News
Safety on Your Construction Site
20 October 2025
Who is actually responsible for safety on a construction site? And who ensures coordination between the many professional groups that are often present side by side on complex site environments? As a Health and Safety Coordinator (also know as HSE), you are responsible for maintaining an overview of safety. It’s a role that requires both technical insight and strong communication skills. Read on to learn more about what the Health and Safety role involves and how it works in practice when performed by a consulting engineer.
A Health and Safety Coordinator is a legally required function and a significant part of any project, ensuring that the client appoints one of more individuals to coordinate safety and health during construction work where two or more employers are working simultaneously. The HSE acts as the client’s representative, and together they must ensure that planning, scoping, and coordination are carried out in accordance with the Danish Executive Order on the Client’s Duties (no. 117 – February 5, 2013). The HSE is also responsible for preparing the Health and Safety Plan, which outlines the project and its safety conditions. This includes an organisational chart, site layout, schedule, traffic zones, and procedures for ongoing inspections.
As a Health and Safety Coordinator, you must ensure that work is carried out safely and that the rules of the Danish Working Environment Authority are followed. The role is both highly coordinating and practical. It requires technical insight and experience on-site, as you quickly become involved in technical challenges,
Consulting Engineer as Health and Safety Coordinator
When a consulting engineer is hired by a client to take on the HSE role, they enter the project with a specific technical background. You function somewhat like a “guest” on the construction site; your are not a permanent part of the client’s organisation, but you act as a neutral and professionally grounded party. The advantage of hiring consulting engineers, such as Process Engineering, for the HSE role is that we are familiar with technical details and can contribute both with overview and insight. This makes it easier to identify risks, ask the right questions, and ensure that safety and health are considered from the outset.
When you have technical insight and are used to being on-site, it’s easier to ‘speak the same language’ and communicate with the various trades. You also immediately notice when something is unsafe. As an external HSC, you’re a bit of a guest since you’re not on-site all the time—usually once a week or every other week. That’s why strong communication skills and the ability to quickly assess the situation are essential. As an external consultant, you’re not part of the client’s daily operations, but you must quickly understand how things work. This includes procedures for access, safety, hygiene, and internal communication on-site. No two sites operate the same—not even within the same company. On a site where production is ongoing, there’s an even greater need to understand the compromises required—from space allocation and access for production staff to ensuring that tradespeople comply with hygiene zones, temporary downgraded zones, shoe changes, sticky mats, dust wall sealing, and much more,
You need to unite the different trades on-site. They also work differently. So the role is very much about coordinating work across suppliers and maintaining their safety awareness. I have close dialogue with the site manager and hear what’s going on, while also conducting safety inspections and holding safety meetings with relevant themes. You need to be aware of the atmosphere at all levels and see with your own eyes how people behave. When rules are broken, it’s vital to propose a practical solution so the work can be carried out safely. That makes it easier to manage complex issues
Safety on a construction site requires overview, communication, and professional expertise – and with a Health and Safety Coordinator, who has technical insight and a holistic view, you can ensure safety on your construction site.