Special Hazards and Qualifications
4. Responsabilities and Controls
Given the importance of carrying out hazardous tasks in accordance with working methods that are both suitable and safe, the responsibilities of each person involved in the process of identifying these tasks, drawing up working methods and making them known, and controlling the carrying out of hazardous tasks need to be made very clear.
4.1. Those responsible for Identifying Hazardous Tasks
The Risk Prevention Department is responsible for identifying the hazardous tasks usually associated with the Firm’s activities. Nevertheless, the hazardous tasks associated with specific jobs to be carried out on site may be identified by Works Supervisors or Managers, who may ask the Risk Prevention Technicians for advice.
4.2. Those responsible for drawing up the Safe Working Method and making it known
The complexity of the planned working method as well as the way of making it known is determined taking into account the hazard level of the task in question, the existence of specific applicable regulations, the frequency with which the hazardous task is carried out and the number of workers who are affected by its carrying out.
The working methods for tasks classified as hazardous may be presented and made known in the following ways:
- Risk assessments by tasks: realized by risk prevention specialists.
- Technical Instructions: drawn up by technical specialists from diverse departments (erection, maintenance, power lines, sub-stations, new energies, automation, construction, general services, risk prevention, etc.) and which form part of the corporative Manuals, available over the Intranet.
- Work Instructions: drawn up by risk prevention specialists and which form part of the present Manual.
- Regulations regarding actions included in Health and Safety Plans: these are drawn up by on-site technical specialists and are made known to all those working on the job by means of the mandatory explanation of the Safety Plan, prior to the commencement of work of any kind.
- Regulations regarding actions included in Risk Assessments: drawn up by risk prevention specialists and available over the Intranet.
- Monthly topics: drawn up by risk prevention specialists and made known via the Monthly Risk Prevention and Environment Report (PYMA).
4.3. Authorisation systems for carrying out hazardous tasks
In addition to the pre-task safety talk given by the Works Supervisor to all affected workers and to documenting the naming of the corresponding Preventive Resource figure who will supervise said hazardous task in a continuous way, several systems have been devised for authorising workers to carry out and/or supervise a particular hazardous task depending on the estimated hazard level of the task in question and on the existence of specific legislation. These systems are as follows:
- Authorisation system for the carrying out of certain tasks involving special hazards or the handling of certain equipment that may be the source of special hazards described in detail in the section “Qualifications for jobs involving special hazards”.
- Authorisation system arising from the existence of specific applicable legislation: on the basis of and motivated by Spanish Royal Decree 614/2001, a procedure has been created to authorise workers who carry out particular tasks involving an electrical hazard: described in detail in the section “Qualifications for jobs involving special hazards”.
- Authorisation system for handling hazardous work equipment: work equipment that may be classified as especially hazardous includes mobile and/or mechanical load handling work equipment, as well as any other equipment that may be the source of very serious or mortal injuries (gantry cranes, truck-mounted light cranes, trucks in general, dumpers, forklifts, circular saws, hoisting machinery, etc.). Accordingly, it has been previously determined that those workers authorised to handle such equipment must be specifically trained and/or have proven experience. They are then authorised using the templates provided for this purpose: Authorisation to handle work equipment and Authorisation to handle (site) equipment.
For the rest of the tasks considered hazardous and not contemplated in the aforementioned cases, the Works Supervisor or Manager shall determine the personnel who are qualified to carry out such tasks, requesting, should they consider it necessary, any information they consider appropriate from the person in charge of the Personnel Department.
4.4. Systems for Monitoring Working Methods
Supervising that hazardous tasks are carried out in accordance with the planned working method corresponds to the Preventive Resource figure, to the Works Manager and to the Works Supervisor. All these figures are also responsible for checking the efficacy of the working method that has been drawn up and of proposing possible improvements to it.
The job of the Preventive Resource figure may be summarised as overseeing the fulfilment of health and safety regulations and, in particular, of the measures included in the Health and Safety Plan for the jobs in question, checking that said measures are suitable for controlling risks during hazardous jobs or those involving special hazards.
If in the course of supervising any task, the Preventive Resource figure detects an imminent hazard or risk or incompliance with health and safety regulations, he must:
- Give the necessary instructions for correct and immediate compliance with the preventive measures.
- Inform the Manager in charge so that the necessary measures are taken to correct any deficiencies that are not rectified immediately.
Works Supervisors and/or Risk Prevention Specialists shall check, by means of health and safety inspections of work sites and storehouses, that the tasks identified as being hazardous are carried out in accordance with the planned working methods and that said methods are effective. In any case whatsoever, they may propose improvements to employed working methods .
