WEL/General/TBT-WEL-015

Multi-Occupancy Site Coordination

Welfare & Site Setup › General › Multi-Occupancy Site Coordination

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Multi-occupancy sites have two or more contractors sharing the same workplace, each with their own workforce.
CDM 2015 requires the principal contractor to coordinate health and safety between all site occupants.
Shared hazards include traffic routes, plant movements, crane operations, lifting zones, and emergency access.
Different contractors may have conflicting work activities such as demolition above occupied work areas below.
Site rules must apply equally to all contractors — inconsistent standards create gaps in safety coverage.
Emergency procedures, muster points, and first aid arrangements must be shared and understood by all parties.
Regular coordination meetings between contractors prevent clashes and manage overlapping high-risk activities.
Permit systems for hot works, confined spaces, and excavations must cover all contractors operating on site.
Communication failures between contractors are a common root cause of incidents on multi-occupancy sites.
The Construction Phase Plan must address how coordination will work between all parties on the project.

Prevent interface incidents	Uncoordinated work between contractors causes struck-by, fall, and exposure incidents at shared boundaries.
Legal duty	CDM 2015 specifically requires the principal contractor to coordinate safety across all site occupants.
Consistent standards	Different safety standards between contractors on the same site create confusion and dangerous gaps in protection.

Don't

Hold regular coordination meetings with all contractors working on the multi-occupancy site
Establish common site rules that apply equally to every contractor and their workforce
Coordinate high-risk activities so conflicting operations do not occur simultaneously
Share the emergency plan, muster points, and first aid arrangements with all site occupants
Use a single permit to work system covering all contractors for controlled activities
Brief every worker through a common site induction covering shared rules and hazards
Maintain clear communication channels between all contractor supervisors on site daily
Coordinate crane operations, lifting zones, and exclusion areas across all work boundaries
Include multi-occupancy coordination requirements in the Construction Phase Plan
Investigate near misses and incidents involving interface between contractors jointly

DON'T allow contractors to operate independently without coordination on shared hazards
DON'T accept different safety standards from different contractors on the same site
DON'T start high-risk work without checking what other contractors are doing in the same area
DON'T rely on informal communication for critical safety coordination between contractors
DON'T allow multiple permit systems — use one common system across the whole site
DON'T skip the coordination meeting because individual contractors are running behind schedule
DON'T assume another contractor's workforce has received the same safety briefings as yours
DON'T allow contractors to use different emergency procedures or muster at different points
DON'T ignore near misses involving the interface between different contractors' activities
DON'T treat coordination as the principal contractor's problem alone — all parties share responsibility

See also: Site Induction Requirements | Subcontractor Safety Management

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