Actors in the design and layout of workplaces

There are 2 actors involved in the design and layout of workplaces: the contracting authority (MOA) and the supervisor (MOE).

MOA

This is the natural person or morality on whose behalf the work is carried out.

The originator defines the objectives and decides on the implementation of the operation.

The employer may, in certain cases, perform the duties of the contracting authority.

MOE

He shall be designated by the contracting authority on the basis of his technical competence to carry out the operation in accordance with the requirements issued by the MOA.

General principles

The MOA must comply with legal regulations to protect the health and safety of workers.

The MOA: titleContent prepare and forward a work site maintenance file to the employer at the time the premises are taken over and no later than the following month.

It includes the technical records and files of all the company's buildings (cleaning of glass surfaces, roads for example).

The maintenance document shall be made available to the labor inspectorate and to the safety prevention services Carsat: titleContent.

The maintenance file shall contain provisions for any subsequent work necessary for the maintenance of the premises.

This information is collected in the Subsequent Work Intervention Document (OILD).

In addition to the notices and technical files, this file shall contain the provisions for cleaning glass surfaces in elevation and roofing.

It also lays down the conditions for access by roofing:

• Means of securing for short-term operations
• Possibilities for rapid installation of guard rails or safety nets for larger operations
• Permanent taxiways for frequent interventions.

The dossier shall also contain measures to facilitate the maintenance of facades (e.g. means of securing and stability of scaffolding or nacelle).

It also includes measures that will facilitate interior maintenance such as access to elevator machinery or piping.

The various hygiene rules concern several areas.

Ventilation, ventilation and sanitation

The MOA: titleContent shall design the buildings in such a way that the layout of the working rooms allows the following:

• Maintain cleanliness
• Avoiding temperature and condensation elevations
• Avoid unpleasant odors.

These facilities are designed to:

• Ensure air renewal at all points of the premises
• Do not cause discomfort in the working areas resulting in particular from the speed, temperature and humidity of the air, noise and vibrations
• Do not cause significant discomfort to the sound levels resulting from the proposed activity on the premises.

Employees may stay at the following premises:

• Spaces with non-specific pollution, premises in which pollution is linked solely to human presence (offices, sales hall, for example)
• Spaces with specific pollution, spaces in which dangerous or inconvenient substances are emitted. They can be emitted in the form of gas, vapors, solid or liquid aerosol (in a car garage for example). Exposure thresholds must be respected.

In order to protect the health of employees, installations must not contain materials which may emit dust or dangerous substances.

Facilities must be capable of regular maintenance and performance checks.

Lighting

Lighting is provided to prevent eye strain and resulting eye damage. It must make it possible to detect risks perceptible to the eye.

Buildings must be designed so that natural light can be used for the lighting of premises.

The workplace must have sufficient natural light. In working areas, the level of illumination shall be adapted to the nature of the work to be carried out.

The lighting equipment shall be settled in such a way that it can be easily maintained.

The employer shall lay down the rules for the periodic maintenance of equipment in order to ensure a constant state of good operation.

These rules shall be recorded in a document which shall be communicated to the ESC: titleContent.

Soundproofing

Spaces containing work equipment which exposes workers to a sound level of more than 85 decibels must be designed to:

• Reduce the reverberation of noise on the walls of these rooms
• Limit the propagation of noise to other premises.

Temperature

Workplaces must be designed in such a way as to allow the temperature to be adapted to the human organism.

The equipment and characteristics of the work rooms shall be designed to allow the adaptation of human temperature during work taking into account the methods and physical constraints.

The enclosed premises, which are assigned to work, are heated during the cold season.

The heating must be operated in such a way as to maintain a suitable temperature and not to give rise to any fumes which could endanger the health of the employee.

Sanitation and catering facilities

The employer must provide workers with the means to ensure their individual cleanliness.

The building must have changing rooms, washbasins, toilets and, in the case of dirty work, showers.

Of sanitary facilities must be provided for establishments employing mixed staff. They must also be accessible to people with disabilities.

One catering room must be provided in establishments with 50 or more employees.

For companies with fewer than 50 employees, a location that can perform other functions must allow workers to recover.

The different security rules cover several areas.

Characteristics of workplaces

Buildings shall be designed and constructed to withstand the following constraints:

• Combined effect of their own weight
• Extreme Weather Loads
• Maximum overloads corresponding to their type of use.

Buildings must be designed and constructed in such a way that glass surfaces in elevation or roofing can be cleaned and maintained without danger.

In order to comply with safety and hygiene conditions, floors, walls and ceilings must be designed so that they can be cleaned and repaired.

Floors must be free of bumps, holes and dangerous inclined planes. They must be fixed, stable and non-slip.

Taxiways and access

The organization of circulation in the establishment must be taken into account when designing the building.

Taxiways shall be designed to:

• Allow easy and safe use by pedestrians and vehicles
• Protect employees who work near roads.

Hazard zones which cannot be avoided must be marked with appropriate signs which are visible to all.

Docks and loading ramps

Docks and loading ramps shall be designed according to the dimensions of the loads likely to be transported.

They are arranged and arranged to prevent workers from falling.

Arrangement of workplaces and workstations

The surface area and height of the working rooms must allow an employee to perform his task without any risk.

A room of 1^eremergency assistance shall be provided, from the design stage of the premises where the number of staff is:

• 200 or more employees in industrial establishments,
• 500 or more employees in other establishments.

Outdoor work stations shall be so arranged as to allow rapid evacuation of employees in the event of danger or the rapid arrival of emergency workers. They are protected against falling objects.

As far as possible, employees must be protected from weather conditions.

They must not be exposed to excessive noise levels or to emissions of dangerous substances.

Steps should be taken to prevent falls and slips.

Signs concerning the health and safety of employees must be settled at the workplace.

Accessibility and layout of workplaces and workplaces for disabled workers

Workplaces in a new building are accessible to disabled people, regardless of their type of disability.

Workplaces shall be designed in such a way as to enable workplaces to be adapted to disabled persons.

Electrical network

Electrical installations shall be designed and constructed in such a way as to avoid the risk of electric shock, by direct or indirect contact.

The MOA: titleContent draw up and forward to the employer a technical file on the electrical installations carried out.

Electrical installations must be carried out in order to comply with the following constraints:

• No active part shall be accessible to workers, except in rooms provided for that purpose.
• In the event of an insulation fault, no mass shall present a dangerous potential difference.

In an emergency, there are devices to cut off the power supply.

The rooms must have emergency lighting.

Combating the risk of fires and explosions

In the event of a disaster, the buildings are designed to:

• Promptly evacuate occupants or postpone evacuation safely
• Facilitating access and response of fire and rescue services
• Limit the spread of the fire.

Clearances, such as doors, corridors, staircases and ramps, shall allow rapid evacuation of the establishment.

Each clearance must have a minimum width of passage. The amount must be proportionate to the total number of persons required to borrow it.

A natural or mechanical smoke-removal system must be settled in rooms of more than:

• 300 mths² located on the ground floor and upstairs,
• 100 mths² for those who are "blind" or located in the basement.

Fixed installations for heating and hot water must not present a risk to the health and safety of workers.