protection. People have their ownpreferenceswhenitcomestotheirhearingprotection,anditisadvisabletoprovideemployeeswithachoiceofproductswiththecorrectattenuationlevel,sothatthey can choose the one that best suits them,” sheexplains.

Pearsonrecommendsthatdisposableearplugsshouldbeusedforamaximumofoneweek,butareactuallydesignedforaonceoffuse.Thesetypesofproductsare commonly made from foam or polyurethane.Reusableearplugscanbewashedandre-usedforuptoeightmonthsdependingonthetype.Semi-reusableearplugsarealsoavailable,andcanbeusedforuptofourweeks.

Pearson concludes by highlighting the importance ofchoosinghearingprotectionthat isnotonlycorrectlysuitedtoaparticularapplication,butalsotothe indi-vidualwearing it. “Clearandeffectivecommunicationisvitalinanyindustry.Bychoosingthecorrecthearingprotection, employees can communicate effectivelywith one another, without compromising their longtermhearing.”p

All forms of safety in the workplace are of vitalimportance,andMSAAfricaseniorHEFHC(Head,Eye,Face,HearingandCommunication)productmanagerLoren Pearson reveals that hearing protection inworkingenvironments isoftendisregarded,aspeopledo not see a need for it. “Of all the safety topics,hearingprotection isthe leastunderstood,asthere isnopainassociatedwithlossofhearing.”

Pearsonexplainsthatconstantexposuretoloudnoiseswill result in hearing loss. “The maximum amount ofsoundthatthehumanearcanendureis85dB(A)overa40hourperiodperweek,beforehearinglosswilloccur.Workers thatneed to shout tobeheard froma shortdistance are at risk of being exposed to 85dB(A) orhigherand,althoughitislawtoprovideadequatehear-ingprotectionat85dB(A)orhigher,itisrecommendedthathearingprotectionshouldbeofferedtoindividualsworkinginanenvironmentwithanoiselevelof82dB(A)orhigher.”

AccordingtoPearson,apersonshouldalsobecarefulnot to over-protect an employee’s hearing capabilityby blocking out toomuch noise, as this is a potentialsafety risk as the individual may not be able to hearimportantsoundssuchaswarningsignalsandvehicles.

Three types of hearing loss are typically experiencedafterlongexposuretoloudnoiseswithoutappropriatehearing protection. The first is temporary thresholdshift, which arises when different noise levels areencountered during the course of the day, causinga person’s hearing to worsen over time. It is notnecessarilypermanentandhearingwillreturntobeingfully functional following sufficient rest in a quietenvironment. However should you exposure yourselftohighnoiselevelsfrequently,hearinglosswilloccur.

Noise induced hearing loss is another threat toworkers, and is common among individuals thatare continuously exposed to noises above 85dB(A)withoutadequateprotection.Thisresultsinexcessivepressurebeingplacedonthehairsofthecochlea,andunless adequate hearing protection is used this willleadtopermanenthearingloss.

Thethirdtypeofhearinglossisknownasimpactsound,where permanent hearing damage can be causedimmediately by sudden, extremely loud, explosivenoises such as those caused by pyrotechnics. Thisinvolves irreversible damage to the nerve of the cellsin thecochlea. Impactsound, suchasagunshot,candamageorbreakthehairsofthecochlea,thisdamageis irreparable, and will ultimately lead to deafness. Inorder to prevent any of these types of hearing loss,

Loren PearsonSenior Product Manager, MSA Africa

LexisNexisAgainst Inhumanity

14 Health & Safety at work in SA Issue 1/2014

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A review of the Construction

Regulations, 2014

TheConstructionRegulations,2014was launchedby theDepartmentofLabourwithmuchceremonyon 10February2014.Keystakeholders in theconstructionindustry were invited to celebrate this long awaited and significant legislation.AmongstthosewhoattendedwasThulasNxesi,MinisterofPublicWorks,membersof the Advisory Council for Occupational Health and Safety, members of theConstruction Industry Development Board, the Registrar of the SACPMCP, andrepresentativesofOrganisedLabourandOrganisedBusiness.


CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS

TheMinisterofLabour,MildredOliphant, inheraddressatthelaunch,pointedoutthattheconstructionindustryis“thebedrock”and“heartandsoulofoureconomy”.Theconstruction industry plays such a largerole in contributing to the economy and

yetitisstillplaguedbysuchissuesasnon-compliancetothelegislationandguidelinesleadingtopoorhealthandsafety management, and leading further to accidents,injuries and death of workers. There are so manyexamples of the effects of this in South Africa: thecollapse of the Injaka Bridge in Mpumalanga and theCoegaBridgeinPortElizabeth,andrecentlythecollapsemallbeingconstructedinTongaat.

