Third block of the common part: checking, identifying and monitoring the workplace and its surroundings (general site risks, knowledge of the surroundings, task planning and handling of chemical products with their safety data sheet and symbols; annex XII, section 2.II.A.3).
Tidiness, cleaning and stockpiles (Royal Decree 1627/1997, article 10)
The principles of prevention apply, in particular, to tidiness and cleaning, to the choice of location of workstations and traffic routes, to the handling of materials, to the maintenance of installations and to the marking out of storage areas, especially for dangerous substances, and to the collection of dangerous materials.
What the whole site must comply with (annex IV, part A)
- Stability and solidity (point 2): surfaces without sufficient strength are not accessed without appropriate means.
- Electrical installation (point 3): no risk of fire or explosion and protection against direct and indirect contact.
- Emergency routes and exits (point 4): clear, unobstructed, signposted and with emergency lighting if needed.
- Fire (point 5): extinguishers and, if necessary, detectors and alarms; checked regularly.
- Dangerous atmospheres (point 7): nobody exposed to harmful noise, gases, vapours or dust; in a high-risk confined atmosphere no worker may be exposed and, at the very least, there is permanent monitoring from outside.
- Lighting (point 9): natural light as far as possible, sufficient artificial light at night, portable lamps with impact protection and emergency lighting where a failure would be dangerous.
- Traffic routes (point 11): sized, signposted and controlled; a safe distance between vehicles and people; pedestrian passages next to vehicle gates (point 10.d).
Outdoor risks (annex IV, part C)
- Excavations, shafts and tunnels (point 9): before starting, locate underground cables and pipelines; prevent burial with shoring, shielding, propping or sloping; safe ways in and out; soil, rubble and vehicles kept away from the edge.
- Overhead power lines (point 10): divert them or switch them off; otherwise, barriers or warnings and, if vehicles pass underneath, warning signs and height limitation.
- Roofs and fragile surfaces (point 12.b): collective protection against falls of people and materials and measures to avoid stepping on fragile surfaces.
- Demolition (point 12.a): planned and supervised by a competent person.
Chemical products
Before using a product (cement, resins, solvents, release agents…), read its label and its safety data sheet, which state the hazards, the protection and what to do in case of contact or spillage; this is compulsory content of the common part (annex XII) and of the specific part for each trade.
Source: VI Convenio colectivo general del sector de la construcción (BOE-A-2017-10951; construction sector general collective agreement, consolidated text, in Spanish), annex XII, section 2.II.A.3 · Real Decreto 1627/1997, disposiciones mínimas de seguridad y salud en las obras de construcción (construction sites, consolidated text, in Spanish), article 10 and annex IV, parts A and C, points 9, 10 and 12