Safety Coordinator, ensuring safety on the construction site

Have you ever been caught watching a bustling construction site, with tower cranes soaring, hammers banging, and workers and machines cruising around in a frenzy? To ensure that every worker gets home safely at the end of the day, a safety coordinator is on hand to help ensure the safety of the site. His or her job, along with others on the site, is to anticipate site hazards, help plan for site safety, and coordinate safety communication so that safety instructions are carried out in accordance with rules and regulations throughout the construction project.

When a construction project requires a permit from the authorities, it always needs a safety coordinator. Even if a permit is not required, but the project involves specific safety risks, it is still recommended to hire a safety coordinator.

Section 5 of the Government Decree on Safety in Construction Work (205/2009), which entered into force in 2009, stipulates that "the developer must appoint a qualified safety coordinator for each construction project, who is responsible for the complexity of the project."

Before the project starts, the developer appoints a safety coordinator as his representative to guide and support the design of the construction project from a safety perspective. The safety coordinator will ensure that the risks of the construction project and site are identified, with a strong focus on occupational safety from the very beginning of the project.

It should be noted that the main responsibility for safety management lies with the main contractor, who is responsible for the overall management of the site. However, this does not exclude the responsibility of the developer and other actors for the safety on site.

The construction site environment involves a wide range of risks, including falls, cave-ins, hazards associated with the use of machinery and exposure to harmful substances. One of the first tasks of the safety coordinator is to be involved in the preparation of the construction site safety document, together with the developer. He or she will ensure that the document has been drawn up before the start of the construction site.

It is important to make the planners aware of the baseline information in the safety document on the specifics of the project and the particular hazards and risks at the site. For example, the location of the site in the middle of busy traffic creates specific hazards that need to be considered and addressed. If used correctly, a carefully drafted safety document will increase safety at work, prevent accidents, promote efficiency on the construction site and improve the well-being of all concerned.

In the Construction Safety Regulation, Articles 10-11 (205/2009) regulate the safety plans that the main contractor must draw up for a project. The safety coordinator contributes to supervising the implementation of the plans and also cooperates with the main contractor in safety planning. Plans such as a lifting plan, a plan for the installation of elements, a dust protection plan or a fall protection plan are always approved by the developer before work starts.

A safety coordinator is needed to communicate safety issues so thateveryone involved in a construction project has an overall picture and a common understanding of site safety. The safety coordinator ensures that cooperation and safety communication between the different actors on the site is effective.

The safety coordinator should be an active person on the site who , through regular inspections, ensures that safety practices and instructions are implemented in the practical work. Any deficiencies or risks on the construction site must be reported and if any safety failures are identified, the necessary corrective action must be taken immediately. In noting and reporting safety deficiencies and risks, the Safety Coordinator plays a key role in addressing them as quickly as possible in order to correct the deficiencies and maintain safety at work.

The safety document must be reviewed and kept up to date throughout the construction project. If anything changes in the construction project, it must be updated in the safety document without delay. Competent handling of safety deviations and professional problem-solving and communication to all parties involved is a particularly important skill in the event of any issues arising during the construction project.

The safety coordinator's task is to ensure that cooperation and safety communication between the different actors on the site is effective. At the same time, he or she contributes to ensuring that everyone on the site follows the agreed safety instructions down to the practical level, for example by wearing the work clothes and equipment required for safe working, using them correctly, carrying out the work as agreed and keeping the site clean and tidy enough for safety.

The Safety Coordinator ensures that safety issues are discussed at monthly site meetings and attends contractor meetings several times a month. When safety issues arise during inspections, the safety coordinator may also organise safety quizzes for the parties on site, where a safety issue is discussed with everyone.

In the investigation of near misses and accidents on construction sites , the safety coordinator is always involved and also participates in the investigation of safety incidents.

Read also: the TR meter - for assessing and managing construction site safety
Download the webinar: Safety coordinator - a necessary obligation or a competitive advantage for a construction project.

The selection of a safety coordinator should take into account the complexity of the construction project, its characteristics and the circumstances. The person appointed to the post must have the necessary qualifications, expertise and work experience to perform the task.

In accordance with the Regulation, the developer must ensure that the safety coordinator has adequate qualifications, appropriate powers and other conditions to manage the construction project for which he or she has been appointed. The developer must also ensure that the safety coordinator carries out the tasks assigned to him. Article 2 (205/2009) "The safety coordinator is the representative appointed by the developer for the construction project who is responsible for his tasks and who carries out the obligations imposed on the developer."

The safety coordinator must have a good knowledge of the Government Decree on safety on construction sites and also of other rules and regulations affecting safety. It is important for him/her to be aware of the latest legal regulations and to ensure that the practices on the site meet their requirements, e.g. in terms of working methods, conditions, equipment and protective equipment.

Unfortunately, safety deficiencies are observed on construction sites with increasing frequency, and their number and severity tend to increase with the size of the site and the number of workers. The challenge is brought to the projects by the multiple actors involved in the construction project and the different safety cultures among the actors in different countries The safety coordinator must have excellent skills to act as a facilitator of cooperation between the different parties involved in the project and to be able to communicate safety issues as clearly as possible to all parties involved.

Maintaining the safety of a construction project on site requires extensive knowledge, attention to safety issues and active on-site supervision. Professionally implemented safety coordination on site reduces accidents and injuries, improves site efficiency and promotes the well-being of workers at work.

Through Protect's safety coordinator service, the customer gets an expert actively involved in the project, as well as the collective knowledge capital of our other experts. We are professionally involved in ensuring the safe implementation of construction projects or large-scale seismic projects. The content of the service is always tailored to the client's needs.

Contact us and let's map out your company's needs together.

Is your construction or renovation project missing a safety coordinator? We can provide you with a safety coordinator service in both Finnish and Swedish.

To assist the safety coordinator, the client company can make use of Protect's PRO24 system, which is an important tool for storing safety documents, monitoring reports and other similar documents.

Making safety observations and reports at the construction site is important to identify and prevent potential risks. Pro24 will also provide an easy-to-use reporting tool to meet this need.

Read here why it pays to get an expert as a service

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