Danger to life in construction in Israel that turns out to be a hacked business, almost zero enforcement, lack of investigators and containment of legal proceedings due to lack of professional forces, especially in the field of firefighting - according to a comprehensive report by the Knesset Information and Research Center. Today".
The report of the Research and Information Center, written at the request of Ruth Wasserman-Landa, shows that as of today, the conditions of eligibility and training of fire safety consultants have not been regulated. Regulated through the Engineers and Architects Law, 1958, but in practice there are no trainings for fire safety engineers in Israel, and there are few fire safety engineers in Israel who have been trained for this in institutions outside Israel.
Therefore, according to the Authority, this regulation cannot be relied upon as a sufficient regulatory framework, as the vast majority of practitioners in the field are not subject to the supervision of the Registrar of Engineers and Architects, and in fact anyone is now allowed to practice fire safety management consulting Any other training.
The Fire Authority further adds that the accumulated experience indicates different qualities of plans submitted to the Fire Authority, taking into account professional proficiency and the experience of the consultant.
Lawlessness at construction sites: 15 closure orders per year
It appears that the Registrar of Contractors in the Ministry of Housing has in the last two years prepared 12 lawsuits against unregistered building contractors who carried out construction work, and transferred them to the Ministry of Justice, but the Ministry of Justice has not yet approved their submission to the court by the prosecutor.
According to the Registrar, the Ministry of Justice argues that the Commissioner in charge of enforcement should be qualified under the Contractors Act, even though there is no such certification.
In 2021, the inspector initiated inspections at 1,800 construction sites where about 30,000 apartments are being built.
Termination orders were issued to 20 contractors due to the performance of contracting work without registration.
That is, inspections were conducted in only about 20% of the apartments that were under active construction.
It should be emphasized, however, that inspections should take place at all construction sites, not only residential ones, but also commercial and employment construction sites for example.
According to the Registrar of Contractors, in the years 2016-2021, 88 work stoppage orders were issued to unregistered contractors.
In the years 2016-2021, the number of work stoppage orders issued to unregistered contractors is about 15 orders per year on average.
In 2021, 20 orders were issued, and by 2022, 16 orders had already been issued by May alone.
Where is the supervision?
As for the resources required for effective supervision and enforcement, according to the Registrar of Contractors, to streamline and expand enforcement operations a standard of at least three inspectors and at least two staff members should be established to coordinate enforcement operations, as well as double the outsourced budget for this matter and employ another outside company.
Worse, the order is void after 15 days, unless an indictment has previously been filed in court against the order recipient.
The absurdity: An investigator from the Ministry of Housing was certified in a researchers' course according to the Planning and Construction Law, and a criminal prosecutor was recruited for the purpose of establishing the system.
Subsequently, investigative materials were collected in about 12 cases for the purpose of filing indictments, and the plaintiff began preparing the cases for prosecution, accompanied by the prosecutors' department on behalf of the State Attorney's Office.
However, for legal reasons, the Justice Department suspended the proceedings due to a doubt it raised regarding the investigator's certification and suitability for enforcement in accordance with the law, as well as due to allegations of selective enforcement that may arise and lead the firm to many evidentiary difficulties.
This is because the firm has difficulty enforcing specific content in the building permit and only deals with enforcement against unregistered contractors, even though every construction process involves many factors, which may lead to claims of selective enforcement when the firm acts against only one of them.
MK Ruth Wasserman-Landa // Photo: Government Press Office,
MK Ruth Wasserman Landa, who initiated the writing of the report, commented on the serious findings:
The report reveals profound failures in the enforcement, supervision and certification of fire and plumbing system contractors. Failures that literally endanger human lives! Only 3% of all contractors registered in the industry are defined as authorized to perform fire safety work! These failures should be addressed as soon as possible, increased enforcement, Supervision and training as soon as possible, in order to save lives. "
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