Many professionals in the industry of architecture ; architects, technical architects, engineers, masons , etc. are currently directing construction sites and working "in situ", side by side side by side with colleagues.
Obviously, the exceptional situation affecting us due to blamed for the coronavirus COVID 19 pandemic at the national level, it will affect us in one way or another from the professional perspective and we will have to take a series of forceful decisions.
Professional colleges are rushing to formalize action protocols for works before the pandemic and how we should act in a play when a case of coronavirus appears .
The Superior Council of Colleges of Architects of Spain (CSCAE) and the General Council of Technical Architecture (CGATE) has just launched some action guidelines for the Facultative Direction on the works in progress of execution in the face of a health emergency created by COVID-19.
The purpose of the recommendation guide is to clarify and interpret in the professional field of architects technicians and architects, the pertinent actions in a work to guarantee the health of all people before the coronavirus and who intervene in the process building and its own obligations.
Although we are going to clarify all the guidelines to follow a bit later on, we must first recognize what are the obligations of the Facultative Direction as we already informed in the expert report article and the expert architect.
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It is very important to remember and know what the responsibility of the Project Management and for that we have some very good schemes, applicable regulations of Spain: (Al Click on the image to open a new window to view it. better)
Because of the importance of the previous scheme and the following one, as well as the quality of the document that collects the information, You can access the Report «Critical analysis of responsibilities of the different agents involved and Integration of the Occupational Risk Prevention in the Building Process»… HERE. Agents involved in a work execution would be:
Once we are a little clearer about our responsibilities on site (of interest article on how to validate projects before starting work with 32 Useful Tokens), tap see the guide provided by professional associations.
You have to be aware that schools professionals have published a guide to recommendations that are urgent in order to make it easier for technicians to work, it will always be waiting of an official protocol based on such a situation exceptional and changing.
Remember first, that we are facing some suggestions proposals by the CSCAE and CGATE schools at a time exceptional and that:
The architect or technical architect who holds the status of coordinator in matters of security and health during the execution of the work or assume said functions as part of the facultative direction of the same (obligations referred to in article 9 of RD 1627/1997, of October 24). It will request the contractor and site manager to so that within the scope of its obligations communicate risk prevention measures derivatives of COVID-19 that have been adopted, and if such measures in the opinion of the same, and of the services of own prevention or outside of the construction company, are sufficient to ensure the health of workers and people who go to the work.
It must be specified by the contractor, the head of work or the person designated by the contractor and the resources preventive if they can develop with such health guarantees the entire work or certain its activities to preserve and guarantee the measures and health conditions of the workers and personnel who attend to work
The measures and conditions that must necessarily be adopted to guarantee the health of workers and personnel of the work and prevent the spread of the virus must be those required by the protocols official toilets and specifically, those indicated by the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health from HERE, without prejudice to those indicated by the Authorities Autonomous and Local or those developed by the company itself hire. In any case, and in particular, they must agree:
Remember that prevention is better than cure, and according to indications of the professional associations, the following decisions:
Remember our article on safety and maintenance of facilities, that even though we are in a pandemic, we must be watch out for industrial facilities.
All of the above and all actions and processes that are practiced must be duly reflected in a signed minutes , in addition to the facultative direction, by the builder, project manager and promoter and, where appropriate, the project manager. Likewise, all of this shall be recorded in the Book of Incidents of the work.
Also the Prevention Line website (which we already talked about in this article on signaling for works) has a document reviewed by the Construction Labor Foundation «Coronavirus preventive measures at work and construction companies construction" that you can consult from this PDF that reflects the following infographic:
Remember, we also wrote a long article about the types of masks; FFP2, FFP3, surgical and hygienic and when we should use them.
The following video is a webinar that brings together five construction industry professionals and subject matter experts Prevention of Occupational Risks to clarify doubts and provide a little more information to the sector of the construction:
We have a new article on how to understand the construction before the coronavirus: 5 key schemes, very interesting. And the article on how to create a protocol of action and prevention for works.
Remember that prevention and the health of workers is the first, and the second place, here there will be repercussions economics from a negative perspective, therefore, take a good look at what you sign and that everything is fine documented . Also, to continue training in a way free now that we possibly have more time :
