SiGePlan - Safety and Health Plan

For many construction projects, the coordinator must develop a so-called SiGePlan (Sicherheits- und Gesundheitsschutzplan).

The safety and health plan (SiGePlan) serves for explaining the safety requirements for the work to be performed to all parties involved in the construction project. The contents and form of the SiGePlan are specified by the Rule for Occupational Safety and Health on Construction Sites RAB 31 Safety and Health Plan - S & H Plan (Regel zum Arbeitsschutz auf Baustellen - RAB 31).

Pursuant to § 3 sections 2 and 3 of the Construction Site Ordinance (BaustellV), the coordinator must develop a SiGePlan in the planning phase and update it during the execution phase.
A SiGePlan is necessary if one of the following cases occurs:

employees of several employers work on one construction site simultaneously or one after the other
particularly dangerous work pursuant to annex II of the BaustellV is being performed
the extent of the work exceeds 500 person days
the presumable duration is more than 30 days and the maximum number of employees simultaneously performing work at any given time is 20

Cross-trade risks must be determined in the SiGePlan based on trade-related risks. Cross-trade risks include:

mutual risks caused by the local or time-related concurrence of several trades
mutual risks entailed by one trade
common risks resulting from the local circumstances at the construction site
common risks caused by third parties

Safety and Health Plan assigns work in a spatial and time-related manner

In order to avoid and to reduce cross-trade risks, respectively, the coordinator must define corresponding measures and document these in the SiGePlan. The spatial and time-related assignment of activities plays an essential role for coordination. The SiGePlan illustrates how the work is organised regarding space and time to the parties involved in the construction work. Furthermore, it informs them on the assigned measures for safe and healthy working and the relevant occupational health and safety provisions. The RAB 31 additionally contains additional content-related recommendations for utilising a SiGePlan.

It is often possible to economically implement requirements in the field of occupational safety and health together with facilities used together. It makes sense to also take these measures into consideration in the construction documentation, in statements of work, contracts, and in the construction work scheduling.