A city centre mid-terrace office block was being converted into a high-end luxury themed hotel, with the dining room and bars being located in a basement area. A specially designed, grand sweeping marble staircase had been commissioned to be fitted between the ground floor and basement of the premises.
An LA Health and Safety (H&S) Enforcement Officer was accompanying a Building Control Officer on an inter-departmental training day when they happened to visit the premises. The visit took place during mid-construction phase of the project. The H&S Officer took the opportunity to discuss post-construction safety with the Construction Manager on site at the time of the visit. One concern discussed was the potentially high risk of slips on a polished marble staircase, particularly a staircase with a high likelihood of that it would be contaminated on a frequent basis with liquid spills, rendering it even more of a high risk for slips.
The H&S Officer outlined the requirements under CDM 2007 in that the premises should comply with the Workplace (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and that, wherever possible, risks should be eliminated or reduced by design. The Construction Manager was unaware of any particular steps being taken to eliminate or reduce risks through the construction and design of the staircase. He agreed to pursue the matter with the Client and Designer to ascertain what precautions were being taken to prevent the risk of slips on the stairs.
The Project Manager later confirmed that following the initial visit, questions had been raised with the Client and the matter had been addressed; the staircase incorporated a number of anti-slip features within it.
Chance joint working between the LA’s H&S Enforcement and Building Control Officers prevented a potentially hazardous feature from being incorporated into refurbished premises; without this intervention, the report of a serious injury may have been the primary trigger to bring the matter to the attention of the H&S Enforcement Team.
Under CDM 2007 the Client has a duty to ensure there are arrangements in place to ensure that the finished premises will comply, in respect of the design and materials used, with the Workplace (Health Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992. CDM enables LA Health & Safety Enforcement Officers to take a proactive approach to addressing potential hazards at an early stage of the design, construction and installation phases of a project. However, it is important that action is taken as early in the proposed project as possible in order to influence the Client and Designers before any design changes become very difficult to make.
Routine contacts with businesses often reveal that moves to new premises or refurbishments of current premises are planned for the future. This provides an ideal opportunity to intervene and supply information at an early stage, particularly to the Client.
This case study was kindly provided by:
Tania Shiffer,
Senior Environmental Health Officer
Leeds City Council
(currently on secondment to HSE)
Tel: 0113 2834347
Email: tania.shiffer@hse.gsi.gov.uk
Further information may be obtained from Tania (contact details above)