Matters of evident concern checklist

The HSE has employed the services of some 4,000 building inspectors to pick up on safety issues during visits to construction sites. To ensure you don’t fall foul of them, use our checklist.

Inspections

In a bid to catch more construction firms out, the HSE has gone into partnership with the Building Control Alliance in England and Wales. This move means that inspectors who would normally focus on compliance with Building Regulations will now be on the lookout for breaches of health and safety laws too.

Be prepared

To help ensure that your construction project comes up to scratch, we’ve created a Matters of Evident Concern (MoEC) Checklist. This identifies the areas that the HSE has primed the building inspectors to look out for, and is based on the document that they issued for this purpose.

Note. If the building inspector spots something, they can’t take enforcement action. However, they can, and will, report you to their contact at the HSE who may well go down the enforcement route.

How is our document set out?

The document is split into ten sections, each one representing a MoEC for the HSE. These include: (1) working at height; (2) excavations; (3) structural elements; (4) asbestos; (5) falling materials; (6) site security; (7) electricity; (8) fire; (9) escape routes; and finally (10) evidence of workers or others sleeping on site.

In addition to the MoEC, we’ve added some specific guidance which highlights exactly what the inspectors will be on the lookout for. For example, regarding working at height, inspectors will be checking for handrails on roofs and scaffolds, edge protection and fragile roofs.