Construction (Working Places) Regulations 1966
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1966/94 |
| Year | 1966 |
1966 No. 94
FACTORIES
The Construction (Working Places) Regulations 196631stJanuary 1966
11thFebruary 1966
1stAugust 1966
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
Reg
PART I. Application and Interpretation .. .. .. .. 1–4
PART II. Exemptions .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 5
PART III. Safety of Working Places and Access and Egress .. .. 6–38
PART IV. Keeping of Records .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 39
REGULATIONS
The Minister of Labour—
(a) by virtue of the powers conferred on him by sections 76 and 180(7) of the Factories Act 1961(a) and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf; and
(b) after publishing, pursuant to Schedule 4 to the said Act of 1961, notice of the proposal to make the Regulations and after the holding of an inquiry under that Schedule into objections made to the draft,
hereby makes the following special Regulations:—
PART I
APPLICATION AND INTERPRETATION
Citation, commencement and revocation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Construction (Working Places) Regulations 1966 and shall come into operation on 1st August 1966.
(2) The following provisions are hereby revoked, that is to say,
(a) Regulations 6 to 33 of the Building (Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations 1948(b);
(b) in Regulation 3(1) of the Construction (General Provisions) Regulations 1961(c) the words from "every contractor" (in the first place where those words occur after sub-paragraph (b)) to "and of"; and
(c) Regulations 7 and 54 of the said Regulations of 1961.
(3) In Regulation 3(1)(a) of the said Regulations of 1961 "8" shall be substituted for "7", and in Regulation 3(1)(b) thereof the reference to Regulation 54 shall be omitted.
Application of Regulations
2.—(1) These Regulations apply—
(a) to building operations; and
(b) S.I. 1948/1145 (Rev. VII, p. 191: 1948 I, p. 953).
(c) S.I. 1961/1580 (1961 II, p. 3207).
(b) to works of engineering construction;
undertaken by way of trade or business, or for the purpose of any industrial or commercial undertaking, or by or on behalf of the Crown or any municipal or other public authority, and to any line or siding which is used in connection therewith and for the purposes thereof and is not part of a railway or tramway.
(2) The provisions of these Regulations shall be in addition to and not in substitution for or in diminution of other requirements imposed by or under the principal Act.
Obligations under Regulations
3.—(1) It shall be the duty of every contractor, and every employer of workmen, who is undertaking any of the operations or works to which these Regulations apply—
(a) to comply with such of the requirements of the following Regulations as affect him or any workman employed by him, that is to say, Regulations 6 to 23, 25, 30, 31, 32, 36 and 38 and, in so far as they relate to the falling or slipping of persons, Regulations 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 33, 34 and 35: Provided that the requirements of the said Regulations shall be deemed not to affect any workman if and so long as his presence in any place is not in the course of performing any work on behalf of his employer and is not expressly or impliedly authorised or permitted by his employer; and
(b) to comply with such of the requirements of the following Regulations as relate to any work, act or operation performed or about to be performed by any such contractor or employer of workmen, that is to say, Regulations 37 and 39 and, in so far as they relate to the falling of materials and articles, Regulations 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 33, 34 and 35,
and it shall be the duty of every contractor and every employer of workmen who erects or alters any scaffold to comply with such of the requirements of these Regulations as relate to the erection or alteration of scaffolds having regard to the purpose or purposes for which the scaffold is designed at the time of erection or alteration; and of every contractor and every employer of workmen who erects, installs, works or uses any other plant or equipment to which any of the provisions of these Regulations applies, to erect, install, work or use any such plant or equipment in a manner which complies with those provisions.
(2) It shall be the duty of every person employed to comply with the requirements of such of these Regulations as relate to the performance of or the refraining from an act by him and to co-operate in carrying out these Regulations and if he discovers any defect in the plant or equipment to report such defect without unreasonable delay to his employer or foreman, or to a person appointed by the employer under Part II of the Construction (General Provisions) Regulations 1961.
