Construction: The role of a Health and Safety Project Coordinator (HSPC)

A HSPC’s role is to be a key project advisor for their client on all construction health and safety risk management matters.

There must be a HSPC appointed for all major construction projects. 

What the HSPC is not responsible for

The HSPC is not responsible for:

• the management of health and safety during construction work
  
• coordination between all parties
  
• health and safety issues on and off site 
  
• identifying hazards and / or preparing design risk management information
  
• providing pre-construction information
  
• health and safety aspects of the design, including the function and operation of the structure and its components
  
• the collateral warranties and insurance against the specification of deleterious materials 
  

The HSPC is not required to:

• carry out site inspections and safety checks
  
• review the construction risk assessments and method statements
  
• monitor health and safety during construction
  
• visit site to check that the welfare facilities are provided and compliant
  
• approve the appointment of designers, principal contractors or contractors
  
• approve or check designs
  
• approve the principal contractor’s construction phase plan
  
• supervise implementation of the construction phase plan
  

The HSPC can’t insist on design changes or specify construction methods.

What the HSPC is responsible for

The HSPC is responsible for:

• advising and assisting the client with their duties
  
• notifying the Health and Safety Inspectorate of the project using the online notification form (below)
  
• the coordination of the health and safety aspects of the design work to check that the appropriate design risk management procedures have been used to remove or reduce hazards
  
• checking that the different design elements work together without causing danger
  
• facilitating effective cooperation and coordination between all parties involved with the project
  
• facilitating good communication and managing the flow of information between the client, designers and contractors
  
• liaising with the principal contractor regarding any ongoing aspects of the design
  
• collating the relevant pre-construction information (obtained from the client and possibly the early designers), and passing it on to the relevant people involved with the construction phase
  
• preparing and updating the health and safety file
  

To find out all the legal responsibilities of the HSPC, read Regulation 8 of the Management in Construction (Jersey) Regulations 2016, using the link below.

Guidance on the Construction (Jersey) Regulations 2016  

How to notify the Health and Safety Inspectorate of a project

You can let us know about a new construction project use the form below.

Notify the Health and Safety Inspectorate about a major construction project

Additional services that may be offered by the HSPC

The HSPC may be able to offer some additional services as part of their contract, but these are not legal requirements.

These include:

• assisting with obtaining surveys and reports
  
• defining project health and safety goals
  
• reviewing site health and safety management during the construction phase
  
• providing additional copies of documentation, for example files and preparing abstracts for tenants
  
• reviewing team health and safety performance at project completion