BOZP and safety coordinator for the construction industry

A construction site is a dynamic working environment where risks change from day to day. That is precisely why it is important to assess and manage risks systematically. Below are the most common risk categories that must be covered by the site safety plan and day-to-day coordination.

The safety coordinator is a key role on every construction site where more than one contractor is present. Under § 3 ods. 1 of Government Regulation No. 396/2006 Coll., the developer must appoint one documentation coordinator (§ 5) and one safety coordinator (§ 6) for every construction site on which more than one employer or more than one natural person — entrepreneur will be working. The obligation therefore arises as soon as two companies or sole traders are present on the same site.

The documentation coordinator under § 5 acts during the design phase — incorporating general principles of prevention into the project documentation and participating in drawing up the site safety plan. The safety coordinator under § 6 acts during construction — coordinating the performance of tasks, supervising compliance with the site safety plan, cooperation between contractors and adjustments to the plan as the works progress. The coordinator may be a person authorised to act as a site manager, a construction supervisor or a safety technician; however, the site manager may not act as coordinator on a site where they perform that function.

Work at height is one of the most frequent sources of serious accidents in the construction industry. The basic regulation is Decree No. 147/2013 Coll., which in Annex No. 6 governs safety when working at height and above open depth. A person must be protected against a fall whenever there is a risk of a fall exceeding 1.5 m, preferably by collective safeguards (guardrails, scaffolding, catch nets) and, only where that is not possible, by personal protective equipment (OOPP) against falling.

• Protective measures are not required if the workplace is demarcated by a barrier at least 1.5 m from the edge of the fall.
• Protective guardrails must be double-railed, with a top rail at least 1 m high and a toe board at least 0.15 m above the floor.
• The minimum clear headroom of a scaffold floor level must be at least 1.8 m.
• The arrest system (full-body harness, fall arrester, anchorage devices) must be correctly assembled and used by a trained person in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

OOPP (personal protective equipment) against falling is also governed by Government Regulation No. 395/2006 Coll. The employer is obliged to provide effective OOPP and keep it in working order; failure to provide or maintain effective OOPP is a serious breach of obligations. The training frequency for work at height is generally shorter than the general interval — in practice one year is cited, which derives from technical standards and special regulations, not directly from Decree No. 147/2013 Coll. Work on scaffolding, ladders and roofs is among works with particular danger.

On a construction site, flammable substances, gases, open flame during welding and electrical equipment are all present, so fire protection (OPP) is an integral part of site safety. The basic regulation is Act No. 314/2001 Coll. on fire protection. Under § 4, a legal entity and a natural person-entrepreneur are obliged to carry out preventive fire inspections, remove identified deficiencies and comply with measures at locations and in activities with an elevated risk of fire.

For activities with elevated risk (typically welding and other open-flame work), fire patrols are established. The tasks and establishment of a workplace fire patrol and a fire assistance patrol, as well as the content and scope of their training, are governed by Decree of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic No. 121/2002 Coll. on fire prevention. Comprehensive fire documentation for the project, employee training on fire protection and the professional training of patrols are just as important on a construction site as the BOZP (occupational health and safety) agenda itself.

• Fire extinguishers must be inspected at least once every 24 months under § 9 of Decree No. 347/2022 Coll.; they must be accessible on site and their location marked.
• Welding and cutting are activities with an elevated risk of fire — a written permit must be issued before they commence and, where necessary, a fire assistance patrol must be established.
• Flammable liquids and gases (thinners, fuels, pressure cylinders) are stored and used in accordance with Decree No. 38/2026 Coll. (which replaced Decree No. 96/2004 Coll. from 1 April 2026).
• Sanctions: for breaches of fire-protection obligations, a fine of up to 8,298 euros may be imposed under § 59 ods. 1 of Act No. 314/2001 Coll.; for more serious offences, up to 16,596 euros.

The occupational health service (PZS) provides surveillance over working conditions and the health of employees. For construction trades, the key elements are correct categorisation of work according to health risks and the arrangement of preventive medical examinations in relation to work. Construction workers are typically exposed to physical load, noise, vibrations, dust and constrained working postures — factors that are reflected in work category 1 or 2.

For construction companies, Alpha Safety provides PZS: categorisation of work, surveillance over working conditions and coordination of preventive medical examinations in relation to work. The joint workplace inspection is carried out by the safety service (BTS) and the occupational health service (PZS) in accordance with Act No. 124/2006 Coll. at least once a year.

