Objective
This Directive lays down minimum safety and health requirements for temporary or mobile construction sites i.e. any construction site at which building or civil engineering works are carried out and intends to prevent risks by establishing a chain of responsibility linking all the parties involved.
Moreover, the provisions of Directive 89/391/EEC - "the Framework Directive" - are fully applicable without prejudice to more restrictive and/or specific provisions contained in this Directive.
Definition
The terms "temporary or mobile construction sites", "client", "project supervisor", "self-employed person", and "coordinators for safety and health matters at the project preparations stage and execution stage" are defined.
Contents
The client or project supervisor nominates person(s) responsible for the coordination of health and safety at sites where several firms are present. Where a person responsible for coordination is appointed, the project supervisor or client remains responsible for safety and health.
The client or project supervisor also ensures that, before work starts at the site, a health and safety plan is drawn up.
Where the site is expected to remain open for longer than 30 working days, and it employs more than 20 workers at the same time - or involves a volume of work in excess of 500 man-days - the client or project supervisor must give prior notice in accordance with Annex III to the competent authorities before work starts.
The project supervisor and, where appropriate, the client shall take account of the general principles of prevention set out in Framework Directive 89/391/EEC and a safety plan when deciding architectural and/or organisational aspects, and when estimating the completion time of works or work stages.
The person(s) responsible for coordination on the site shall ensure that employers and self-employed persons apply the general prevention principles, particularly in respect of the situations described, and that the health and safety plan is taken into account when necessary. They shall also organise cooperation between employers in matters of health and safety and check that the working procedures are being implemented correctly as well as ensure that no unauthorised persons enter the site.
The employers' obligations are:
- to adhere to the minimum safety and health requirements applicable to work sites set out in Annex IV. The aspects covered include energy distribution systems, emergency routes and exits, ventilation, temperature, traffic routes and danger areas, sanitary installations, etc.
- to act on the comments of the health and safety coordinator.
Obligations of self employed persons are to comply (by analogy) with the principles on safety and health at work set out for employers in Art. 6 and 13 of the "Framework Directive" 89/391/EEC and in the relevant provisions of Annex IV of this Directive and certain provisions of the directives on the use of work equipment and personal protective equipment in order to guarantee the health and safety of all persons on the work site.
Annexes
ANNEX I: Non-exhaustive list of building and civil engineering works referred to in article 2(a) of the directive.
ANNEX II: Non-exhaustive list of work involving particular risks to the safety and health of workers referred to in Art. 3 (2), second paragraph of the Directive.
ANNEX III: Content of the prior notice referred to in Art. 3 (3), first paragraph of the Directive.
ANNEX IV: Minimum safety and health requirements for construction sites Referred to in Art. 9 (a) and Art. 10 (1) (a) (i) of the Directive.
Read the full text of the consolidated version of the Directive (including later amendments)
Read the full text of the original Directive (without later amendments)
National laws implementing this Directive
Further information on this topic
See also further document of the European Commission on that topic: