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Posted By Peter MacDonald
For a major project we are carrying out TBRA's (Task Based Risk Assessments) and HazDems (Hazards of demolition). These are usually carried out with input from my company, the client, planning supervisor and/or principal contractor. They are extremely useful in generating a risk matrix on which to base a safe working procedure or method statement given the background and expertise of the contributors.
However, we are having to redraft our method statements over and over again to accomodate changes made by the client or his rep. Most of these changes are acceptable and are welcome. However, occaisonally we are seeing wholesale changes to particular aspects of our work that go against what we would consider best practice.
Obviously this is not ideal. Can I argue to the client that it is not possible for us to accept changes that we feel are not in our, and our employees best interests, and that our ability to provide a duty of care (based on our experience and expertise)is compromised. After all, we are ulimately responsible for our employees health and safety, not the client.
Bearing in mind they pay the bills!!!
Cheers
Peter
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Posted By David Edward Partington
Peter I think you should argue
" to the client that it is not possible for us to accept changes that we feel are not in our, and our employees best interests".
The reason your firm is being employed is for your expertise. If the client had the expertise then they would conduct the task themselves..
It is a bit like have a boiler at home that does not work, you do not know how to make it work and so you get a qualified engineer in and then; tell him how to do the works...
If you do not put a line under the clients comments then you will be failing your own staff and possibly causing injuries unnessesarily.
You should state that this is how you intend to carry out the works - having listened to their concerns. If they are still not content then politly suggest that they look elsewhere.
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Posted By Alec Wood
Hi Peter
I think you answered your own question really though when you made the point "we are ulimately responsible for our employees health and safety, not the client"
As said above, the client hired you because you're the expert, otherwise he'd do it himself. If he has any sense, he probably expects you to argue some points with him.
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Posted By Benedict Thierry
Hello Peter,
Could you clarify who it is that is asking for the changes to be made. Your response may have to be varied depending if it is the client, principal contractor, planning supervisor as their own responsibilities are not the same - some have wider responsibilities than others. Equally, some are hiring you for your own specialist knowledge and should look to you.
It is a very muddy and frustrating situation - I am in a similar situation regularly - As the risk assessments are task based, I take this to mean you will probably be acting either within in a put together team for the job or alongside various different ongoing activities that interact with each other - the essential is to identify what can be compromised and what absolutely cannot be as a safety critical issue.
A rigorous intellectual effort of honing sometimes overidden by some who prefer to not have to argue the toss and be the boss.
Often they can be worried and under extreme contractual pressure that often hasn't taken account of or allowed time for this essential process of developing a workable and effective safer system of working.
Benedict.
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Posted By Steve Langston
Another argument is that if the Client makes material changes to a design of the project (i.e. by specifying the material used or method of work etc), then they become designers for that operation of the project. As such under the CDM Regs they would have a responsibility to prevent risk to workers, the public and end users!
It is a hard issue for Council Planners to accept that by placing planning conditions on new build they become the "designer" for that part of the project!
Hope this argument helps
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