Construction trades are among those most affected by occupational diseases. According to the National Health Information Centre, in 2024 disorders of bones, joints, tendons and nerves of the extremities from long-term and excessive loading accounted for as much as 47.3 % of all recognised occupational diseases, most commonly carpal tunnel syndrome. The obligation to arrange an occupational health service (PZS) applies from the first employee under § 30 of Act No. 355/2007 Coll.; for work categories 1 and 2 a simplified model applies and certain activities may also be carried out by a safety technician or a public health officer. Preventive medical examinations in relation to work are carried out under § 30e of the same act.

A construction site is full of reserved technical equipment (VTZ) subject to a strict inspection regime. Decree No. 508/2009 Coll. in § 4 classifies VTZ according to the degree of hazard into groups A (highest degree), B and C; it covers pressure, lifting, electrical and gas equipment. Typical VTZ on a construction site are building and tower cranes, mobile cranes, construction hoists, mobile elevating work platforms, site electrical installations and gas equipment.

Under § 9 and § 13 of Decree No. 508/2009 Coll., the safety condition of VTZ after installation and during operation is checked by professional inspection and test; the scope and intervals are specified in Annexes Nos. 5 to 10. For group A equipment, an official test by an authorised legal entity must be carried out before the equipment is put into operation. Missing or out-of-date inspection documentation is one of the first findings during a labour inspectorate check. VTZ inspections and complete documentation for the building completion permit are therefore an essential part of project preparation.

• Tower, mobile and building cranes in group A — official test before first commissioning, repeated professional inspections and tests during operation at the intervals specified in Annexes Nos. 5 to 10.
• Operation of a tower or mobile crane and a group A mobile elevating work platform only by a person holding a valid licence card; under § 17 ods. 2 of Decree No. 508/2009 Coll., only a load slinger holding a valid licence card may sling loads.
• Site electrical installations and hand tools are checked against standards STN 33 1600 and STN 33 1610; temporary connections, moisture and mechanical damage to cables significantly increase the risk.
• Inspection technician holding a valid certificate under § 24 of Decree No. 508/2009 Coll.; records and inspection reports are a condition for the building completion permit.

Employee education is the foundation of prevention. Under § 7 ods. 5 of Act No. 124/2006 Coll. (as amended by Act No. 114/2022 Coll. effective from 1 January 2023), repeated instruction in BOZP rules must be carried out at least once every three years, unless special regulations lay down a shorter interval. The original two-year interval was changed to three years. The employer is obliged to define the method and frequency of instruction in an internal directive.

For construction trades, additional professional competences and specialist training are also required — work at height, scaffolders, crane and construction machinery operators, load slingers, forklift operators and electrotechnical competence. For some of these activities the frequency is shorter (often annual), which follows from special regulations and STN standards. Contracted instruction may be delivered only by a person holding an authorisation issued by the National Labour Inspectorate — Alpha Safety is authorised to carry out education and training. The costs and time of training are borne by the employer and instruction is carried out during working time.

The labour inspectorate may, under § 19 of Act No. 125/2006 Coll., impose on an employer a fine of up to 100,000 euros for breaches of BOZP regulations. If the breach resulted in an occupational accident with a fatal outcome or serious bodily harm, the fine is at least 33,000 euros. Sanctions are triggered by a missing coordinator, a non-existent or outdated site safety plan, a notification not submitted, unsecured work at height, OOPP not provided and out-of-date VTZ inspection documentation.

Alpha Safety s.r.o. is an external provider of comprehensive safety services for construction companies, developers and contractors throughout Slovakia. Instead of handling each area separately, you gain a single partner for the whole of construction safety — from foundations to the building completion permit.

• BOZP — external safety service (BTS), performance of the safety coordinator role, drawing up and updating the site safety plan, risk assessment and complete documentation including pre-completion permit records.
• OPP — fire documentation for the project, employee training on fire protection, professional training of fire patrols and measures for welding work.
• PZS — categorisation of work for construction workers, surveillance over working conditions and coordination of preventive medical examinations (categories 1 and 2).
• VTZ inspections — professional inspections and tests of building and tower cranes, mobile cranes, platforms, construction hoists and site electrical equipment, including records and documentation for the building completion permit.
• Training — work at height, load slingers, crane and machinery operators, initial and refresher instruction of employees and subcontractors.

In construction projects, we most commonly encounter situations where the developer underestimates the obligation to appoint a coordinator that arises as soon as two contractors are present, or forgets to submit the notification to the labour inspectorate in time. Another typical shortcoming is a token site safety plan that is not updated after work commences to reflect the actual progress and does not cover new subcontracted packages.

Repeated findings from site inspections include: unsecured access points, failure to use OOPP (missing hard hats and appropriate footwear), unsecured edges and openings during work at height, and out-of-date VTZ inspection documentation. Our experience is unambiguous — companies with a functioning BOZP system, regular training and ongoing coordination show a minimum of shortcomings and, above all, fewer accidents.