Construction Safety and Health Guidelines

Policy, Purpose, and Core Mandate

The Order is issued to ensure the protection and welfare of workers in the construction industry.
The Order is issued to protect the general public within and around the immediate vicinity of construction work.
The Order is issued to promote harmonious employer-employee relationships in the construction industry.
The Order requires implementation of occupational safety and health standards for construction operations through a structured program, personnel, training, reporting, and enforcement measures.

Definitions for Construction OSH Terms

“Accredited organization” means any organization duly accredited by DOLE to perform functions related to improvement of occupational safety and health in the form of training, testing, certification, safety and health auditing, or similar activity.
“Certified first-aider” means a person trained and duly certified or qualified to administer first-aid by the Philippine National Red Cross or an accredited organization of the Red Cross.
“Construction project manager/consultant” means a person or entity hired by the project owner to supervise and monitor overall execution of a construction project on the owner’s behalf; the construction project manager must be separate from the general constructor and any subcontractor.
“Construction safety and health committee” means the general safety and health committee for a construction project site that coordinates implementation of OSH programs.
“Construction safety and health officer” means an employee/worker trained and tasked by the employer to implement occupational safety and health programs under the OSHS.
“Construction safety and health program” means project-specific rules on processes and practices to be used in the project site in conformity with OSHS, including responsible personnel and penalties for violations.
“Constructor” is synonymous with “builder” and includes persons/organizations undertaking or offering to undertake or bidding on construction-related works, including demolition; it also includes subcontractors and specialty contractors.
“General constructor” is a constructor with general supervision over other constructors and directly receives instructions from the owner or the construction project manager (if appointed).
“Imminent danger” means a condition or practice reasonably expected to cause death or serious physical harm before abatement under normal enforcement procedures.
“Treatment Room” means an enclosed area within the establishment premises equipped with medical facilities and supplies for examining and treating workers for injuries or illnesses in emergencies.
“Tool box meeting or gang meeting” means a daily meeting among workers and their supervisors for instruction, discussion, briefing on planned work, assessment of past work, accident occurrence/possibility, prevention tips, and related matters.
“Unguarded surface” means working surfaces above water or ground or temporary/permanent floor platforms/scaffolds where workers are exposed to fall hazards.

DOLE Jurisdiction and Delegation Mechanisms

The DOLE, through the Secretary of Labor and Employment, has exclusive jurisdiction over the preparation of Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS) for the construction industry, including enforcement.
The Order grounds enforcement authority in the Labor Code provisions that require the Secretary to set and enforce mandatory OSHS to eliminate or reduce hazards in all workplaces and to administer and enforce occupational safety and health laws, regulations, and standards.
The Secretary may delegate in part the authority to enforce mandatory construction OSH standards under set conditions.
Chartered cities and municipalities may be allowed to conduct technical safety inspections and general safety audits within their jurisdictions if they have adequate facilities and competent personnel (as determined by DOLE), and if they submit an application for approval.
Private safety organizations with adequate facilities and competent personnel may be accredited by DOLE to conduct technical and/or general safety and health audits for and on behalf of companies or establishments.
Accreditation of safety organizations and practitioners follows Rule 1030 of the OSHS.

Coverage: Construction Operations Covered

The Order applies to all operations and undertakings in the construction industry and its subdivisions: general building construction, general engineering construction, and specialty trade construction, based on the PCAB classification code of the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP).
The Order applies to companies and entities involved in demolition works.
The Order applies to those falling within the construction industry as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment.

