3.2 General Control and Welfare: Housekeeping, Storage, Site Security, Welfare Facilities and First Aid
Key Takeaways
CDM 2024 regulation 20 requires every part of a construction site to be kept in good order, the perimeter to be signed and fenced where the risk requires, and no projecting nails or similar sharp objects to be left in use or lying around.
The Second Schedule of CDM 2024 sets minimum welfare facilities in six groups: sanitary facilities, washing facilities, drinking water, changing rooms and lockers, rest facilities and, where necessary, a place of worship.
DOSH's first-aid guidelines treat construction sites as high-risk workplaces: one first-aider per shift below 20 workers, and one for every 20 workers or part thereof at 20 or more.
DOSH's first-aid guidelines recommend a first-aid room where more than 150 employees work, and refresher first-aid training every three years.
Under CDM 2024 the client must arrange the Second Schedule welfare facilities (regulation 4), the principal contractor must ensure they are provided (regulation 15), and each contractor must comply for its own workers (regulation 17).
General control: why "small" things kill
Part 4(B), General Control, covers everyday site conditions that turn ordinary work into injuries:
- tripping over cut-offs
- standing on a nail
- being struck by a toppling stack
- a fire spreading through packaging waste
Part 4(C), Welfare Provision, gets three hours of class time, more than most hazard topics, because poor welfare drives heat illness, dehydration, infection and fatigue.
Good order and site security: CDM regulation 20
Regulation 20 requires:
- Good order. Every part of the site is kept, so far as practicable, in good order, and areas where work is going on are kept reasonably clean.
- A marked and fenced perimeter. Where safety and health require it, given the level of risk, the perimeter is identified with suitable signs and fenced.
- No projecting nails. Nails or similar sharp objects projecting from timber or other material must not be used in construction work or left anywhere on site.
Breaches carry up to RM500,000 or one year or both. Regulation 21(3) adds that no structure may be loaded so as to become unsafe. This covers floor slabs used as storage, scaffold platforms and catch fans.
Housekeeping as a system
| Practice | How it works on site |
|---|---|
| Sort | Remove offcuts, broken pallets and packaging from working floors every day |
| Set in order | Mark storage bays; keep walkways, stairs, fire exits, extinguishers and distribution boards clear |
| Shine | End-of-shift clean-up by each trade; remove concrete slurry, oil and standing water |
| Standardise | Waste bins or skips on every floor; clear responsibilities in subcontract rules |
| Sustain | Daily SSS inspection; housekeeping item on the committee inspection checklist; feedback to subcontractors |
Standing water is a public health issue too. Water collecting in containers, tyres or uneven ground on construction sites breeds Aedes mosquitoes, and health authorities can act against breeding sites under the Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act 1975. Drain or cover water daily.
Safe storage of materials
General principles that DOSH officers and examiners expect:
- Store on firm, level, drained ground or on bearers, within the hoarded area (DOSH public safety guideline paragraph 11.10) and within crane reach if lifted.
- Keep stacks stable: interlock bagged or block materials, limit height to what stays stable, and do not lean stacks against hoarding or temporary walls.
- Keep stacks back from edges, excavations and floor openings, so they neither fall nor surcharge the excavation (CDM regulation 24(1)(e)).
- Protect projecting reinforcement. Cap or bend starter bars near walkways. Use caps rated against impalement wherever someone could fall onto the bars.
- Do not overload slabs, scaffolds or loading platforms (regulation 21(3)). Find out the design load from the temporary works designer or engineer.
Chemicals and flammable liquids
- Keep a register of chemicals hazardous to health and their safety data sheets (USECHH regulation 5; CLASS regulation 13). Check every container is labelled in Bahasa Malaysia and English, and relabel decanted containers (USECHH regulations 20 and 21).
- Store fuels, thinners and solvents in a ventilated, lockable store away from hot work and ignition sources, with spill containment. A common design rule is a bund holding 110% of the largest container.
- Post USECHH warning signs (dark red on white, in Bahasa Malaysia and English) at entrances to areas where chemicals are used in a hazardous way (regulation 29).
Compressed gas cylinders
- Store and use cylinders upright and secured with chains or racks. Keep valve caps on when not in use, and separate full and empty cylinders.
- Keep oxygen apart from fuel gases such as acetylene and LPG. A widely used benchmark, from US OSHA standard 29 CFR 1926.350, is at least 6 m (20 ft) apart, or a non-combustible barrier at least 1.5 m high with half-hour fire resistance.
- Keep cylinders out of excavations and confined spaces, and away from heat, electrical equipment and walkways.
