9675 Accidents on site

We had some major landscaping done on site this week. Most of the work, involving a massive JCB and a dumper truck was done by two men who turned up for work on Tuesday somewhat subdued. It transpired that one of their colleagues, a highly experienced stonemason, had died on another site the previous day. He lost his footing on scaffolding and suffered a fatal fall. The stoicism of the men on my site was remarkable: if that's what God wants, that's what God gets. They told me that such accidents are not uncommon. I wondered subsequently what the responsibility of the client might entail in such circumstances? Let us say, for example, that work was being carried out discreetly and economically, without the appropriate level of supervision- not the case on this occasion but it happens. I know that I could have saved money by cutting such corners over the last two years. I sign cheques for the architect and his professional colleagues and I'm never entirely sure what I'm getting for my money. The building work is different- skilled labour doesn't come cheap and you can see what you're getting for your investment. I now appreciate that I'm paying the premium for the tecnico's indemnity insurance and will gladly continue to do so. Beyond that, anything else (like turning up for meetings on time and putting the fossa biologica in the right place) is a welcome bonus.

Category
Building/Renovation

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 18:02

Sadly this is an all to common story of work place accidents here in Italy as those who live here will hear every week. We all try to save money but health and safety security is one area that it just is not worth the gamble. The problem is ( not just here in Italy ) that many workers will say not to worry about security projects, they have worked for years without incident and ou should save your money. Problem with safety is complacency and it almost always takes a second set of eyes to spot dodgy this or that. Here in Italy if you have work done on your house you are responsible for any accidents that happen, therefore it is essential to have a security project in place and controlled by a qualified person, not all architects are qualified to produce and follow a security project.
I think we are all tempted by savings and especially so if your place is out in the countryside and unlikely to be checked by the ( i forgot the name of the controllers) but we should all do our bit and help protect others and ourselves from injury and court cases. HAVE A PROPER SECURITY PROJECT DRAWN UP AND FOLLOWED UP.

Steve

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 01:23

I completely agree. There are times to cut corners and times when it is a false economy.
With anything involving scaffolding or roof work, for me, a contract and a builder with insurance (that you need to see) is essential.
We have a friend who thoughts he was covered, because the work was being done by people he'd known all his life. The project was about €100,000. Someone died and he is being sued for €5,000,000. The legal costs for a lawsuit, that is likely to last 5 or even 7 years, will be huge.
It is not just us new arrivals it's everyone andit is not just a case of losing your house.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 02:42

well posted and sensible replies.... i think as long as people are made aware of situations it is something that they then have to decide on... but its as well to remind all of us that labour that is not legal here carries much higher consequences than the savings if things do go wrong...

we even took out additional insurance on a work project because it was during a sale and the owners felt pre-occupied about the level of cover and for an additional 100 euro or so we had in place a policy to protect them

recently giving a breakdown of costs to a client we forgot to mention that the geometras bill needed an additional four per cent added for his professional association... this is the bit that covers the accident part of the build... either personal or structural... also he is responsible then for ensuring builders or technicians that are used have their own cover.... then its all up to them and providing you have signed all the contracts you can cease to worry ...

another point now beyond just the problems mentioned is that now with the new laws regarding conformity ...its well worth employing legal techs here for all electrical work and piping as even if its some sort of additional part to a " to norm" installation extra bits need to have paperwork attached to prove they are also as required by law and have been fitted by a qualified technician....

its very worth while in my mind to think carefully about all the above before making decisions... on who does work on your property... and in fact even before buying to take into consideration some of the costs and factors above and maybe not only consider the view ...but also what funds you think will be needed to do work properly here...