The Department of Labour and theconstruction industry saw the needformajorchangesintermsofhealthand safety and have been workingtogether to amend the legislationso that there ismore accountabilityfor health and safety and so thatall workers are protected as faras possible. In August 2012, theDepartment and social partnerssigned a Construction Healthand Safety Accord, committingthemselves to working together toimprovehealthandsafetyconditionsin the industry.Thishas led to thepromulgationof thenewConstructionRegulations.

Somekeyfeaturesofthenewconstructionregulationsinclude:

• Theresponsibilitiesofkeystakeholders

• Thenewconstructionworkpermitsystem

• Registration of construction health and safetyprofessionals

The Construction Regulations, 2014 has implicationsfor all stakeholders involved in construction to beresponsible for health and safety. The Minister, in heraddress expressed this saying: “They also seek to:harness the power of the different competitive forcestoworktogetherforthegoodoftheprojects;identifyingandalsoplacingcertainlegalresponsibilitiesondifferentkeystakeholders.Stakeholderrelationshipmanagementintheconstructionindustryinvolvesunderstandingtheroleofeachstakeholderandhowdifferententitiescanworktogetheronbehalfoftheindustryandtheirclients.”

A client must submit the prescribed application form

to the provincial director along with the Baseline RiskAssessment and projectHealth and Safety plan, thirtydays before construction work is undertaken. AllprojectsoverR13morCIDBgradinglevel6,orover1800personhoursorwithmorethan180peopleassignedwillrequire a permit to work. All projects below the abovecriteria will still work off the traditional ‘Notification ofConstruction work’. Each application will be properlyassessed to ensure that itmeets all the requirementsbeforeapermitisgranted.Currently,therearenocostsfor this applicationand theDepartmentof Labourhasputsystemsinplacetoensurethattherearenodelaysintheprocessingoftheapplications.

Construction Health and SafetyAgent (PrCHSA), ConstructionHealth and SafetyManager (CHSM)andConstructionHealthandSafetyOfficer (CHSO) are the professionsthat have been identified by theConstruction Regulations, 2014to be registered in accordancewith section 2 of the Project andConstruction Management Act,No.48of2000.These registrationsbeganon1June2013forProfessionalConstruction Health and SafetyAgents and on the 1 August 2013forHealthandSafetyManagersand

Officers.Therequirementhelpstoensurecompetencyindealingwithallhealthandsafetymatters.

TheMinisterofLabourhasfurther instructedtheChiefInspectortoestablishaConstructionHealthandSafetyTechnicalCommittee.Thiscommitteewill consistof arangeofstakeholdersfromtheconstructionindustryandwill advise the chief inspector on construction-relatedcodes, standardsand training requirements. Itwill alsoexaminesafetysystemsandrecordsofcompanieswhohavehighincidentratesandproviderecommendationstothechiefinspectorofoccupationalhealthandsafetyonthefindings.

Constructionworkers facemanyhazards in theirwork,suchasworkingatheights,workingwithdangerousandpowerful machinery, exposure to high levels of noiseandmanymore.Theirsafetyisvitalandwhilelegislationis promulgated with the purpose of ensuring workersafety, it is necessary for workers themselves, as wellas employees and all stakeholders in the constructionindustry to work together to ensure that all safetylegislation and guidelines are adhered to and that allhealth and safety issues, incidents and accidents arereportedinordertodevelopnew,betterandsaferwaystowork. p

Aclientmustsubmittheprescribedapplicationformtotheprovincialdirectoralongwiththe

BaselineRiskAssessmentandprojectHealthandSafetyplan,thirtydays

beforeconstructionworkisundertaken


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Contact us to find out moreLexisNexis ComplianceGround Floor, Building 9, Bentley Office Park, Cnr Rivonia and Wessel Roads, Rivonia

+27 (0) 11 525 9400 www.lncompliance.co.za [email protected]

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I ComplianceCT022/13

A Revolutionary Tool in Compliance Management

Ensuring you are compliant and up to date without help is nearly impossible.

LegalEasy 2.0 is a powerful online web-based compliance system that provides an overview of your current position against legal compliance to any Act, Standard or best practices.

LegalEasy is a flexible set of software modules to be used as standalone tools or an integrated system which effectively manage all aspects of your organization’s management compliance needs.

Announcing LegalEasy 2.0

Contact us to find out moreLexisNexis ComplianceGround Floor, Building 9, Bentley Office Park, Cnr Rivonia and Wessel Roads, Rivonia

+27 (0) 11 525 9400 www.lncompliance.co.za [email protected]

CT022-13_legaleasy_ad_297x210.indd 1 2013/11/26 9:18 AM

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[email protected]

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