Fourth block of the common part: interference between simultaneous or successive activities (annex XII, section 2.II.A.4). Several companies and self-employed workers share a site; most serious accidents come from what someone else is doing above, below or next to you.
Cooperating and coordinating (Law 31/1995, article 24)
When two or more companies work at one workplace, they must cooperate and set up means of coordination; the owner of the workplace informs the others of the risks and emergency measures; and whoever contracts or subcontracts works of its own activity monitors that contractors and subcontractors comply with the rules.
Who does what on site (Royal Decree 1627/1997)
- The coordinator (article 9) coordinates the application of the principles of prevention, coordinates contractors, subcontractors and self-employed workers, approves the plan, organises the coordination of business activities, coordinates the control of work methods and ensures that only authorised people enter the site.
- Contractors and subcontractors (article 11) comply with and enforce the plan, comply with annex IV, inform and instruct the self-employed workers they hire and follow the coordinator's instructions. They are jointly and severally liable for breaches of the plan's measures.
- Self-employed workers (article 12): comply with annex IV and the plan, the obligations of article 29 of Law 31/1995 and the coordination duties, and use PPE in accordance with its rules.
Work with special risks (annex II)
Non-exhaustive list: especially serious burial, collapse or fall from height; chemical or biological agents of special severity; ionising radiation; proximity to high-voltage power lines; drowning; tunnels, shafts and underground earthworks; diving; compressed-air caissons; explosives; and assembly or dismantling of heavy prefabricated elements.
The preventive resource on site (sole additional provision)
Each contractor provides its preventive resources; the plan sets how they will be present; if they see deficient compliance, they give instructions to correct it immediately and alert the employer; if measures are missing, the employer corrects and amends the plan. The preventive resource course explains this in depth.
What Law 32/2006 requires of companies
To contract or subcontract on site, a company must have its own productive organisation, human resources with prevention training at management and production level, a suitable preventive organisation and registration in the Register of Accredited Companies (article 4). Companies usually working in the sector must have a minimum of permanent staff: 30 % from the thirty-seventh month the law is in force (article 4.4). Contractors and subcontractors monitor that the companies they hire comply with the law (article 7).
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.4 · Ley 31/1995, de Prevención de Riesgos Laborales (Occupational Risk Prevention Act, consolidated text, in Spanish), article 24 · Real Decreto 1627/1997, disposiciones mínimas de seguridad y salud en las obras de construcción (construction sites, consolidated text, in Spanish), articles 9, 11 and 12, annex II and sole additional provision · Ley 32/2006, reguladora de la subcontratación en el sector de la construcción (Construction Subcontracting Act, consolidated text, in Spanish), articles 4 and 7