- Asbestos register
- A current record of the location and condition of known or presumed asbestos-containing materials in non-domestic premises, used to prevent accidental disturbance.
- CDM 2015
- The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, which allocate duties for planning, managing and monitoring health and safety throughout construction projects.
- CLP
- Classification, Labelling and Packaging rules for chemicals. GB CLP governs classification and labelling of substances and mixtures placed on the market in Great Britain.
- Compartmentation
- Fire-resisting construction that divides a building into compartments to restrict the spread of fire and smoke and protect escape or firefighting routes.
- Competent person
- Someone with sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to carry out the assigned health and safety function properly.
- Construction phase plan
- A written plan setting out health and safety arrangements, site rules and significant controls for the construction phase. Every construction project requires one before that phase begins.
- Duty holder
- A person or organisation on whom legislation places a particular duty. The identity and scope depend on the law and the control that person has.
- Dynamic risk assessment
- Continuous assessment and adjustment by a competent worker as conditions change during an activity. It complements, rather than replaces, planned risk assessment.
- Emergency lighting
- Lighting that operates when the normal supply fails so people can find and use escape routes and safety equipment. It requires routine functional and duration testing.
- Exposure action value and exposure limit value (EAV/ELV)
- An EAV triggers specified risk-control action; an ELV is a maximum exposure that must not be exceeded. The numerical values depend on the hazard, such as vibration or noise.
- F10 notification
- The notice a client gives HSE for a construction project expected to exceed 500 person-days, or last over 30 working days with more than 20 workers simultaneously.
- Face-fit test
- A qualitative or quantitative test confirming that a specific make, model, type and size of tight-fitting facepiece can seal adequately to an individual wearer.
- Hazard
- Anything with the potential to cause injury or ill health, such as a substance, machine, activity, condition or feature of work.
- Hierarchy of control
- An order for selecting controls that prioritises elimination and substitution, followed by engineering and organisational measures, with personal protective equipment last.
- Hot work
- Work capable of producing flame, heat or sparks, including welding, cutting and grinding, that may require fire prevention, a permit and post-work monitoring.
- Local exhaust ventilation (LEV)
- An engineering control that captures airborne contaminants at or near their source and carries them to a safe collection or discharge point.
- LOLER
- The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, covering planning and supervision of lifting operations and the suitability and thorough examination of lifting equipment.
- Martyn's Law
- The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, establishing protective-security duties for qualifying UK premises and events. Its substantive duties await commencement regulations as at 4 October 2026.
- MEWP
- A mobile elevating work platform, such as a scissor lift or boom lift, used to position people and equipment at a work location above or below its support surface.
- Near miss
- An unplanned event that did not cause injury, ill health or damage but had the potential to do so and can reveal weaknesses in controls.
- PAS 79
- A British Standards Institution framework for carrying out and documenting fire risk assessments. It is guidance, not legislation, and must be applied by a competent person.
- Permit to work
- A formal written control that authorises specified high-risk work for a limited time after defined precautions, isolations and responsibilities have been confirmed.
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Equipment worn or held to protect a person from health and safety risks. PPE is generally used after more effective controls have been considered.
- Principal contractor
- The contractor appointed by the client to control the construction phase of a project involving, or likely to involve, more than one contractor.
- PUWER
- The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, requiring work equipment to be suitable, maintained, inspected where necessary and used by properly informed and trained people.
- Residual risk
- The risk remaining after stated control measures are implemented. It should be assessed against the actual controls in place, not proposed measures.
- Respiratory protective equipment (RPE)
- Equipment worn to protect the wearer from inhaling hazardous substances or deficient atmospheres. It must be suitable for the hazard, task and wearer.
- RIDDOR
- The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, which require responsible persons to report defined work-related events and keep specified records.
- Risk
- The combination of the likelihood that a hazard will cause harm and the potential severity of that harm.
- Safe system of work
- A formal or informal method of organising people, equipment, materials and the environment so a task is carried out with risks adequately controlled.
- Workplace exposure limit (WEL)
- A maximum airborne concentration assigned to a hazardous substance over a specified reference period. Exposure must still be prevented or adequately controlled under COSHH.