What you need to know about NR 18 for civil construction!
As a sector with a history of high rates of accidents at work, civil construction requires specific regulations to guide all procedures, working environment conditions, and employee training so that it can guarantee the safety and health of everyone who works on the construction sites!
Because the works are places that pose great risks to the health of employees, there was a need to create Regulatory Standards to guarantee the preservation of the health of workers and the safety of the workplace, and among them, we can mention NR 18, which is, without a doubt, the most important standard for giving guidelines to the Civil Construction Industry.
In view of the large number of accidents at work on construction sites, Regulatory Standards were created so that they are able to regulate and maintain a safe work environment, preserving the health of workers. To give you an idea, according to data from the Digital Observatory for Occupational Health and Safety (SmartLab), between 2012 and 2018, more than 4.4 million were registered accidents at work in Brazil, of which 97,000 occurred in Civil Construction.
Another alarming indicator is also the number of Accidents with Death in the same period, which totals more than 31.9 thousand accidents in Brazil, of which 2,666 deaths were registered by Civil Construction, generating an average of 381 fatal work accidents.
The data is frightening, especially when it comes to construction accidents, since construction sites are places that expose workers to various types of risks.
Thus, NR 18 was created to create guidelines that must, compulsorily, be applied to this branch that is so important for the country's development when determining minimum conditions to avoid accidents and harm to the health of workers.
Now, let's understand more about NR 18 and what its main topics are. It is worth noting the importance of also complying with all other NR' s, as they complement each other and only work if applied together!
If you want to know more about NR's and NBR's, access our blog to find useful articles to improve construction activities!
What does NR 18 say?
When it comes to ensuring safety and health for workers on construction sites, NR 18 is the main standard that addresses this issue, which is so important to avoid accidents at work! And that's why we brought her here today!
NR 18 is a standard that covers the work as a whole, that is, it guides the processes that go from the construction of the construction site to the execution procedures. Thus, when establishing the working conditions and environment in the Construction Industry, the standard provides guidelines for administrative order, planning, and organization in order to implement control measures and preventive safety systems.
In general, we can summarize that NR 18 determines which procedures and devices must be observed by civil construction activities carried out on a construction site.
According to the standard, Construction Industry activities are considered to be those contained in Chart I, Code of Specific Activity, of NR 4 - Specialized Services in Safety Engineering and Occupational Medicine and the activities and services of demolition, repair, painting, cleaning and maintenance of buildings in general, of any number of floors or type of construction, including maintenance of urban development and landscaping works.
What is the importance of NR 18?
The greatest importance of NR 18 is to establish requirements to guarantee working conditions that are safe in order to avoid accidents, minimizing risks and preserving the well-being of workers.
It is still very common to observe the activities on the construction sites being carried out in poor ways and without any safety measures. For this reason, NR 18 is essential for the inspection and collection of the measures established by it.
Thus, the final objective of the standard is to reduce the number of accidents at work caused by civil construction, while preserving the health of workers and ensuring better working conditions on construction sites.
And finally, because it is the most important NR for civil construction, the standard states that “workers are prohibited from entering or staying at the construction site, without being insured by the measures provided for in this NR and compatible with the construction phase.” Therefore, its main purpose is to ensure safety at work above all else.
Thus, because of such importance, NR 18 is extensive and has many details in its guidelines and guidelines, which are separated for each type of activity within a construction site. Therefore, is it essential to consult her before performing any procedure, combined?
Step by step to fulfill it!
NR 18 states that, in order to be fulfilled, some Key points must be attended to. Among them, we can mention:
1. Notify the Regional Labor Police
Before starting activities at the construction site, NR 18 requires communication to be made to the Regional Labor Police, with a document containing the following information: the type of work; address of your work; correct address and qualification of the contractor, employer or condominium; maximum number of employees; start and end date.
2. Prepare the PCMAT
After officially announcing the work, it is necessary to prepare the PCMAT (Work Conditions and Environment Program in the Construction Industry). The standard requires the preparation and compliance of the PCMAT in establishments with 20 or more workers, covering the aspects of NR 18 and other complementary safety devices.
