Protecting workers welfare with warm running water on site

Ensuring Compliance with Health and Safety Legislation
Health and Safety legislation states that all building contractors must comply with the requirement to provide minimum welfare facilities for their site workers. Those who fail to do so are at risk of legal action or fines if inspected by the HSE.

Construction Design and Management Regulations (2015) state that every site operative must have access to:

• Washing facilities (including clean hot and cold running water)
• Showers – where the nature of the work is particularly dirty, or there is a need to decontaminate
• Somewhere warm to change, and store and dry personal protective clothing

According to one HSE inspector:

"The need to provide running water to wash hands and arms is not a trivial matter on a building site. [If] workmen [are] pouring concrete...when splashed on the skin, this can lead to dermatitis if it is not washed off. Apart from being an unpleasant condition, in some cases it can lead to the loss of use of fingers and hands. Site contractors and supervisors...have a legal duty to ensure that adequate facilities are in place for the welfare of the workforce from the very start to the completion of construction work"

As well as dermatitis, plant and machinery operatives can also become more susceptible to hand-arm vibration if their hands are constantly cold and wet. The potential for developing conditions such as these is obviously greater in winter months.

According to the HSE's Construction Information Sheet (No. 59), any rest facilities will normally require heating. It points out that opting for the use of properly maintained electrical equipment, ensures the risks associated with some LPG boilers and heaters (such as the potential for leaking cylinders or carbon monoxide poisoning) are eliminated.


Selecting a safe, reliable and cost-effective solution
RVT's range of Climex Boilers offer a choice of different capacity boilers capable of providing temporary heating and hot water on site. They are easily connected to existing pipework using flexible hoses; this makes them ideal for connecting up to new under floor heating systems to dry-out screed. Units are supplied with an integrated heat exchanger and booster pump and there is a choice of electric, oil-fired, or dual-fuel boilers to suit different site set-ups and circumstances. Examples of which include; factories, leisure centres, hotels, small scale process schools and even marquees.

RVT's Climex Boilers are the product of choice for HVAC contractors, because they offer the safe, reliable, risk-free hot water and heating systems that other temporary solutions do not, especially during the cold and wet winter months. Given that we also take responsibility for all the annual testing required, Site Managers, Buyers, and Health and Safety Managers can rest safe in the knowledge that our equipment is safety assured, and their sites are HSE compliant.