Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

3. Health and Safety Issues

This section gives a summary of the key issues which duty holders should consider in order to comply with health and safety law. An outline of the responsibilities associated with particular roles is given in Section 4.

Road works are regarded as a 'construction' activity in terms of health and safety legislation. This document focuses on traffic management issues rather than the works themselves although the two are clearly closely linked and other aspects of the work must be borne in mind at all times. Although the key health and safety issues are concentrated in this section it is essential that safety is addressed in ALL aspects of traffic management.

Working on live roads carries a potentially high risk. Drivers on these roads do not expect to encounter standing or slow moving vehicles, pedestrians or people at work. In addition, the personnel involved may have little protection from oncoming traffic. Hence the work must be properly managed to ensure that the risks are as low as is reasonably practicable.

Motorways and all purpose trunk roads are regarded, from a health and safety point of view, as higher risk than minor roads. High speed trunk roads, particularly motorways, and class A roads have a lower accident rate in normal use, however because of their high speed potential they can present a greater risk when obstructed by road works unless adequate precautions are taken to ensure that the travelling public is warned of the presence of the obstruction.

Although the potential consequences of an accident on heavily trafficked high speed roads are more severe, the risks involved in working on lower category routes must not be ignored. Commonly such roads will not meet current sight distance and design standards and in many cases the available carriageway width will be limited.

3.2 Legal Issues

The responsibility for an accident involving members of the public was apportioned by the Crown Court in 1990 (The Derby Case) between the main contractor, the sub-contractor and the authority responsible for the highway. It was established that site safety is the responsibility of all those having control of the site and that criminal responsibilities for safety cannot be abrogated by contractual arrangements. Subsequent case law (Associated Octel Case) has confirmed this principle.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) and the regulations made under it, set out the legal framework for occupational health and safety. Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM) 1994, Clients, Planning Supervisors, Designers and Contractors, have legal duties to plan, co-ordinate and manage health and safety throughout all stages of the project. CDM goes hand in hand with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSW) and the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 (CHSW). Good management of the work is essential to prevent accidents and ill health.

Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) places a duty on employers to ensure that the health and safety of those not in their employ, but affected by their undertaking, is maintained. CDM amplifies the requirements of Section 3 of HSWA with regard to its application to Designers of 'structures' as defined within the Regulations. Although in many instances traffic management works will fall outside the definition of 'structure', adoption of the principles enshrined within CDM will enable those involved in the design process to fulfil the duty placed on them by Section 3 of HSWA.

It is essential that the principles of the CDM Regulations are recognised. A well-designed traffic management scheme, by the correct application of Chapter 8, will have minimised the risks associated with the traffic environment. The Health and Safety Plan (see Section 3.4) will acknowledge this environment but will only require further elaboration for exceptional risk. Designers always have a duty under the CDM Regulations to address the risks associated with their design. A competent Principal Contractor will be deemed to be able to address the practical aspects of the traffic management using procedures to implement, maintain, and remove the traffic management at the conclusion of the works. Exceptional circumstances will require identification in the Health and Safety Plan and appropriate development by the Principal Contractor.

MHSW requires employers to make an assessment of the risks to the health and safety of those they employ and others who may be affected by the work being undertaken. The assessment should identify the measures needed to comply with all relevant health and safety legislation. Arrangements need to be implemented to ensure the effective planning, organising, controlling, monitoring and reviewing of the measures put in place to secure health and safety. CHSW sets out the health and safety standards to be achieved on site. Safety in any work place is likely to be maximised if those employed do not become unnecessarily tired. Working hours are governed by the Working Time Regulations 1998.

3.3 Risk Prevention in Design

When developing traffic management proposals the following hierarchy of risk prevention and protection must be considered:

• Avoid hazards to health and safety, i.e. change or alter the design to remove hazards.

If this is not possible,

• Tackle the hazard at source to reduce the impact of the risk, i.e. design in details that reduce risks, e.g. impact resistant barriers etc.

If this is not possible,

• Provide as much information as possible to allow those undertaking or managing the work to reduce and control the effects of any remaining project specific risks.

The selection of design solutions for traffic management schemes must take account of the significant health and safety issues likely to be encountered during their implementation, maintenance and removal. Risk assessment must be an integral part of the design process. Risk assessment is the process of identifying project-specific hazards inherent within the design. Significant hazards should be determined and, where possible, the design should be altered to avoid, or mitigate, the consequences of the hazards. The relevant HSE publication 'Five steps to risk assessment' is reproduced in Appendix B.

Consideration of the following issues is particularly relevant to traffic management:

• The necessity for workers to cross the live carriageway carrying equipment (Section 5.7.3).
• Wherever possible, designing out the necessity to stop traffic management vehicles in live traffic lanes
• What technology or equipment can be used to help avoid or mitigate risks eg remote controlled signs in high risk areas.
• Safe access for maintenance operations.
• The specification of materials or equipment for use during the work.
• The establishment of safe working areas.
• Establishing safety zones.
• Adopting safe working practices.
• Providing safe access to and egress from the working area for vehicles and pedestrians.
• Ensuring that the necessary traffic control system will cater for the traffic with minimum delay.
• Ensuring that any Traffic Regulation Orders required are prepared in good time and provisions considered for enforcing them.

