Organisations that share a workplace

Under ILO C155 Article 17 and R164, whenever two or more undertakings carry out activities at the same workplace at the same time, they must work together to protect health and safety there. Practical ways of doing this include:

• sharing risk assessments with each other
• agreeing a combined fire procedure
• planning a joint response to spills
• applying uniform site rules
• running a visitor control system
• managing traffic together
• holding combined safety meetings
• carrying out cross inspections

How clients and contractors should work together

The ILO Code of Practice on Safety and Health in Construction gives guidance on coordinating work where several employers are involved. Agree who controls the overall work and how employers will exchange risk information, coordinate precautions and monitor performance. Each employer retains its own responsibilities. Contractual titles and legal client or principal-contractor duties depend on the applicable national law; the code is not itself a national statute.

For this reason a client has to choose contractors with care, then plan and monitor their work to make sure it is safe. Detailed guidance on managing contractors is given in Managing contractors: A guide for employers (HSG159, second edition, 2011) from the HSE.

The client manages the contractor through five stages, and the last stage feeds into the first.

Stage 1: planning the contracted work

• define the job
• identify the hazards and assess the risks
• remove or reduce the risks
• specify the health and safety conditions
• decide whether subcontracting is acceptable and, if so, how safety will be ensured
• decide what safety and technical competence is needed
• go through the information about the job and the site

Stage 2: pre-selection of contractors

Before choosing a contractor, check carefully how competent they are in health and safety. Ask to see evidence such as:

• their OHS policy
• an organisation chart with CVs of key personnel, showing OHS qualifications and training records
• details of similar projects completed, such as a list of clients
• reference letters from past or current clients
• approved risk assessments and method statements from similar jobs
• a list of plant and machinery with the year of manufacture and maintenance records
• details of current commitments
• memberships of OHS accreditation and certification bodies, as applicable
• proof of the insurance that must be in place
• accident history records
• details of any enforcement action taken against them by the authorities
• the contractor licences or accreditations required by law, and whether they are current
• proof of adequate resources, such as access to specialist safety advice

Stage 3: coordinating the contracted work

• exchange information about the hazards and controls of each party's activities
• coordinate the work so that it does not conflict, especially when several contractors are on site
• agree how method statements will be approved
• name a coordinator on the client side whom the contractor can approach for guidance and advice
• agree the permit-to-work (PTW) system
• set the site induction training required for all contractor workers
• go through the site rules
• assess and agree how much contact is needed

Stage 4: monitoring the contractor

• set up a signing-in and signing-out procedure
• reinforce health and safety information and site rules
• check the job and allow work to begin
• make sure the contractor provides a named works foreman
• inspect and audit the contractor's work
• ask how the job is going: is it on plan, and is the contractor working safely and as agreed?
• ask whether there have been incidents or changes of personnel
• decide whether any special arrangements are needed

Stage 5: reviewing the work

When the job ends, client and contractor should sit down together and discuss what happened so that lessons are learned.

• How effective was the planning?
• How did the contractor perform?
• How did the job go?
• Record the lessons.

Further Reading

• Guidelines on occupational safety and health management systems (ILO-OSH 2001)
• ILO C155, Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981
• ILO R164, Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation, 1981
• ILO Global Database on Occupational Safety and Health Legislation (LEGOSH)
• ISO 45001:2018, Occupational health and safety management systems
• Managing contractors: A guide for employers (HSG159), HSE

Summary notes for Element 1 · Cheat sheet · Glossary. A study aid, not published or endorsed by NEBOSH.