Health and safety in the construction industry

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Building and Construction Authority, BCA, and the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, OHSA, to safeguard the interests of people working in the construction industry and third parties

Every industry comes with at least some level of risk, though the danger level varies widely. The construction industry is one of the most critical areas of industry when it comes to injury statistics, but the majority of the risks related to it can be avoided by taking the proper health and safety measures. 

Hence, it is for this reason that a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Building and Construction Authority, BCA, and the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, OHSA, to safeguard the interests of people working in the construction industry and third parties.

This MoU makes clear the roles of the two authorities vis-à-vis health and safety issues on sites. Both parties, the BCA and OHSA, are committing themselves to developing a strong working relationship that ensures the utmost collaboration in investigations carried out by the two parties in those cases where they both have an interest, thereby diminishing the possibility of incongruities in the outcome of said investigations. Is as a result of any investigation carried out by either party, legal action will be initiated, the parties shall cooperate through the exchange of information and reports of investigations as necessary. 

This MoU was signed by the Chief Executive Officers of both the BCA and the OHSA, Mr. Jesmond Muscat and Dr. Mark Gauci respectively, in the presence of the Minister for Public Works and Planning, Dr. Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi. 

Through this agreement, the Building and Construction Authority will be acting on reports made with either authority. These include reports of  nuisance to third parties, complaints about construction sites, and abandoned machinery in violation of Environment Site Management regulations, complaints about lack of permits to prevent cars from parking in front of construction sites, among other things. It is clearly mentioned in the MoU that if a report does not fall under the BCAs responsibility in accordance with law, it would immediately be informing the OHSA to do an investigation immediately and vice versa. 

Meanwhile, the Building Industry Consultative Council, BICC, is offering a nine-hour course to those who have entered or are about to enter, the construction and civil engineering industry. The course gives an awareness of health and safety and how it affects daily roles. Also, it can serve as a preparation for acquiring the Construction Industry Skill Card or as a refresher training. 

This course mainly gives an awareness of health and safety and how it effects the daily tasks of various roles found in the construction and civil engineering industry. This enables its applicants to obtain the safety card on successful completion of the course, which enables them to gain access to construction sites. The safety card will be mandatory to access such sites as from January 2024. 

These health and safety modules aim to focus on 12 key main topics which will be thought throughout the course. When the course is complete, a short 20 multiple choice examination is carried out which enables the student to obtain the health and safety card with a 50% pass mark. 

The nature of the construction industry means there is perhaps a stricter requirement for ensuring safety.  

Ongoing education and engagement will help to instill and maintain awareness of the potential hazards the general public might face on a daily basis and will equip developers and contractors with the knowledge and skills to mitigate these risks, continuously improving the situation as they go.

Ongoing education and engagement will help to instil and maintain awareness of the potential hazards the general public might face on a daily basis and will equip developers and contractors with the knowledge and skills to mitigate these risks, continuously improving the situation as they go.