Safety and safety planning - Tunnel Engineering: Basics and Additional Services for Design and Construction - page 323

- Consideration of health and safety interactions between works on the site and other
operational activities or influences on or near the site; taking care of securing the site
to avoid reciprocal hazards.
- Updating and completion of the file with the necessary details for the safe and healthy
implementation of later works.
- Organisation and implementation of safety meetings and walk-arounds and evaluation
of the results.
Who can be appointed as a coordinator? Clients and their appointed third parties have
the following possibilities: They can undertake the function of coordinator themselves,
when they have the suitable capabilities, or they can appoint a coordinator (for example an
external service provider or a consultant) who possesses the necessary capabilities.
According to the type and complexity of the construction measure, architects, engineers,
technicians or masters can be regarded as suitable. This group of people can either be
entrusted with the coordination duties according to BaustellV exclusively or in addition to
their already existing tasks in design or construction.
In every case, coordinators must ensure in their personal behaviour that they devote ad-
equate attention and influence to the duties.
Independent of the type and extent of the construction project, it may also be necessary to
appoint more than one coordinator. In this case the duties and authority should be clearly
delineated.
What is not permissible is the blanket transfer of the duties of coordinator by the client
to one of the contractors as part of the usual tender process, since part of the tasks of the
coordinator should already have been performed at the time of the award.
What qualifications does a coordinator need? Coordinators must possess knowledge
and experience in construction and health and safety protection. They may have gained
this knowledge and experience in the course of a professional training (as architect, engi-
neer, technician or master) or through a training in health and safety protection (for exam-
ple as a health and safety officer with experience in construction) or in the course of many
years of activity in the construction industry (for example in preliminary design, design or
detailed design, or in construction) and in health and safety responsibilities on site. They
must also have knowledge of the specific activities, tasks and duties of a coordinator. This
knowledge for a coordinator can be gained on training courses recognised by the accident
insurance body.
For the specific needs of tunnelling, the requirements demanded of a health and safety
coordinator in this specialist field could include:
- Required knowledge and capabilities in construction: architect or engineer.
- Required knowledge and capabilities in health and safety protection: health and safety
officer or able to demonstrate extensive knowledge and experience in the application of
health and safety regulations on large sites.
- Experience: extensive project-specific experience (about five years) in design and/or
construction according to the coordinator duties.
- Coordinator duties: construction project-related knowledge and experience of the spe-
cial tasks, activities and duties under BaustellV.