Construction OSH Program, PPE, and Safety Staffing

Each construction project must have a suitable Construction Safety and Health Program that conforms to DOLE rules, OSHS, and DOLE orders/issuances.
The Construction Project Manager, or in his absence the Project Manager as authorized by the owner, is responsible for compliance with the OSH program requirement.
The Construction Safety and Health Program must state:
- the composition of the Construction Safety and Health Committee (or an undertaking to organize it and appoint members before start of construction);
- specific safety policies the General Constructor will observe and maintain, including the frequency of and persons responsible for toolbox and gang meetings;
- penalties and sanctions for violations of the program;
- the frequency, content, and persons responsible for orienting, instructing, and training all workers at the site regarding the program; and
- the manner of disposing waste arising from the construction.
The Construction Safety and Health Program must be executed and verified by the Construction Project Manager (or Project Manager) and must be submitted to the Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC), which may approve, disapprove, or modify it.
The cost of implementing the Construction Safety and Health Program is integrated into the project construction cost as a separate pay item, and it must be quantified and stated in the project tender documents and construction contract documents.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Every employer must furnish workers with PPE at the employer’s own expense for eyes, face, hands, and feet, lifelines, safety belts/harness, protective shields, and barriers whenever necessary due to hazardous work processes or environment, or chemical/radiological/other mechanical irritants or hazards.
PPE provision must follow Rule 1080 of the OSHS, and the equivalent cost for PPE life span, depreciation, and replacement is an integral part of project cost.
Workers within the construction project site must wear the necessary PPE at all times.
Construction workers working from unguarded surfaces six (6) meters or more above water or ground, temporary or permanent floor platforms, scaffolds, or whenever exposed to fall hazards must be provided with safety harnesses and life lines.
Specialty construction workers must be provided special protective equipment such as specialized goggles or respirators for welders and painters/paint applicators.
All authorized or allowed persons at a construction site must wear appropriate PPE.

Safety Personnel Requirements

Each construction project site must have minimum required Safety Personnel to ensure compliance and enforcement of the Construction Safety and Health Program.
The General Constructor must assign a full-time general construction safety and health officer to oversee full-time management of the program, frequently monitor and inspect health and safety aspects, assist government inspectors during safety and health inspection, and assist during accident investigation whenever work is being performed.
The General Constructor must provide additional Construction Safety and Health Officers in accordance with Rule 1033 (Training and Personnel Complement), based on the total number of personnel at the site.
The General Constructor must provide one (1) Construction Safety and Health Officer for every ten (10) units of heavy equipment assigned to the project site.
Each construction subcontractor must provide a representative with the same qualifications as a Safety Man/Officer to oversee the subcontractor’s workforce program management and specific area of operations, consistent with Rule 1033 of the OSHS.
Safety personnel employed full-time by an employer should be accredited by the BWC of DOLE.

Emergency Occupational Health Personnel and Facilities

The construction project owner (or authorized representative) must provide competent emergency occupational health personnel with adequate medical supplies, equipment, and facilities based on number of workers on site, using these minimums:
- 50 or less: certified first-aider.
- more than 50 but not more than 200: full-time registered nurse.
- more than 200 but not more than 300: full-time registered nurse, part-time physician and a dentist, and an emergency clinic.
- more than 300: full-time registered nurse, full-time physician, dentist, and an infirmary or emergency hospital with one (1) bed capacity plus one (1) additional bed capacity for every one hundred (100) employees in excess of three hundred (300).
If an employer provides only a treatment room, the employer must provide workers emergency access to the nearest medical/dental clinic or one within a five (5) kilometers radius reachable in twenty-five (25) minutes by travel, including transportation facilities, and must execute a written contract with the clinic to attend workplace emergencies.
Engagement of an Emergency Health Provider is deemed compliance with accessibility to nearest hospital facilities.
The employer must maintain at the construction site the required minimum inventory of medicines, supplies, and equipment as indicated in Table 47 of the OSHS.

Construction Safety Signages

Construction Safety Signages must warn workers and the public of workplace hazards.
Signages must be posted in prominent positions at strategic locations and, as far as practicable, be in a language understandable to most workers employed.
Signages must include at least:
- mandatory PPE usage prior to entry to the project site;
- areas with potential risks of falling objects;
- areas with potential risks of falling;
- areas where explosives and flammable substances are used or stored;
- tripping or slipping hazard areas;
- approaches to working areas where danger from toxic or irritant airborne contaminants/substances exists, indicating the contaminant/substance name and the type of respiratory equipment to be worn;
- places where contact/proximity to electrical/facility equipment can cause danger;
- places where workers may contact dangerous moving parts of machinery/equipment;
- location of fire alarms and fire-fighting equipment;
- instructions on usage of specific construction equipment; and
- periodic updating of man-hours lost.
Signages must be regularly inspected and maintained in good condition.
Damaged, illegible, or no-longer-applicable signages must be removed and replaced by the safety officer as needed.

Heavy Equipment Safety Operations

Heavy equipment operation must comply with required controls across project phases:

Pre-Construction

The General Constructor must ensure that DOLE certifications are obtained from DOLE-accredited organizations for:
- testing and certification of all heavy equipment operators assigned to the project site in accordance with a standard trade test prescribed by TESDA, coordinated with its accredited organization/s; and
- testing and certification of all heavy equipment in accordance with standards prepared by DOLE or recognized organizations prior to commissioning.

