What is DUVRI
The DUVRI, abbreviated term of Single Document for Assessment of Interference Risks, is the mandatory document pursuant to art. 26 of Legislative Decree 81/08 which requires the Employer to assess the risks of an interference nature with suppliers and contractors.
Paragraph 3 of art. 26 of Legislative Decree 81/08 specifies that “The employer shall promote the cooperation and coordination referred to in paragraph 2, by developing a single risk assessment document indicating the measures taken to eliminate or, where this is not possible, minimize the risks of interference or identifying.. accidents and occupational diseases ….”.
DUVRI: the obligations of the Employer in relation to art. 26 of Legislative Decree 81/08
Risk assessment and related safety measures are two extremely important aspects that every company must guarantee in the workplace to protect not only its employees but also all those who access these places (suppliers, customers, contractors, etc.).
The Single Document for the Assessment of Interference Risks (DUVRI) is a legal obligation for those who enter into contracts with external contractors.
What happens if two or more companies operate in the same workplace? What happens if the Client’s activities interfere with those of the external contractor?
In this situation, the law provides for the drafting of the DUVRI, a document that defines the preventive and protective actions implemented by the Client and the contractor to eliminate potential situations of interference risk. Safety in the workplace is a fundamental variable for every company; This, in fact, is necessary to protect the physical integrity of all those who work in the workplace in relation to risks resulting from the overlapping of work activities.
Legislative Decree 81/2008 is the main legal reference to keep in mind: it is a binding rule to which all companies must comply and adapt. The client has in fact the duty to promote cooperation paths with the contractor to ensure safe work and the Single Document for the Assessment of Interference Risks collects all the activities carried out by the two subjects, to prevent risky contacts. Often, companies contract services to external companies or self-employed workers and, consequently, in the same workplace and simultaneously, potentially dangerous spatio-temporal overlaps can occur. This type of risk is called interference risk.
For further information, we suggest the INAIL Guidelines 2013 Edition “The elaboration of DUVRI: Assessment of interference risks”.
Where does the DUVRI obligation come from? Legislation and provisions from Legislative Decree 626/94 to Legislative Decree 81/08
To fully understand the meaning of DUVRI it is necessary to take a step back and analyze the will of the legislator in the early 90s.
The historical origin of the obligation to assess interference risks arises from art. 7 of Legislative Decree 626 of 1994. Law that as even the “non-experts” of the sector know has been repealed and replaced by the TUS (Consolidated Law on Safety).
In this article the “rules” were indicated in case of “entrustment of a contract or work contract to contractors or self-employed workers within their company” and established the obligation on the part of the Employer to:
- verify the technical-professional suitability of contractors or self-employed workers;
- provide detailed information on specific risks in the environment;
- provide information on corporate emergency procedures;
- cooperate in the implementation of measures to prevent and protect against work-related risks covered by the contract;
- coordinate risk protection and prevention interventions;
- promote mutual information in order to eliminate risks of interference;
- promotes cooperation and coordination;
- draw up the DUVRI by attaching it to the contract.
On this issue, the legislator returned with Article 26 of Legislative Decree 81/2008 (link) which resumed and partially integrated the old Article 7, maintaining in fact the structure and contents of the same and establishing that in the case of contracts of contract or work or administration “The employer shall promote cooperation and coordination (…), developing a single risk assessment document setting out the measures taken to eliminate or, where this is not possible, minimise the risks of interference“.
When is DUVRI mandatory?
Always the art. Article 26 establishes the obligation to assess interference risks and to prepare the DUVRI in all cases of awarding a contract or work contract to external companies, with the exception of:
- services of an intellectual nature;
- mere supplies of materials or equipment;
- work or services the duration of which does not exceed five man-days.
In the latter case, however, excluding activities that involve high risks including high fire risk, carcinogenic risk and mutagenic risk, asbestos risk, Atex risk, confined space risk and biological risk.
DUVRI: Who writes it?
Pursuant to paragraph 3 art. 26, the DUVRI must be drawn up by the employer commissioning. The elaboration of this document is therefore the responsibility of the client company. Once processed, the DUVRI must be shared with the contractor who is required to analyze, and possibly integrate, its content and then view the risks that are reported.
DUVRI: contents and obligations of the Employer
As reiterated by the Jurisprudence through the numerous judgments of the Court of Cassation, the Client has a central role and in fact must:
- assess the risks present and potentially present in their workplaces;
- prepare information on these risks to be transmitted to suppliers or to be included as a premise to the DUVRI;
- assess the technical and professional suitability (ITP) of external companies both from a documentary and operational point of view;
- assess the risks of an interference nature according to each individual order / activity;
- assist mutual information through an opening coordination meeting and periodically according to the complexity of the contracted activity;
- correctly establish the security costs for the contract in question;
- draw up the DUVRI and update it periodically;
- ensure that the contractor signs are correctly affixed and, in the case of subcontracts, also by the latter;
- ensure that the DUVRI is attached to the contract;
- supervise the correct application of safety rules by external workers.
DUVRI and Covid risk: is there an obligation to update the document?
Common opinion of all experts in the sector, is that the DUVRI must be updated and integrated in relation to the Coronavirus risk. In fact, it is clear that the information on the risks present in the workplace must be integrated with all the indications concerning the methods of application of the anti-Covid protocols. In addition, it is emphasized that the assessment of interference risks must necessarily take into account the biological risk due to the potential simultaneous presence of different subjects in the same environment (risk of aggregation or proximity) and contamination by contact of surfaces.
Penalties in case of failure to prepare the DUVRI
In case of failure, or lacking, preparation of the DUVRI, as well as lack of cooperation and coordination, the Employer and the Manager are sanctioned with arrest from 2 to 4 months or with a fine from Euro 1,842, 76 to Euro 7,371.03.
It should also be noted that:
- Failure to verify the technical and professional suitability of contractors or self-employed workers results in arrest from 2 to 4 months or a fine from Euro 1,096.00 to Euro 5,260.80;
- Failure to transmit the Information on specific risks of the environment in which suppliers are intended to operate will result in the arrest from 2 months or a fine from Euro 00 to Euro 4,384.00.
As explicitly indicated in Paragraph 4 of art. 26, there is joint and several liability of the Customer for non-payment of wages and social security and insurance contributions by suppliers.
In addition to this, it should be noted that the jurisprudence has repeatedly underlined the joint and several liability of the Customer (both civil and criminal) in the event that a harmful event (accident or occupational disease) is attributable to an omissive conduct by the same (inadequate or lacking assessment of interference risks, failure to verify the professional requirements of the supplier, deficient control action).
From the above, it emerges the need to define punctually the management methods of the processes indicated above in relation to the company specificities, in order to optimize costs and resources (find out HERE how) also with the help of advanced IT tools.
Contacting a consulting company for safety at work is the ideal solution for all those companies that seek expert opinions and support on the subject.
What is the difference between DUVRI and DVR?
It often happens to get confused between two documents that are prepared and drawn up by companies: it is the Risk Assessment Document (abbreviated DVR) and the Single Document for Interference Risk Assessment (abbreviated DUVRI).
Although the acronyms are similar to each other, these documents have significant differences, starting with the fact that, while the processing of the DVR is mandatory for all companies that have at least one worker, the DUVRI, as explained above, must be prepared when situations of potential interference arise in the context of contract, work or supply contracts entrusted to third parties to the company.
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