Site security
Uncontrolled access lets in untrained people, children and thieves. CDM 2024 makes prevention of unauthorised access a duty of the principal contractor (regulation 15(2)(e)(ii)) and of every contractor before it starts work (regulation 17(1)(g)). Typical arrangements:
- continuous hoarding or fencing, kept in repair
- controlled gates with a guard post
- a register or electronic access control linked to induction and CIDB registration (Section 3.3)
- visitor badges, escorts and PPE
- warning signs at the perimeter
- lighting at gates, stores and the perimeter at night (CDM regulation 37)
- securing plant, ladders and keys after work, so trespassers cannot climb scaffolds or start machines
Welfare provision: the Second Schedule of CDM 2024
The Second Schedule of CDM 2024, "Minimum requirements for construction site welfare facilities", lists six groups (summary of the Malay text):
| Group | Key requirements |
|---|---|
| A. Sanitary facilities | Suitable and sufficient facilities at readily accessible places; rooms adequately ventilated and lit; kept clean and orderly; separate rooms for men and women unless each facility is in a separate room lockable from inside |
| B. Washing facilities | Suitable and sufficient, including showers where the work or health reasons require; next to every sanitary facility and changing room; clean running water, soap or another cleanser, and towels or other drying means; ventilated, lit and kept clean; separate for men and women unless single-occupancy lockable rooms (hand, forearm and face washing excepted) |
| C. Drinking water | An adequate supply at readily accessible places, with enough cups unless it is a drinking jet; marked with a sign where needed for safety or health |
| D. Changing rooms and lockers | Where workers wear special work clothing and cannot change elsewhere: seating, facilities for drying clothes where needed, separate for men and women where needed for propriety; secure storage for work clothing not taken home, own clothing and personal belongings |
| E. Rest facilities | Suitable and sufficient rest rooms or rest areas with enough tables and seats with backs; facilities for pregnant or nursing women to lie down where necessary; arrangements to prepare and eat food; a means of boiling water; reasonable temperature |
| F. Place of worship | Where necessary, a suitable prayer room or area at a readily accessible place |
Who is responsible under CDM:
- The client must arrange the Second Schedule facilities (regulation 4(1)(c)).
- The principal contractor must ensure they are provided throughout the construction phase (regulation 15(2)(e)(iii)).
- Each contractor must comply as far as it affects its own workers (regulation 17(1)(h)).
The Schedule does not fix numbers of toilets per worker. The test is "suitable and sufficient" for the number of people on site, so plan facilities for the peak workforce shown in the regulation 8 notification. Remember also the Employees' Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodations and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446) where workers are housed in centralised quarters.
Welfare and heat
Welfare is a direct control for heat stress. DOSH's heat stress guideline (Section 10.1) recommends regular drinks of water, a cool rest area and acclimatisation. Clean drinking water close to the work front matters more than one large dispenser at the site office.
First aid
DOSH Guidelines on First-Aid in the Workplace (2nd edition, 2004):
| Workforce | First-aiders recommended for high-risk workplaces such as construction sites |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 20 workers | 1 per shift |
| 20 or more workers | 1 for every 20 workers or part thereof |
| More than 400 workers (any workplace) | 2 for every 150 workers or part thereof, plus a registered nurse or medical assistant on site |
Other points from the guideline:
- First-aid room: recommended where there are more than 150 employees. It should be large enough for a couch, with space to move around, and have emergency lighting.
- Training: first-aiders take a DOSH-recognised course and refresher training every three years; employers keep training records.
- Identification: display the names and locations of first-aiders; first-aiders wear a badge or armband.
- First-aid boxes: sturdy, portable and clearly marked; placed in identifiable, well-lit, accessible places; enough boxes for a large site; checked frequently; no oral medication beyond first-aid needs.
- Multi-employer sites: the principal employer provides first-aid arrangements, or the employers agree in writing that one of them will.
Scenario: the welfare check
On a 300-worker housing project, the SSS's monthly welfare inspection finds:
- toilets 400 m from the work front
- no soap
- the only water dispenser in the office
- workers eating lunch beside a cement mixer
The findings go to the principal contractor as breaches of the Second Schedule and of regulation 15(2)(e)(iii). The SSS recommends:
- portable toilets with handwashing near each block
- water points at every block
- a shaded rest and eating area away from dust and traffic
- first-aid cover reviewed against the DOSH guideline: at 1 per 20 workers, 300 workers means about 15 first-aiders across the shifts, plus a first-aid room because the site has more than 150 employees
Which list correctly gives the six groups of minimum welfare facilities in the Second Schedule of CDM 2024?
Toilets, canteen, hostel, clinic, car park and surau
Sanitary, washing, drinking water, changing rooms and lockers, rest facilities, place of worship
First-aid room, sick bay, ambulance, shower, hostel and kitchen
Toilets, drinking water, a PPE store, a smoking area, laundry facilities and a prayer room where necessary
A construction site has 65 workers on a single shift. How many first-aiders does DOSH's Guidelines on First-Aid in the Workplace recommend?
One first-aider, because the site has fewer than 150 workers
Two first-aiders, as for any workplace of 21 to 150 workers
Four first-aiders: one for every 20 workers or part thereof
Six first-aiders, one for every 10 workers
An SSS finds timber formwork with protruding nails stacked across a walkway. Which CDM 2024 provision is breached?
Regulation 20, which bans projecting nails being used or left on site
Regulation 8, the client's duty to notify DOSH before work starts
Regulation 36, protection against temperature and bad weather
Regulation 39, the appointment of the site safety supervisor
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.