Even before the summer holidays in 2021, inspectors of the National Labour Inspectorate carried out intensified inspections on small construction sites. The controlled entities were companies performing various types of construction work on small construction sites, defined for the purposes of the action as places of construction work, where, as a rule, up to 20 people work at the same time.

On 438 construction sites, labour inspectors carried out 648 inspections of 643 entrepreneurs carrying out works including by:

• thermal insulation and finishing of facades of residential buildings, including single-family houses;
• renovation of the façades of the walls of service buildings, multi-family and single-family buildings;
• renovation of roofs of residential buildings, including single-family houses;
• earthworks and general construction works related to the erection of commercial and service buildings (pavilions) or single-family residential buildings;
• street renovation;
• construction and installation works in trenches.

Inspections on small construction sites as part of the campaign were carried out on different days and at different times, also outside the established working hours of the office. The most irregularities were found by labour inspectors when working at heights without protection against falling from a height – 61% of inspections confirmed threats to the health and life of working people. Another dominant irregularity was the use of incomplete and assembled scaffolds not in accordance with the instructions (57% of controls). As regards the organization of the works, the reservations concerned the lack or improper fencing and marking of hazardous areas and places, i.e. earthworks, construction machinery work zones, work in excavations, on roofs or on scaffoldings, where there is a risk of objects falling from a height (34% of inspections). ).

Labour inspectors have repeatedly stated the lack of protection of electric cables against mechanical damage, which, if left on communication routes, posed a risk of tripping and falling, and in the event of their damage – electric shock. This applied to every fourth audited construction site.

The summary of the effects of the action „Inspections on small construction sites” in 2021 in absolute numbers is as follows: labour inspectors issued 3,637 decisions, of which 2,832 (78% issued) ordered the immediate elimination of direct threats to the life or health of workers. On average, during one inspection, almost 6 orders were issued, including more than 4 related to the elimination of direct threats to the life or health of working people.

Labour inspectors issued:

• 356 decisions to suspend works which concerned 827 people;
• 258 decisions to suspend the operation of machines posing a threat to the operators;
• 202 decisions to delegate 445 people to other work, due to the lack of personal protective equipment or not having the appropriate qualifications to operate machinery and equipment;
• 54 decisions to prohibit the performance of works involving 178 people – in situations of exceptional health and life threat;
• 1961 decisions with the pain of immediate enforceability, pursuant to Art. 108 of the Code of Civil Procedure, due to the protection of human health or life.
• Additionally, labour inspectors provided 2,413 technical advice.

In addition:

• 382 applications were addressed to employers in their speeches, indicating the need to respect the law also in the future;
• 296 persons guilty of offenses against the rights of working persons were punished – with fines in the total amount of PLN 335.9 thousand. zloty;
• educational influence measures were applied to 133 people;
• 3 requests for punishment were submitted to the court;
• in one case, the prosecutor’s office was notified of a suspicion of a crime (no decision of the Office of Technical Inspection authorizing the operation of a sub-supervision device).
• Due to gross violations of health and safety regulations, revealed during two subsequent inspections, the inspectors submitted 2 applications to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) for a 100% increase in the accident insurance premium.

Source: https://www.pip.gov.pl/pl/wiadomosci/127856,bezpieczenstwo-pracy-na-malych-budowach-wyniki-kontroli-pip.html

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.