Interpretation
4.—(1) The Interpretation Act 1889(a) shall apply to the interpretation of these Regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament, and as if these Regulations and the Regulations hereby revoked were Acts of Parliament.
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them respectively, that is to say—
"ladder" does not include a folding step-ladder;
(a) 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63.
"ladder scaffold" means a scaffold with a working platform which is supported directly on a ladder or by means of a crutch or bracket on a rung or rungs of a ladder;
"lifting appliance" means a crab, winch, pulley block or gin wheel used for raising or lowering, and a hoist, crane, sheer legs, excavator, dragline, piling frame, aerial cableway, aerial ropeway or overhead runway;
"lifting gear" means a chain sling, rope sling, or similar gear, and a ring, link, hook, plate clamp, shackle, swivel or eye-bolt;
"plant or equipment" includes any plant, equipment, gear, machinery, apparatus or appliance, or any part thereof;
"the principal Act" means the Factories Act 1961 as amended by or under any other Act;
"scaffold" means any temporarily provided structure on or from which persons perform work in connection with operations or works to which these Regulations apply, and any temporarily provided structure which enables persons to obtain access to or which enables materials to be taken to any place at which such work is performed, and includes any working platform, gangway, run, ladder or step-ladder (other than an independent ladder or step-ladder which does not form part of such a structure) together with any guard-rail, toe-board or other safeguards and all fixings, but does not include a lifting appliance or a structure used merely to support such an appliance or to support other plant or equipment;
"sloping roof" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 35;
"slung scaffold" means a scaffold suspended by means of lifting gear, ropes or chains or rigid members and not provided with means of raising or lowering by a lifting appliance or similar device;
"suspended scaffold" means a scaffold (not being a slung scaffold) suspended by means of ropes or chains and capable of being raised or lowered but does not include a boatswain's chair or similar appliance;
"trestle scaffold" includes a scaffold in which the supports for the platform are any of the following which are self-supporting that is to say, split heads, folding step-ladders, tripods or movable contrivances similar to any of the foregoing; and
"working platform" includes a working stage.
PART II
EXEMPTIONS
Certificates of exemption
5. The Chief Inspector may (subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified therein) by certificate in writing (which he may in his discretion revoke at any time) exempt from all or any of the requirements of these Regulations—
(a) any particular plant or equipment or any class or description of plant or equipment; or
(b) any particular work or any class or description of work;
if he is satisfied that the requirements in respect of which the exemption is granted are not necessary for the protection of persons employed or are not reasonably practicable.
PART III
SAFETY OF WORKING PLACES AND ACCESS AND EGRESS
General
6.—(1) Without prejudice to the other provisions of these Regulations, there shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, be suitable and sufficient safe access to and egress from every place at which any person at any time works, which access and egress shall be properly maintained.
(2) Without prejudice to the other provisions of these Regulations, every place at which any person at any time works shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, be made and kept safe for any person working there.
Provision of scaffolds, etc.
7. Without prejudice to the other provisions of these Regulations, where work cannot safely be done on or from the ground or from part of a building or other permanent structure, there shall be provided, placed and kept in position for use and properly maintained either scaffolds or where appropriate ladders or other means of support, all of which shall be sufficient and suitable for the purpose.
Supervision of work and inspection of material
8. No scaffold shall be erected or be substantially added to or altered or be dismantled except under the immediate supervision of a competent person and so far as possible by competent workmen possessing adequate experience of such work. All material for any scaffold shall be inspected by a competent person on each occasion before being taken into use.
Construction and material
9.—(1) Every scaffold and every part thereof shall be of good construction, of suitable and sound material and of adequate strength for the purpose for which it is used.
(2) Sufficient material shall be provided for and shall be used in the construction of scaffolds.
(3) Timber used for scaffolds shall be of suitable quality, be in good condition, and have the bark completely stripped off.
(4) Timber used for scaffolds, trestles, ladders, and folding step-ladders shall not be so painted or treated that defects cannot easily be seen.
(5) Metal parts used for scaffolds shall be of suitable quality and be in good condition and free from...
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