Health & Safety for Surveyors and Property Inspectors
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What is this blog about?
In this article originally written for the IRRV, Jen Lemen BSc (Hons) FRICS discusses health & safety for surveyors and property inspectors. This is an extremely important area of awareness for any property professional, especially if you are working on site or external premises.
The core guidance that we will focus on is RICS Professional Standard Surveying Safely (2nd Edition), published in November 2018. The guidance covers best practice principles for both individual RICS members and RICS Regulated Firms – but these can be extended to cover a wide variety of property professionals and public sector bodies.
In this context, health & safety is not just about meeting minimum legislative and regulatory requirements, it also covers the wide range of moral, ethical and practical issues that surveyors face day to day in their work. The consequences of poor health & safety practices can be fatal – so we all have a duty and a responsibility to uphold the highest standards possible.
Who is responsible for health & safety at work?
RICS emphasise two core strands of health & safety responsibility; that of the individual and that of the firm or employer.
Each individual should assume responsibility and accountability for their own, as well as others’ and colleagues’, health & safety, whilst at work – otherwise known as the ‘safe person’ concept. This includes cooperating with employers to minimise the risk of harm, reporting breaches of health & safety regulations, maintaining adequate competence and working safely.
Similarly, firms have a responsibility to provide safe working environments, work equipment (including personal protective equipment – PPE) and systems of work and competent staff. This should be summarised in a clear health & safety policy, together with a clear corporate management structure, having appropriate insurances, risk assessment and the provision of health & safety training.
How can we manage risk at work?
Risk management is a key aspect of ensuring high standards of health & safety are maintained at work. The level of risk will depend on the work environment and this can vary dramatically – consider the difference between a town centre office and a remote, hazardous construction site – for example. The hazards within the latter could include exposure to noise, hazardous materials and vibration, working close to machinery or vehicles, lone working and being required to drive for long periods.
Simply put, a risk assessment considers how could a plan of action deviates from your expectations. The RICS define it as carefully examining what in your work could cause harm to people, so that you can judge whether or not you have taken enough precautions to prevent harm.
This requires an understanding of hazards and risks:
Hazard - something with potential to cause harm
Risk - likelihood of harm being realised
How do we carry out a risk assessment?
There are five steps to risk assessment:
Identify hazards
Identify who might be harmed and how they might be harmed
Evaluate risks and identify precautions to be taken
Record and implement findings
Review and update regularly
Advise those affected of the outcome
When deciding on the precautions, the hierarchy of risk control should be considered (based on Surveying Safely and HSE guidance):
What PPE might I need on site?
In respect of PPE, this is equipment to protect against health & safety risks. For example, helmets, steel capped shoes, ear defenders, face masks, overalls, torches & batteries, safety harnesses and hi vis clothing.
PPE can protect against the risk of injuries to lungs (inhaling contaminated air), head and feet (falling materials), eyes (air borne particles), skin (from contact with corrosive materials) and the body (from temperature extremes). PPE should be maintained in good condition and provided free of charge by employers.
Once on site, the surveyor should undertake their own dynamic risk assessment. This is because working conditions can change or circumstances could be unforeseen, for example, a dangerous floor, an aggressive dog or an unsafe set of stairs or loft hatch. This means that the surveyor may need to adapt their behaviour and actions to further mitigate the risk of harm whilst on site. This action should be recorded back in the office and shared with others to notify them of the potential hazard.
What is lone working?
In 1986, Suzy Lamplugh, an estate agent, disappeared after meeting a client on site. Although her body was never found, she was presumed murdered in 1993 by the client she was meeting on site. Since then, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust have tirelessly campaigned for safe lone working – and not just for surveyors.
Some of the ways that you can work alone safely are:
Always tell someone when you are going – record who you are meeting, along with the date, time, location and contact details
Have a buddy system with your employer; this is usually a call to check in and out, and a safe word you can call out with in the event on an emergency
Have an emergency / contingency plan in place
Carry out risk assessment prior to attending site and dynamically assess risk upon arrival
Take a fully charged mobile phone
Consider whether you lock the entry door or leave it open – do you want to stop intruders coming in or provide a safe, open exit route?
Take a colleague if you are not happy to work alone
If in doubt – do not go
What legislation do I need to be aware of?
The Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is the key UK legislation relating to health & safety.
This places a duty on employers to ensure that that health, safety and wellbeing of employees and other affected persons is not at risk, so far as is reasonably practicable. This ties in with the RICS guidance for firms and employers above.
A key aspect of the Act is that a director or senior manager commits an offence if the company’s breach was committed with their consent, connivance or neglect.
Breaching the Act is a criminal offence, which can carry an unlimited fine, plus imprisonment up to 2 years. Furthermore, corporate and gross negligence (manslaughter) charges can lead to more severe custodial sentences, whilst directors can be disqualified from acting as a director for up to 15 years.
What practical steps can I take to stay safe when inspecting properties?
Pre-inspection, you should research the location of the property and where you will be able to park safely. Ideally, inspect in daylight and be aware of fading light during the Winter months. Other factors to consider are the weather conditions and travelling time.
During inspection, you may need to access a loft space or a roof. These are potentially the greatest area of risk for a surveyor inspecting a residential property.
If you need to inspect anything at height, then first consider how much can you do from the ground, e.g., with a camera on a pole, observing from a higher safe location (e.g., a first floor window) or even a drone (note that these come with their own health & safety considerations!).
You should be properly trained on how to use a ladder safely, and if you take your own telescopic ladder then it should be properly maintained and used appropriately on site.
Ladders should be used for flat roofs and loft hatches no more than 3m above the floor surface or ground. This means that your ladder should be at least 4mn long and the top portion should extend 1m above where you would safely step off it. You should apply the 3 point contact rule when using a ladder; either two feet and one hand or two hands and one feet.
Roof voids also pose a variety of hazards, including asbestos containing materials (e.g., pipe lagging, water tanks or certain types of insulation), stability of any boarding or floor decking, protruding nail heads and lack of suitable lighting. If you feel that it is unsafe to enter a roof space, then you should attempt a head and shoulders inspection only.
If you are inspecting a derelict or vacant property, then these tend to pose a higher level of risk than a standard occupied property of similar use. You need to look out for signs of vandalism, electrical safety issues (such as bare or dangling wires), gas leaks and a lack of lighting.
If in doubt, as always – withdraw from your inspection and re-attend if and when it is safe to do so. You have the ultimate responsibility to keep yourself safe, with support from your employer. One small mistake can have long-term, severe consequences.
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N.b. Nothing in this article constitutes legal, professional or financial advice.