Report of Meeting of 13th March 2006

ACE SHW Work Group.

Present:
J. Graby, RIAI
Jean Marie Fauconnier, CNOA(B)
Marie-Madeleine Mennens, FAB
A. Joyce, ACE
Meeting of 15th February of European Construction and Safety Forum
The meeting discussed the review of the Temporary Mobile Sites Directive and there was a degree of confusion as to whether or not the review had been completed or whether it was still in progress. Concern was expressed about the non-transparent manner in which the review was taking place. The European Occupational Health and Safety Agency representatives said that this was a normal process for the Commission.
J. M. Fauconnier tabled his chart illustrating the interaction between the tasks of the architect in a project with those of the Health and Safety Co-ordinator and this was seen as a useful model for a presentation to the Forum.
Follow-up Event to Bilbao Summit
It was reported that the Forum has agreed to set up a Workgroup to progress the organisation of the follow-up event to the Bilbao Summit consisting of Ulrich Paetzold (FIEC), Harry Bijen (European Federation of Building and Wood Workers), Ian Watson (RICS), Greg Haywood (OSHA) and Adrian Joyce (ACE).
The meeting returned to the consistent theme of clients taking greater responsibility, with ACE strongly defending the fact that the Temporary and Mobile Sites Directive should not impose duties and responsibilities on the client that go beyond their competence.
In commenting on the meeting A. Joyce said that it would be necessary to chart the full chain of events that go into the realisation of a construction project and that this should then be related to the provisions of the Temporary and Mobile Sites Directive, so that the relevant parties’ responsibilities would be properly addressed.
J. Graby confirmed that the Irish MEP, Prionsias de Rossa, has agreed to sponsor the event and that the event is planned t take place on the 29th June 2006 in the European Parliament.
Review of Directive 92/57
A letter from the Commission, responding to a query from the European Federation of Consulting Engineers Associations (EFCA), was noted. It was agreed that this letter did not clarify the situation at all.
The meeting also noted the letter from the ACE President to the Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities expressing the concern of the ACE at the review and protesting against this taking place in effect behind closed doors and without adequate consultation, particularly given the history of the adoption of the original Directive.
Engagement of Member Organisations
The comparatively limited responses to the Questionnaire on the implementation of the directive and its imapact on the architectural profession was discussed. It was noted with concern that responses have only been received from Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Turkey and UK. The idea of addressing such Questionnaires to member organisations, where the appropriate person was not identified, was accepted. It was suggested that the ACE might contact the remaining member organisations and ask for the name and contact information of the person best placed to answer the Questionnaire and then to direct these Questionnaires to such persons.
In the context of the review of the Directive it was important for the ACE to have information from Member States in order to present the case most effectively and it was agreed that the Board might consider bringing this to the attention of the General Assembly. It was agreed that A. Joyce would tabulate the responses for ease of reference and comparison.
Designing for Safety
J. Graby summarised the main elements of the circulated document on designing for safety. J. Graby recognised the conflict between providing general information for architects in the area of safety with the need to avoid being overly prescriptive. He said that it might well be that the ACE would finally produce a simple framework document but this is a matter for the Work Group and the ACE. It was agreed that the members of the Work Group would respond by 23rd March with their general initial comments on the draft document.
Other Matters
The Work Group agreed that there needed to be renewed focus on the health of operatives as well as safety. It was also agreed that training in safety in design was an important aspect of the education and training of the architect.
Action
1. Members of Work Group to comment on Designing for Safety by 23rd. March 2006.
2. Consideration to be given to appropriate format and person to provide overview of the architects task and interaction with safety matters.
3. Work Group recommended that the ACE should follow up the Commission on the review of the Directive in the strongest possible terms.
4. ACE to contact relevant persons in member organisations to ensure as full as possible response to the Questionnaire. A. Joyce to prepare a table of responses for reference purposes.
Date of next Meeting
11th May 2006 at the ACE Offices, Brussels
End of Notes
17th March 2006

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