Site safety officer and works manager: what each one does, and why a safe site is also a cheaper site
A site safety officer and a works manager are two different roles on a construction site: the works manager is responsible for safe execution day to day, and the safety officer is the professional who advises, surveys risks, trains and inspects. I am a certified works manager, certified by the Ministry of Labour and Welfare, and I have experience in quantity takeoff for safety items, fencing and scaffolding, in bills of quantities (BOQs) and in site overheads (preliminaries).
Works manager and site safety officer: who does what
| Role | Who appoints | What the role does |
|---|---|---|
| Works manager | The contractor carrying out the work, with notice to the Safety Administration | Runs the work on site, trains workers, responsible for the safety arrangements every day |
| Site safety officer | The employer, under the safety officers regulations | Risk surveys, a safety plan, training, inspections and advice to management |
| Site manager | The contractor carrying out the work, on sites of 15,000 m² and more, with notice to the Safety Administration | A role listed in the notice of construction work under the 2025 amendment to the regulations |
| Safety controller | The client (the developer), who passes the controller's details to the contractor | A new role under the 2025 amendment: visits at the critical stages and at least once every three months |
According to the notification service of the Safety Administration, Israel's occupational safety regulator, the contractor carrying out the work gives notice of the start of construction work and of any change in the appointment of the roles on site, under regulation 6A of the Work Safety Regulations (Construction Work). When a site safety officer must be appointed is set in the regulations by the type of workplace and the number of workers, so the current wording is checked for each project. What these requirements do to the estimate and the budget is explained on the pages on construction site safety costs, work at height and the construction works manager.
On an ordinary day on site, the works manager starts the day by checking the arrangements: fencing, guardrails, scaffolding, covers over openings and protective equipment. He makes sure that new workers have been trained, and records in the site diary what was checked and what was fixed. The safety officer comes according to a plan, walks the site and identifies new risks as the site changes, for example when work at height starts or a crane arrives, and passes management a list of actions to correct.
Safety items as quantities: what is measured and where it sits
Safety is not only a procedure. It has quantities, and they can be calculated like any other item. For illustration, a plot of 50 by 30 m and a building of 20 by 15 m on five floors:
| Item | Unit | Calculation | Quantity | Where in the BOQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perimeter fence | m | 2 times (50 plus 30) | 160 | Site overheads |
| Temporary guardrail at slab edges | m | 70 m perimeter times 5 floors | 350 | Overheads or a separate item |
| Covers for openings and shafts | nr | 6 per floor times 5 | 30 | Site overheads |
| Facade scaffolding | m² | 70 m perimeter times 15 m height | 1,050 | Scaffolding item |
| Works manager, safety assistant and safety officer | month | According to the construction period | 24 | General chapter or overheads |
Some BOQs have a single monthly line, "works manager, safety assistant and safety officer", times the construction period. In others it is part of the overheads. The main thing is that it appears once: not twice, and not as zero. How overheads break down is explained on the site overheads page.
Scaffolding is usually measured per m² of facade, per month or for the whole duration of the work, as set in the BOQ. And a good BOQ also states, for each item, who maintains it throughout the project: a guardrail removed for a task and not put back is exactly where accidents happen.
What happens when there is no safety
- Safety order: a labour inspector can order work to stop, or require corrections within a set time.
- Stop-work order after an accident: after an accident in which a person is killed or seriously injured on a construction site, the site can be closed for two working days from the day of the accident, and the closure can be extended by three more days.
- Financial sanction: since 2018 a financial sanction can be imposed instead of criminal proceedings. According to a 2022 State Comptroller report, the amounts were 20,460 or 35,800 shekels per violation at 2019 values, index-linked, and the average sanction in 2018 to 2020 was about 31,500 shekels.
- A claim by the injured person: beyond the grief, compensation, legal costs and a higher insurance premium.
There is also a price in the construction programme: two days of closure are two days lost from the critical path, and if the order requires corrections, the crews wait until they are done and checked.
An illustrative example: the saving against the cost
| Item | Shekels |
|---|---|
| "Saving": 70 m of guardrail times 60 | 4,200 |
| Two days of closure: overheads of 60,000 a month divided by 22 working days, times 2 | 5,500 |
| Idle crews: 20 workers times 600 times 2 | 24,000 |
| One financial sanction, at 2019 values | 35,800 |
| Total, before any compensation to the injured person | 65,300 |
In the example, one bad day costs 15 times the "saving", and that is before the injured person and the claim. There the gap reaches tens of times and more. This calculation explains why safety is a BOQ item, not a luxury.
The rule: a tidy, safe site is also a site that keeps its pace. A worker who sees guardrails, fencing and training takes the work seriously, and a works manager who is present stops hold-ups before they happen. The link to the programme is explained on the construction programme page.
Safety works also go into the quantity takeoff: temporary guardrails, nets, scaffolding and signage, according to the duration and the scope of the work.
Frequently asked questions
Does every site need a site safety officer?
The obligation is set in the regulations by the type of workplace and the number of workers. Even when there is no obligation, professional advice at the start of the project costs far less than any incident.
What is the difference between a works manager and a site safety officer?
The works manager is on site and runs the work. The safety officer advises, inspects and trains, and does not replace the works manager.
Where is safety priced?
In the site overheads, in separate BOQ items, or in a combination. What matters is that it does not disappear. For contractors preparing a bid, see quantity surveyor for contractors, and for cost reductions that do not compromise safety, construction cost saving.
Who can check that safety is priced?
A quantity surveyor for construction projects who calculates the quantities of the safety items and checks that they appear once.
Have a project? Tell me briefly what the project is and what already exists. When the project is a good fit, I usually reply with focused questions and a written quote.
Contact me for a quote* Created with AI for marketing, for illustration only. Not reviewed by Yaakov Avital and not professional advice. Every project must be checked on its own by a professional quantity surveyor and an engineer.