Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Principal contractor duties
The key duties of the principal contractor are to:
➤
Plan, manage and monitor health and safety during 
the construction phase of the project
➤
Ensure that Schedule 2 is complied with (see below)
➤
Coordinate the activities of all contractors in terms 
of legal requirements
➤
Ensure that every contractor complies with their 
duties under other health and safety legislation
➤
Draw up health and safety site rules
➤
Ensure cooperation between contractors and their 
employees to enable them to comply with their 
statutory duties
➤
Ensure that every contractor and employee com-
plies with the construction phase plan
➤
Ensure that only authorised people are allowed on 
the construction site during the project
➤
Ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that all 
persons concerned with the project are suitably 
trained and kept informed of the health and safety 
requirements
➤
Ensure a copy of the notifi cation of the project is 
displayed on site
➤
Provide information to the coordinator, as necessary, 
for inclusion in the construction phase fi le
➤
Provide suitable induction training and further infor-
mation and training as required
➤
Establish a consultation process with contractors 
working on site.
15.14.3 Health and safety fi le
The coordinator is responsible for ensuring that a health 
and safety fi le is compiled and handed to the client on 
completion of the project. The client must ensure that 

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the fi le is kept safe and is available for any interested 
party in the future.
The purpose of the health and safety fi le is to 
provide all of the relevant details regarding the structure 
to anyone in the future who may be carrying out further 
construction work, repairs, maintenance or refurbish-
ment to the structure, and should include:
➤
A brief description of the work carried out
➤
Residual hazards and how they have been dealt with 
(e.g. surveys or other information concerning asbes-
tos, contaminated land, water bearing strata, buried 
services, etc.)
➤
Key structural principles incorporated in the design 
of the structure (e.g. bracing and sources of sub-
stantial stored energy) and safe working loads of 
fl oors and roofs, particularly where these may pre-
clude placing scaffolding or heavy machinery
➤
Any hazards associated with materials used (e.g. 
hazardous substances, lead-based paint and spe-
cial coatings which should not be burnt off)
➤
Information regarding the removal or dismantling of 
installed plant and equipment
➤
Health and safety information about equipment pro-
vided for cleaning or maintaining the structure
➤
The nature, location and marking of signifi cant serv-
ices including fi re fi ghting services
➤
Information and as-built drawings of the structure, 
its plant and equipment (e.g. the means of safe 
access to and from service voids, fi re doors and 
compartmentation).