Consolidated Act on Health and Safety at Work (Title IV — Construction Sites)

Title IV within the Consolidated Act

Legislative Decree no. 81 of 9 April 2008 — issued under Article 1 of Law 123/2007 and published in Ordinary Supplement no. 108 to Official Gazette no. 101 of 30 April 2008 — consolidates Italian occupational health and safety law into a single act, absorbing among others Legislative Decree 626/1994 and Legislative Decree 494/1996, which had implemented the "construction sites" Directive 92/57/EEC. Title IV is the chapter devoted to temporary or mobile construction sites: Chapter I organises the coordination system — client, coordinators, safety plans, prior notification — Chapter II gathers the prevention rules for construction work and work at height (excavations, scaffolding, demolition), and Chapter III the penalties.

For designers and works directors the operational part lives in the annexes: Annex X lists the building and civil engineering works that trigger Title IV, Annex XI the works involving particular risks, Annex XII the contents of the prior notification, Annex XV the minimum contents of the safety plans, Annex XVI the building file, and Annex XVII the technical and professional suitability of contractors and self-employed workers.

The figures: client, works supervisor, CSP and CSE

The pivot of the system is the client (committente), the party on whose behalf the work is carried out: it may appoint a works supervisor (responsabile dei lavori), who takes its place within the limits of the mandate (Art. 93). Where the presence of more than one executing contractor is foreseen on site, even at different times, the client appoints the design-stage safety coordinator (CSP) at the same time as the design appointment, and the execution-stage safety coordinator (CSE) before awarding the works; the obligation also arises when, after the works are awarded to a single contractor, execution passes to several contractors (Art. 90).

For private works not subject to a building permit and in any case worth less than €100,000, appointing the CSP is not mandatory: its duties are performed by the CSE (Art. 90, para. 11). In all cases the client — with or without coordinators — verifies the technical and professional suitability of contractors and self-employed workers under Annex XVII and obtains the DURC contribution-compliance certificate; for sites below 200 man-days without the particular risks of Annex XI the check is simplified.

The documents: PSC, POS, building file

The safety and coordination plan (PSC) is drawn up by the CSP during design, with the minimum contents of Annex XV: a technical report with requirements for the critical phases, explanatory drawings including the site layout plan, and an estimate of safety costs. It is an integral part of the works contract (Art. 100). The operational safety plan (POS) is instead the document that the employer of each executing contractor draws up for the specific site: the CSE checks its adequacy and consistency with the PSC, and the POS works as the contractor's detailed site-level plan.

The building file (fascicolo dell'opera), prepared by the CSP in accordance with Annex XVI, accompanies the building throughout its life: it gathers the information useful to prevent risks in future interventions and must be consulted at every subsequent work; it is not required for ordinary maintenance. During execution the CSE adapts the PSC and the file to how the works evolve, organises cooperation among employers, reports breaches to the client — proposing suspension of the works or removal of contractors — and, in the event of serious and imminent danger, directly suspends the individual work activities concerned (Art. 92).

Prior notification and safety costs

Before works start, the client or the works supervisor sends the prior notification, drawn up in accordance with Annex XII, to the local health authority and to the territorial labour inspectorate office — and, for public works only, to the prefect (Art. 99). It is due for sites with more than one contractor, for sites that fall into that category through variations during the works, and for single-contractor sites whose estimated size is not below 200 man-days; a copy must be visibly posted on site. Safety costs, estimated in the PSC under point 4 of Annex XV, are included in the total amount of the works but identify the share that must not be discounted in contractors' bids: the works director settles them according to work progress, subject to approval by the CSE where one is appointed.

The full, consolidated text of the decree, with all amendments, can be consulted free of charge on Normattiva at the official source indicated on this sheet.