Procedural Guide - Book - Page 35
2.3 SUMMARY OF LAW AND GUIDANCE
2.3.9
Within health and safety legislation specific words or phrases are used to qualify or
describe the standard of compliance that must be achieved regarding some legal
(statutory) duties.
Standard
What does it mean?
Shall, Must or
Will (or shall
not, must not
or will not)
Additional commentary
Absolute duty to comply irrelevant of
time, effort or cost in that there is no
Must comply
choice but to comply. Breach of the duty
is an offence.
Practicable
CDM Regulation 19 states “All practicable
steps must be taken...” If the technology
exists, or it’s technologically possible, or
the knowledge/performance standard
exists it must be used.
Principally, BS5975 provides
the knowledge for procedures
to follow. There are many other
competent
sources
of
reference.
Suppliers
of
proprietary equipment provide
a wide range of solutions, i.e.,
the technology.
Reasonably
Practicable
WAH Regulation states “…work at height
is carried out in a manner which is, so
far as reasonably practicable, safe”. Risk
involved in carrying out the work may be
balanced against the costs in terms of
money, inconvenience, and time.
Cost, Time, Effort versus Risk
2.3.10 The following provides a practical example of reasonably practicable.
Structure
Benefits
Risks
Quick to install
Lightweight
Top restrained – requires
walls to be up to suitable
strength and stability
Cheaper to hire in
comparison to other
structures
Compatibility with
perimeter scaffolding
Lower manual handling
risk
Prone to misuse
Require walls to
provide stability
Floor levels
Prone to not being
built properly
Greater risk of
musculoskeletal
disorders
More expensive to
hire in comparison to
other structures
Slower to install
Gaps in boards
Slips and trips due to
‘warped’ boards or not
fixed down
Trad Safety Deck
More robust
More compatible
More adaptable
Higher level of
competency required
comparison to other
structures
Heavy duty
More compatible with
tube and fitting perimeter
scaffolding
Tube and Fitting Crash Deck
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