Monaghan Farmer Prosecuted

Dec 21, 2021

The importance of the Project Supervisor and Design Process (PSDP) and Project Supervisor Construction Stage (PSCS) is not to be underestimated as one Monaghan farmer found out the hard way earlier this year.

He was fined €2,000 and ordered to pay Health and Safety Authority’s (HSA) costs after he failed to appoint a PSDP under Construction Regulations (reg 6.1a) and PSCS (reg 6.1b) for his farm building project which resulted in a fatal accident at the site. The builder at the site was fined €25,000 for failing to provide a safe system of work.

 After the hearing, Mark Cullen, HSA Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Inspector said ‘to ensure appropriate management of health and safety on site, it is important for farmers undertaking construction work on their farm to appoint in writing competent persons as project supervisors for both the design process and construction stage.’

The role of the Project Supervisor for the Design Process (PSDP) is a legal requirement under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013, which must be undertaken to coordinate the health and safety aspects of a project.

The PSDP is appointed by the client to oversee the coordination of the design with the design team, with the primary aim being to minimise the potential safety risks that may arise during site operations, taking into account the General Principles of Prevention.

A PSDP must be appointed on a project under the following circumstances:

-       Construction work is expected to take longer than 30 working days

-       If the work involves more than one contractor (or sub-contractor)

-       If there is a particular risk present on the project

-       If work will exceed 500 person days

The Project Supervisor Design Process must be appointed before design work commences in order to ensure effectiveness in addressing and coordinating safety and health matters from the project outset, preventing expensive changes at later stages. A Project Supervisor Construction Stage (PSCS) will be appointed to oversee the construction stage of a project.

The key responsibilities of a PSDP include hazard identification, elimination and/or reduction, Safety and Health Plans, ensuring that work is coordinated to ensure safety, safety files at project completion and notifying the Health and Safety Authority and client of non-compliance.

 

 

 

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