The Interference Risk Document and Contracted Work (Art. 26, Italian D.Lgs 81/08)

When a company outsources works, services or supplies to an external firm, people, vehicles and operations belonging to different employers begin to share the same place. From this coexistence arise interference risks: hazards that belong to none of the activities taken alone but emerge from their overlap. The classic case is the electrician working while a forklift passes through the same department, or the cleaning firm operating during production. Article 26 of Italy's D.Lgs 81/08 governs exactly this.

What Article 26 requires

The rule places precise duties on the client employer — the party awarding the work who has legal availability of the premises.

• Verification of technical-professional suitability of contractors and self-employed workers, for example through Chamber of Commerce registration and the self-certification set out in Annex XVII.
• Detailed information on the specific risks present in the environment where they will operate and on the emergency measures in place.
• Cooperation and coordination: the employers involved cooperate in implementing prevention measures and coordinate their interventions, informing one another to eliminate risks arising from interference.

The DUVRI: what it is and who drafts it

The DUVRI — the single document for assessing interference risks — is where the client employer identifies measures to eliminate or reduce interference risks. It is the client who draws it up and attaches it to the contract.

A frequent misunderstanding: the DUVRI does not assess the risks inherent to the contractor's own activity (the contractor answers for those in its own risk assessment document), but only the risks arising from the overlap of activities.

When the DUVRI is not needed

The law provides some exclusions. The DUVRI is not required for services of an intellectual nature, for mere supplies of materials or equipment, and for works or services lasting no more than two days, provided they involve no particular risks (such as carcinogenic or biological agents, explosive atmospheres or the other risks listed in Annex XI). Even in these cases, the duties of information and coordination remain.

Mind another boundary: in temporary or mobile construction sites governed by Title IV, the reference document is not the DUVRI but the Safety and Coordination Plan drawn up by the coordinator. It is a theme we touch on in construction site safety and worth exploring through a dedicated path, including an experiential one such as the escape room for construction site safety.

Safety costs and ID badges

Two practical points often overlooked. The safety costs needed to eliminate interference risks must be stated specifically and are not subject to tender discount: a safeguard against squeezing safety for economic reasons. Moreover, staff of contractors and subcontractors must carry an ID badge with photo, personal details and employer.

Making it a living document

The biggest risk with the DUVRI is that it becomes a formality, signed and filed away. For it to work, it must be built through a joint site visit, updated when operations or timing change, and above all communicated to those working on the ground. An informed supervisor, as described in the supervisor's role, is often the link that turns written coordination into real behaviour.

Managing interference is not bureaucracy: it is how different companies, sharing the same space for a few days or for years, avoid turning each other's presence into a hazard. A well-made DUVRI is above all a conversation between employers, put down in writing.