Perhaps the most important thing when taking on a new project is to define and document what the project aims to deliver. A clear and agreed scope of works will ensure the success of the project.

The Client/Project Brief (HSI30) is available below to help you define your requirements.

Asset standards are available covering a whole range of subject specific topics such as Water Production, Water Network, Electical, Mechanical as examples, used during the design process for further information please contact AM.Standards@thameswater.co.uk.

Click here to see a list of the most recent Asset Standard updates.

This will have a fundamental effect on both the health and safety of the work being carried out and the future of operation and maintenance activities.

Use the principles of prevention to control significant hazards and risks identified during the early design stages to record the actions taken, and to identify any remaining hazards/risks. You can download the ‘Significant design risk register’ (HSI 12) below for further guidance.

An individual or team within Thames Water can undertake the Designer role and must demonstrate the required competencies shown in HSI 31.

The Scorecard inspection provides a consistent and proactive approach across all Thames Waters partners to achieve high standard for health and safety.

It provides all those that work with and for Thames Water with a clear understanding of how important health and safety in the workplace is. It also provides a clear understanding as to how sites are operating in reality and provides assurance back to Thames water.

The Inspections promotes the concept of best practise across all sites by identifying areas for improvements, specific subjects to target and encourages all partners to improve their approach no matter the score they receive. It is an open and transparent approach to improvement which has buy in from partners and Thames Water alike.

This document sets out Thames Water's health and safety expectations and requirements for all contractors and suppliers working for, or on behalf of, Thames Water. It applies to all new tender documents sent out after 1st February 2012 and will also be incorporated into most of our existing contracts.

It is critical to actively monitor the behaviour and standards of contractors on your site, so plan this as a regular activity. The breadth of subjects covered, and the frequency of monitoring, depend on the complexity and risk of the work being done. Site managers, and any members of the team who engage contractors, are required to complete at least one SHE 6 per month on contractor activities.

Discuss comments on both positive and negative aspects of site activities with the contractors’ on-site representative and agree on actions to follow. In situations where there is potential danger, take appropriate action to prevent harm.

Site managers, or members of the team responsible for managing the contractor, must regularly monitor construction activities using:

• SHE 6 (H): a construction management inspection that must be completed within the first month on site to check the management system; afterwards, check every quarter; and
• SHE 6 (I): a construction site’s standards inspection that must be completed monthly to check the contractor’s activities.

Determine if a project must be notifiable to the HSE. For example, the HSE must be notified if you notice during active monitoring of a small construction project that it is increasing in scope and might result in more than 30 onsite construction days.

Where Thames Water acts as the Client and we have duties to appoint a Principal Designer under the CDM regulations. The following checklists enable you to confirm compliance with the requirements of CDM.

• HSI 45: Where Thames Water acts as the client under the CDM regulations, you must ensure that the client duties and responsibilities are adhered to. This template provides you with guidance to confirm we are compliant and is available on the SpheraCloud (Safeguard) system as a checklist to record your findings and raise any actions that are required to implement our client duties under the regs.
• HSI 46: Anyone appointed as the Principal Designer for a project under the CDM regulations has duties and responsibilities that must be adhered to. This template provides you with guidance to confirm you are compliant and is available on the SpheraCloud (Safeguard) system as a checklist to record your findings and raise any actions that are required to implement the Principal Designer duties under the regs..

Determine if a project must be notifiable to the HSE. For example, the HSE must be notified if you notice during active monitoring of a small construction project that it is increasing in scope and might result in more than 30 onsite construction days.

The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) must be notified of a project when:

• The construction is expected to last longer than 30 working days, and it will have more than 20 workers working at the same time at any point in the building project, or;
• the construction work will require more than 500 person days.