During Construction

The General Constructor must comply with requirements for:

Mobilization or Transport of Heavy Equipment
- trailer load restrictions;
- load restrictions, and height and width clearances imposed by DPWH for all roads and bridges used during transport;
- only duly certified operators may load and unload heavy equipment to trailers; and
- equipment must be properly secured to the trailer.
Erection/Set-up of Heavy Equipment
- avoidance of existing hazards;
- observation of a standard checklist of steps and procedures; and
- availability and proper use of necessary equipment, tools, and materials.
Routine Inspection
- daily routine inspections of deployed heavy equipment must be conducted by duly certified mechanics and operators in accordance with standards set by TESDA coordinated with ACEL, Inc.
- routine inspection of heavy equipment must be performed by DOLE-accredited professionals in accordance with standards set by DOLE and recognized equipment suppliers.
- any equipment that does not meet minimum safety standards for equipment certification must be immediately removed for restoration or repair until it meets the standards.
- the General Constructor and the equipment owner must maintain a separate logbook for maintenance, repairs, tests, and inspections for each heavy equipment, to be used as a reference during inspections.
Certified Owners
- only duly certified operators may operate designated heavy equipment; and
- operators and riggers must wear the required PPE.

Post-Operation and Post-Construction

Dismantling and demobilization of heavy equipment must follow the same requirements as for transportation and erection/set-up.

Safety Committees, OSH Information, Training, and Reports

Construction Safety and Health Committee

Each site must form a Construction Safety and Health Committee at the start of construction to ensure rules and the Construction Safety and Health Program are observed and enforced.
The committee composition includes:
- Project Manager or representative as chairperson ex officio;
- general construction safety and health officer;
- construction safety and health officers;
- safety representatives from each subcontractor;
- doctors, nurses, and other health personnel pursuant to Rule 1042 of the OSHS as members ex officio; and
- workers’ representatives (minimum of 3, union members if organized, not necessarily from one employer).
Members must, as far as practicable, be found at the construction site whenever construction work is undertaken.
Time spent by committee members on committee work such as meetings, seminars and training, investigations, and other tasks assigned or planned by the committee is considered hours worked and compensable time.

Committee Authority and Duties

The chairperson must convene the committee at regular intervals to effectively and efficiently monitor implementation of the program.
The chairperson must:
- plan, develop, and oversee accident prevention programs;
- direct accident prevention efforts in accordance with these rules and the program;
- initiate and supervise daily brief safety/toolbox meetings;
- review safety and health inspection reports and accident investigation reports;
- prepare and submit DOLE reports on committee meetings;
- provide assistance to government inspecting authorities in enforcement and related activities;
- initiate and supervise safety and health training; and
- develop and maintain a disaster contingency plan and organize emergency service units for disaster situations.
The chairperson must perform all duties provided in the Construction Safety and Health Program and duties necessary and incidental to fulfilling assigned responsibilities.

Safety and Health Information to Workers

Workers must be adequately and suitably informed of potential safety and health hazards at their workplace.
Workers must be instructed and trained on prevention, control, and protection measures against those hazards.
No person may be deployed to a construction site without undergoing a safety and health awareness seminar conducted by OSHC, BWC, and other concerned DOLE offices, or by accredited/recognized safety professionals/organizations/institutions DOLE accredits or recognizes.
DOLE, in collaboration with constructors, must promote programs implementing these awareness seminars for construction workers.
Workers must receive instruction and training on general safety and health measures common to construction sites, including:
- basic rights and duties of workers;
- access and egress during normal work and emergencies;
- good housekeeping;
- location and proper use of welfare amenities and first-aid facilities;
- proper care and use of items/PPE and protective clothing provided;
- personal hygiene and health protection measures;
- fire precautions;
- emergency actions; and
- requirements of relevant health and safety rules and regulations.
Instruction, training, and information materials must be given in a language or dialect understood by the worker.
Written, oral, visual, and participative approaches must be used to ensure worker assimilation.
Each supervisor or designated person (e.g., foreman, leadman, gangboss) must conduct daily toolbox or similar meetings before starting daily tasks to discuss safety and health problems for each task and potential solutions and to remind workers on necessary safety precautions.
Specialized instruction and training must be given to drivers/operators of lifting appliances, transport, earth-moving and materials-handling equipment and machinery or specialized/dangerous equipment, and to workers engaged in specified high-risk activities, including scaffolds erection/dismantling, excavations at least one meter deep, shafts/earthworks/underground works/tunnels, explosives/blasting, pile-driving, compressed air/cofferdams/caissons, erection of prefabricated steel frames and tall chimneys, concrete form work and related work, hazardous substances/material handling, signaler duties, and other categories as categorized by TESDA.