The PCMAT must be prepared and executed by a legally qualified professional in the area of occupational safety and must be maintained and available at the establishment for consultation by the MTE.
The documents that make up the PCMAT are:
- memorial about working conditions and environment in activities and operations, taking into account the risks of accidents and occupational diseases and their respective preventive measures;
- project for the execution of collective protections in accordance with the stages of execution of the work;
- technical specification of the collective and individual protections to be used;
- Schedule for the implementation of the preventive measures defined in the PCMAT in accordance with the stages of execution of the work.
3. Create the CIPA
NR 18 also determines the creation of the CIPA (Internal Accident Prevention Commission) in companies in the construction industry. According to the standard:
The company that has one (1) or more construction sites or work fronts in the same city, with less than 70 (seventy) employees, must organize a centralized CIPA.
The centralized CIPA will be composed of representatives of the employer and employees, and must have at least one (1) full representative and one (1) alternate, per group of up to 50 (fifty) employees at each construction site or work front, respecting the parity provided for in NR 5.
The company that has one (1) or more construction sites or work front with 70 (seventy) or more employees in each establishment is obliged to organize CIPA by establishment.
Construction sites whose construction does not exceed 180 (one hundred and eighty) days are exempt from constituting CIPA and, in order to comply with the provisions of this item, a provisional accident prevention commission must be constituted, with the joint election of one (one) effective member and one (1) alternate, to each group of 50 (fifty) workers.
NR 18 states that, in order to measure the CIPA, it is essential to respect what is provided for by NR 5 - Internal Accident Prevention Commission.
4. Identify risks
In addition to meeting the points above, it is important to identify and assess the risks present at construction sites. It is not enough to have documents in hand if they are not applied so that they can reduce risks in order to guarantee safety at work!
What are your main topics?
NR 18 establishes minimum requirements for various activities present at construction sites. Here, we will mention them, but it is possible to find sites that explain more about each of them and also consulting the full NR is essential to have complete information, right?
Then, in NR 18 you can find all the parameters regarding the procedures to be adopted when talking about activities present in the works, which are: Living Areas; Demolition; Excavations, Foundations and Rock Dismantling; Carpentry; Steel Frames; Concrete Structures; Metal Structures; Welding and Hot Cutting Operations; Stairs, Ramps and Walkways; Protection Measures against Falls from Height; Handling and Transportation of Materials and People; Scaffolding and Work Platforms; Steel Cables and Synthetic Fiber Cables; Masonry, Hundreds and Finishes; Roofs and Roofs; Floating Services; Confined Places; Electrical Installations; Machines, Equipment and Miscellaneous Tools; Personal Protective Equipment; Storage and Storage of Materials; Transportation of Workers in Motor Vehicles; Fire Protection; Safety Signage; Training; Order and Cleaning; Siding and Galleries and Fatal Accident.
Risks of not complying with NR 18:
As NR 18 deals with safety at work, ensuring better conditions on construction sites, its requirements must be met and the fulfillment of norm is supervised.
Therefore, its non-compliance can cause various consequences for the company, ranging from labor expenses and fines to damages for the execution and final result of the work. Thus, ensuring safety at work must be understood as an investment for the company!
Some consequences of not complying with NR 18 may include: medical treatment expenses, additional unhealthy and dangerous payments, lifetime pension payments in the event of the worker's death, fines imposed by the MTE, embargoes, work bans, employee dissatisfaction, low productivity, among others.
That's why it's not worth ignoring the Regulatory Standards! They may seem bureaucratic, but can you understand their importance both for employees and for the employer?
Conclusion
Now there are no doubts left about the most important standard for civil construction, right? Therefore, complying with NR 18, as well as all other NR's, is not only a legal obligation, but much more than that: it represents a great responsibility in several senses! And besides, meeting your requirements will only bring profits to your endeavors!
And if you need a solution for your work, be sure to consult the Blok team! We certainly have the best option on the market! Did you like this article? Follow our blog so you don't miss any of them!
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