SPS coordinators: the first voluntary standard for your toolbox
Published in July 2016, the French voluntary standard P 99-600 sets out for the first time common criteria for project owners to help them choose a health and safety coordinator (CSPS).
Falls from height or on the same level, injuries, collisions… The building and public works sector presents the highest risk of accidents. To anticipate them, project owners call on the services of an SPS coordinator. The latter facilitates communication between the various parties involved in the project, optimizes the organization of worksites and subsequent work on the structure, and anticipates any risks.
European and French regulations* require the presence of an SPS coordinator for any operation involving more than one company (including subcontractors).
“ This is a recent activity, instituted some twenty years ago to reduce claims on building sites. The regulations aim to strengthen coordination and integrate health and safety measures right from the project design stage. What’s more, thanks to effective SPS coordination, the project owner avoids the penal risk inherent in his regulatory obligations.“says Roger Piotto, Chairman of the Groupement des Organisations Représentatives des Coordonnateurs de Sécurité et Protection de la Santé (GOC.sps) and of the AFNOR “Coordonnateurs Sécurité et Protection de la Santé” standardization commission.
Project owners in the building and public works sector are faced with a number of challenges in meeting regulatory requirements. ” And all this, without any explanations or tools for drawing up the tender documents and, in particular, the rules for consultation, which would enable the competent coordinator to be chosen on the basis of objective criteria “, Roger Piotto laments.
In response, a number of players from the profession, the administration and prevention institutions have decided to take action, and have joined forces to define best practices for consultation and evaluation of SPS coordinator tenders for project owners.
Initiated in 2010 by the GOC.sps, this standardization work has now resulted in the publication of the first voluntary standard on the subject, P 99-600.
A recognized complement to CSPS regulations
What are the benefits of this standard? “It’s a practical guide to structuring the consultation, in particular the program elements to be supplied by the client. As a result, SPS coordinators now have a more precise set of specifications, enabling them to better meet the requirements of their assignments, better assess the risks arising from co-activity, and better cost their services at the right price…“answers Roger Piotto.
The P 99-600 standard has already won over coordinator organizations in European countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, etc.) as well as the European Commission. ” At a symposium organized by GOC.sps and attended by the DGT (Direction Générale du Travail) and prevention specialists, the European Commission expressed its interest in this French initiative,” concludes Roger Piotto.
*
European Directive 92/57/EEC of June 24, 1992, transposed into French law by Law 93-1418 of 12/31/93 and four implementing decrees, including Decree 94-1159 of 12/26/94. All these provisions have been codified in Articles L.4532-1 et seq. and R.4532-1 et seq. of the French Labor Code.
The
organizations
members of the AFNOR standards commission
:
AEL INGENIERIE ; AITF ; BECS SARL ; CFDT ; CGT ; CNAMTS ; COORD’IF ; COSEBA ; CRAMIF ; DGALN – DG AMENAGEMENT LOGEMENT NATURE ; DGT – DION GENERALE DU TRAVAIL ; FFB ; FNTP ; GOC.SPS-COPREC ; GOC.SPS-AFCO ; GOC.SPS-CINOV ; GOC.SPS-UNTEC ; INRS ; OPPBTP ; PARIS AEROPORT, SOCOTEC France ; VILLE DE PARIS.
> Find out more about the AFNOR “Health and safety coordinators (SPS)” standardization committee…
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