Designs may be such that they require particular attention by the Contractor(s) when considering their safe method of installation or removal. Sufficient information, regarding significant residual risks, needs to be included with the design to alert others to the risks inherent in the design.

The information provided should be explicit, not implied (thus avoiding unnecessary duplication of work, misinterpretation, error or oversight). Such information may include:

• Traffic counts, and calculated estimates of the impact that the design may have on traffic flow; (eg the volume of traffic diverted onto other routes).
• Highlight areas of restricted sight lines or room for safe working.
• Weight of equipment and materials.

When initial planning of the road works and temporary traffic management scheme is being undertaken it may be useful to consult the Highway Authority accident records. The impact of the works may change the type of use the road receives and as a result past accident records may not reflect the changed circumstances. However accident records are a source of information in relation to the risks inherent within the site and as such may influence the placing of cross-overs and signs, the issue of Traffic Regulation Orders and the amount of warning required to ensure an adequate level of safety for the site. Consideration should also be given to the condition of the existing road surface if the accidents have resulted from skidding problems as this factor will affect safe stopping distances.

Care must be taken to ensure that plant and personnel do not obstruct or intrude into areas marked for the passage past the works of vehicular traffic or pedestrians. Slewing vehicles, cranes and excavators must be carefully sited within a defined working area to ensure that when operating, no part of the machine or its load may interfere or collide with passing traffic. Consideration should be given to the operation of plant close to traffic that might cause a sudden movement due to the driver's fear or perception of collision.

Plant or materials should not be left unnecessarily on the hard shoulder, central reserve, verge, or other roadside areas outside the works area where they could be a hazard to vehicles that, for whatever reason, fail to keep to the carriageway.

The needs of vulnerable road users, the disabled and blind or partially sighted people must be carefully considered when delineating the areas reserved for the public.

3.4 Health and Safety Plan

The Health and Safety Plan, a requirement under CDM Regulations, provides the health and safety focus for the project. It should be a working document and be kept up to date at all stages of the project. For sites where CDM Regulations do not apply, the process of risk assessment is still necessary.

3.4.1 Pre-tender Health and Safety Plan

The Planning Supervisor should ensure that the pre-tender Health and Safety Plan is prepared in sufficient time that it is available for Contractors tendering or making similar arrangements to carry out or manage work. The pre-tender plan should include:

• A general description of the work.
• Details of timing and programming within the project.
• Existing off-site conditions.
• Existing on-site conditions.
• Hazards from existing structures which might arise during demolition and refurbishment.
• Existing records.
• Site layout and management.
• Site rules and procedures.
• Procedures for the review of the Health and Safety Plan.
• Information required for the Health and Safety File.
• Arrangements and format for the construction phase Health and safety Plan.

3.4.2 The Health and Safety Plan for the construction phase

The traffic management measures should not be implemented until the Health and Safety Plan has been developed to include an assessment of the risks associated with the proposed construction activities and the control measures that are being adopted to remove or mitigate such risks.

The plan developed by the Principal Contractor is the foundation on which health and safety management of the work is based. It should include:

• The procedures and arrangements which are generally applicable to the construction phase including those for the management and monitoring of health and safety.
• Emergency procedures.
• Arrangements for communications.
• Provision for welfare.

3.4.3 Health and Safety Plans for term maintenance contracts

During the pre-tender stage of a term maintenance contract, the Planning Supervisor will need information from the designers for compilation of the safety plan. This must be developed by the Contractor with method statements for the various categories of work and traffic management involved.

Work during the term contract is instructed by 'works orders', each requiring elements of both engineering and traffic management design. Each works order will require a risk assessment from the person specifying the work to be done and this in turn will require a response from the Term Contractor. This will be either the implementation of 'generic risk assessment' based method statements which will apply to many of the work situations having similar requirements, or the development of a specific method statement (see Section 5.7.2).

There may be occasions when the Planning Supervisor will need to continue to oversee the coordination of designers during a term contract, a duty required by the Regulations for design work ongoing after the award of the contract. The essential requirement is however for the person responsible for issuing the 'works order' to always consider the health and safety implications of the work, the Planning Supervisor role being most influential in the initial phases of the Health and Safety Plan and its subsequent development by the Principal Contractor.

3.5 Reporting of Incidents

The effective analysis of incidents and accurate assembly of information is essential if long term monitoring is to be meaningful. Incident reports leading on to appropriate levels of investigation are the basis for all further analysis. The Highways Agency requires incident reports for trunk roads and motorways and it may be considered good practice to carry out these measures on all classes of road. See also Section 5.4.21 and Appendix C. The police must be informed of all road accidents which involve an injury occurring on that section of highway open to public use and, on behalf of HM Coroner any deaths occurring on site.

Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), 1995, basic reports, using form F2508, are required by the HSE for certain categories of accident and incident.

The European Charter on Human Rights (ECHR) includes the right not to be required to self-incriminate and therefore in any post-incident de-brief/record etc potential offenders/ defendants ought not to be required to incriminate themselves.