Qué es un Estudio de Seguridad y Salud (ESS)
In Spain, a Health and Safety Study is a mandatory technical document that must be part of the execution project of any work that meets one or more of these requirements:
- Budget of €450,000 or more.
- Duration of more than 30 working days and more than 20 workers at any one time.
- Volume of labour in excess of 500 working days.
- Special works: tunnels, galleries, underground pipelines or dams.
If none of these cases are present, the promoter must draw up at least a Basic Health and Safety Study.
Its objective is to identify and evaluate the foreseen occupational risks and to define the necessary preventive measures to avoid or minimise them from the project phase onwards.
It is regulated by the Real Decreto 1627/1997 de 24 de octubrelaying down minimum safety and health requirements for construction sites.
Who must draw up the Health and Safety Study?
The Health and Safety Study must be drawn up by a competent technician appointed by the developer. If there is Coordinador de Seguridad y Salud at the design stage (where several designers are involved in drawing up the works project), the latter shall be responsible for carrying out the project or having it carried out under his responsibility.
Whenever the works project is modified, it is necessary to modify the Health and Safety Study (for example, if work units not foreseen during the execution of the project are included), by means of an annex to it.
Even when it is not compulsory to designate a coordinator, the Health and Safety Study must be present, always drawn up by a suitably qualified technician.
What a Health and Safety Study should contain
The minimum content is regulated by law and must be consistent with the rest of the technical project.
Descriptive Report
It is the heart of the ESS. Details:
- Work Procedures: how the tasks will be executed, by what method, by whom and when.
- Technical equipment and auxiliary means: cranes, scaffolding, machinery, provisional installations.
- Avoidable and non-avoidable risks: with technical organisational measures to control them.
- Sanitary and common services (toilets, changing rooms, first-aid kits) adapted to the size of the site.
- Environmental conditions: access, interference, power lines, climate, rights of way.
- Materials and elements: their typology, characteristics, risks and handling measures.
- Construction process: phases, tasks and order of execution.
2. Special Conditions
They are collected here:
- Applicable Legal and Regulatory Standards
- Technical prescriptions for the use, maintenance and conservation of machines, tools and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).
- Criteria for preventive training, signposting, access and coordination of contractors.
3. Plans
Drawings and diagrams that identify:
- Enclosures, access and circulation routes.
- Location of special risk areas (Annex II of RD 1627/1997).
- Location of collective protection systems (nets, handrails, anchorages).
4. Measurements
Clearly measured safety units and elements (fencing, signage, protective devices, emergency lighting, fire systems, etc.).
5. Budget
A specific chapter within the General Budget of the Project, which quantifies all the expenses to guarantee Health and Safety on site.
It does not include costs of professional execution, but only the means and measures of prevention.
6. Further work: Long-term security
The Health and Safety Study should also provide for future maintenance and repairs: safe access to decks, transit areas, anchor points, marking of fragile areas.
All of this guarantees the availability of the initial information necessary for the users of the building, keeping it always updated according to the modifications made, the activity carried out in the building, the maintenance work, the adaptations required by regulatory changes, etc.
Why is the Health and Safety Study important?
Because it defines the role of safe working conditions, helping to plan, organise and coordinate all preventive activities.
It also serves as a basis for the contractors to draw up the Health and Safety Plan adjusted to the specific reality of the work.
Q-safety, your partner for safe construction
At Q-safety by Quirónprevención we ensure that the Health and Safety Study does not remain a dead letter. We turn it into a practical and up-to-date tool, integrated from the project phase through to execution and maintenance.
If you want to guarantee that your construction site complies with the regulations and protects your teams, we can help you in the preparation of the Health and Safety Study. Get in touch with us.