Construction Safety and Health Training Program

Basic construction safety and health training must be a forty (40)-hour course prescribed by the BWC.
The course must include the provisions of Rule 1410 of the OSHS.
BWC may modify the basic training course from time to time as needed.
Every safety personnel in a construction project must complete the basic training course.
Every constructor must provide continuing construction safety and health training to technical personnel under its employ.
Continuing training must be a minimum of 16 hours per year for every full-time safety personnel.

Construction Safety and Health Reports

General constructors must submit a monthly construction safety and health report to the BWC or the DOLE Regional Office concerned.
Monthly reports must include:
- a monthly summary of safety and health committee meeting agreements;
- a summary of all accident investigations/reports; and
- periodic hazards assessment with corresponding remedial measures/action for each hazard.
In dangerous occurrences or major accidents resulting in death or permanent total disability, the employer must initially notify the DOLE Regional Office within twenty-four (24) hours from occurrence.
After investigation by the construction safety and health officer, the employer must report all permanent total disabilities on or before the 20th of the month following the date of occurrence of the accident using the DOLE/BWC/HSD-IP-6 form.

Skills Testing and Welfare Facilities; Enforcement

Construction Workers Skills Certificates

TESDA must:
- establish national skills standards for critical construction occupations;
- prepare guidelines on skills testing and certification for critical construction occupations;
- accredit construction sector organizations in skills training and trade testing; and
- extend relevant assistance to construction sector organizations.
Construction workers in critical occupations must undergo mandatory skills testing for certification by TESDA.
An occupation is considered critical when:
- performance affects and endangers people’s lives and limbs;
- the job involves handling tools, equipment, and supplies;
- the job requires a relatively long period of education and training; or
- the job may compromise the safety, health, and environmental concerns within the immediate vicinity of the construction site.

Workers’ Welfare Facilities

Employers must provide welfare facilities to ensure humane working conditions, including:
- adequate supply of safe drinking water, with requirements for storage in closed containers for common drinking areas and cleaning/disinfection at intervals not exceeding fifteen (15) days, and conspicuous posting of notices where water is not fit for drinking;
- adequate sanitary and washing facilities, including changing facilities and facilities for storage and drying of work clothes, and adequate accommodation for taking meals and shelter;
- suitable living accommodation for workers, and for their families as may be applicable; and
- separate sanitary, washing, and sleeping facilities for men and women workers.

Cost Integration Requirement

The total cost of implementing a Construction Safety and Health Program is a mandatory integral part of the project construction cost as a separate pay item, duly quantified and reflected in the project tender documents and likewise reflected in the project construction contract documents.

Violations, Penalties, Stoppage Orders, and Continuing Rules

Contractor Malperformance and Referral

Upon due process, DOLE must refer to the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) its findings on acts or omissions committed by construction contractors in violation of labor standards, safety rules and regulations, and other pertinent policies.
Any such violation committed by construction contractors, whether general constructors or subcontractors, constitutes a prima facie case of construction malperformance of grave consequence due to negligence, incompetence, or malpractice contemplated under R.A. 4566 (Constructors’ Licensing Law), as amended, and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.

Imminent Danger Stoppage

In imminent danger situations, the DOLE Regional Director must issue a stoppage order conforming to Rule 1012.02 of the OSHS and other pertinent issuances on stoppage of operation or other actions to abate danger.
Pending issuance of the stoppage order, the employer must take appropriate measures to protect workers.
The stoppage order remains in effect until the danger is removed or corrected.
Non-compliance with the stoppage order is penalized under existing provisions of labor laws.

Other Operating Provisions and Effectivity Confirmation

All provisions of existing occupational safety and health guidelines not inconsistent with these Guidelines form part of DOLE’s overall occupational safety and health framework for implementation.
All other existing occupational safety and health standards, rules and regulations not specifically provided herein remain in full force and effect.
If any provision of the Guidelines is declared invalid by a competent authority, the remaining provisions not affected continue in full force and effect.