Safety first, as a motto and everyday approach to work, is deeply rooted in the corporate culture of Oktopaz and represents one of our core values. Above all, we take care of the safety of employees and the protection of the environment.
In its proposals and reports, Oktopaz refers to health, safety and environment as health & safety and frequently uses the acronym HSE.
Health & safety coordination is a legal obligation in Serbia [1] whenever two or more (sub)contractors work on a building larger than 300 square meters. Health & safety coordination is also mandatory for facilities of less than 300 square meters if works bear a specific risk of injuries and damage to the employees’ health.
The client, or his representative, is required to appoint one or more coordinators whose principal responsibility is to prepare a health and safety plan for preventive measures (henceforth the safety plan) and one or more coordinators to coordinate the (sub)contractors during the work. Following the legal terminology, they are the coordinator for design development and the coordinator for work carried out.
Oktopaz engages coordinators who meet the legal requirements to do the job. In addition to fulfilling other conditions, they have passed the professional exam for performing the tasks of the appropriate coordinator.
The client, or his representative, is obliged to ensure the development of a safety plan before starting works on the construction site. He is obliged to modify or supplement the safety plan due to changes that affect the application of measures for safe and healthy work on the construction site no later than five days before the start of work that is affected by these changes.
The safety plan encompasses a site layout plan, a description of the organisation and technology of works, a schedule of phases and work tasks, and specific measures for safe and healthy work.
The client, or his representative, is obliged to submit a notice of the construction site to the competent labour inspection office no later than 15 days before the start of works. He is obliged to update the notice of the construction site in case of changes that affect the completion of works, introduction of a new subcontractor, or temporary suspension of work. The client, or his representative, submits an updated notice of the construction site to the competent labour inspection office no later than 15 days from the update. He places a visible copy of the original or updated information on the construction site.
The health & safety coordinator performs tasks per the regulations and, among other things, keeps records of daily visits to the construction site in the form of a report.
The crucial part of the health and safety coordinator report concerns the shortcomings observed on the construction site and proposals for eliminating them.
In the sensitive area of health & safety, Oktopaz insists on discipline, regular reporting, and immediate elimination of the observed shortcomings.
- Decree on Health & Safety at Work on Temporary or Mobile Construction Sites (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, Nos. 14/2009, 95/2010, 98/2018, 35/2023 – Other Act and 76/2024)