The Importance of Safety Inductions in Contract Flooring

In any relationship between a business – known as the client – and a contractor, both parties will have duties under health and safety law. Similarly, if the contractor uses subcontractors to carry out some or all of the work, all parties will have some health and safety responsibilities.

The CFA Guide to Contract Flooring notes that to ensure contractors’ or subcontractors’ health and safety it is necessary to:

• Identify the requirements of the job and assess the risks involved.
• Decide what information and training is required.
• As the client, select an appropriate contractor and ascertain their health and safety policies and procedures.
• As the contractor, find out about subcontractors’ competence.
• Review the way work is carried out (risk assessment).
• Ensure there is cooperation and coordination at all times between all concerned parties and the contractors/subcontractors. In particular:

To achieve cooperation and coordination, it is particularly necessary to:

• Provide all parties with information, instruction and training on anything that may affect health and safety.
• Make the contractors/subcontractors aware of health and safety procedures and policies.
• Provide management and supervision to ensure the safety of contractors/subcontractors.
• Ensure a contractor’s/subcontractor’s competence.
• Supervise a contractor/subcontractor.
• Take steps to prevent contact with live equipment.
• Provide information about the existence of asbestos.
• Ensure safe operation of vehicles.
• Ensure safe loading to or unloading from delivery vehicles.
• Assess risks to health from regular exposure to high vibration levels.

Where conflicts over health and safety emerge, contracting parties should work together to address emerging disputes early and resolve them collaboratively. The CFA offers free dispute resolution services for contractor members, involving a site inspection and report to facilitate the negotiation of a resolution for installation-related complaints. CFA consultants are required to be members of the Expert Witness Institute (EWI) or Academy of Experts (AoE), providing them with training in legal report writing, and to carry public liability and professional indemnity insurance, in addition to completing annual CPD.

The CFA has also strengthened support for contract resolutions by becoming a member of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition, which brings together hundreds of leading organisations working to prevent conflict and reduce disputes in infrastructure and the built environment. Its Pledge to support ‘collaborative working and the use of early intervention techniques throughout the supply chain, to try to resolve differences of opinion before they escalate into disputes’ aligns with the RICS Conflict Avoidance Process (CAP) framework, an early-intervention process that is increasingly applied in construction and engineering projects.

For more information about health and safety, download and read the CFA Guide to Contract Flooring.

To join the CFA, complete an online application at: www.cfa.org.uk.