@Darren - I have moved this topic away from the compliance module, as I find the subtopics to be more relevant here (Wellbeing responsibilities). We can incorporate it at later stage. - Nat
Welcome to LB7.
Congratulations you have reached the last learning bite in module A of your New Zealand Certificate in Construction Trades Supervision (Level 5). In this learning we will be looking at the New Zealand Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 which replaced the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
Our aim is this module is to:
- Interpret main features and principles within the new Health and Safety at Work Act.
- Examine Hazard identification and the importance of risk management.
The building and construction industry often ends up being a very dangerous place to work. However, most workplace incidents can be prevented with a bit of common sense and some good planning with regular inspection procedures.
Health and safety is the most important consideration in any construction project big or small.
These worksite practices and process should be something that you ‘have to do’ to meet the requirements needed.
Following good health and safety procedures, and contributing to your health and safety culture on site, are essential work and life skills.
Health and safety is something that you need to consider every day, during every task, on every project. The most important health and safety piece of equipment you have at your disposal is your brain and the brain of your workers.
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The primary objective of the health and Safety at Work act is to promote the prevention of harm to all persons at work and other persons in the vicinity of a place of work, this means the act is meant to stop employees and public from being injured in any New Zealand workplace.
The legislation and its regulations within covers the health and safety of people in all types of workplaces while they are at work. It makes requirements for:
- Establishing correct duties and responsibilities of parties involved with the work.
- Hazard identification and their control
- General risk of workplace management
- Asbestos
- Work involving hazardous substance
- Training and supervision
- Providing safety information
- Emergency procedures
More in depth information on these regulations are provided for you at the end of this video.
The legislation act outlines the regulation requirements for: Worker engagement, participation, and representation.
These regulations are then supported by good practises conducted by worker engagement.
Within these guidelines it outlines that workers must have a voice on health and safety matters and that they should know of and how the job is carried out and done safely.
Having a collected voice from workers can help management make better health and safety decisions and can help representatives prioritise the health and safety matters that need to be addressed.
Who Regulates this?
Worksafe replaces what was referred to as Occupational health and safety and the Department of Labour(OSH) . Worksafe is a Crown entity which means it is a standalone entity and not part of any other government Department.
What are some of the parties responsibilities when it comes to this Act?
As referenced from Site Safe and Worksafe NZ
The PCBU’s
A PCBU is not usually an actual person, (it is a legalism referring to a business entity). In most cases the PCBU will be the business itself like a company or an organisation such as your employer, the main contractor, client or consultant.
The PCBU has the ‘primary duty of care’ to ensure the safety of workers and anyone else affected by its work.
The PCBU must (as far as reasonably practicable):
- provide and maintain a workplace that is without risks to Health and Safety
- provide and maintain safe plant and structures and safe systems of work
- ensure the safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures, and substances
- provide adequate facilities for the welfare of workers
- provide information, training, instruction, or supervision that is necessary to protect all persons from risks to their Health and Safety arising from work
What is “Reasonably Practicable”?
The health and Safety at Work act uses reasonably practicable as the test to determine what is or was able to be done by a PCBU in order to meet its health and safety obligations. In another words this means, what could reasonably be done at a particular time to ensure health and safety, taking into account and weighing up all relevant associated matters.
The OFFICERS
These are the people in senior positions who have a significant influence over the way the business is run. They include your CEO’s, directors, sole charge owner-operators and anyone else at that particular level.
A person who merely advises or makes recommendations to someone in a senior position is not considered an officer. Officers are now personally liable under the Act if they fail to meet their “due diligence” obligations.
An Officer must exercise due diligence by taking reasonable steps to:
- Keep up to date about work Health and Safety matters
- Understand the nature of the hazards and risks associated with the organisation’s operations
- Ensure the organisation has resources and processes to eliminate and minimise risks
- Ensure appropriate and timely processes for receiving and responding to incidents, hazards, and risks
- Ensure there are processes for complying with any duty
- Verify that Health and Safety processes are in place and being used
What is Due diligence again?
Due diligence as it is defined in the health and Safety at Work act is broadly the same as the concept of due diligence that directors already know in a wider business sense. Taken from the Cambridge dictionary, it just means “action that is considered reasonable for people to be expected to take in order to keep themselves or others and their property safe.”
The WORKERS
As we should know this is the term for employees.
Workers are individuals who carry out work for the PCBU.
Workers should: Take reasonable care to ensure the Health and Safety of themselves and others in the workplace.
- Follow instructions from the PCBU
- Cooperate with Health and Safety policies and procedures of the PCBU
- Workers also have the right to refuse to undertake unsafe or dangerous work
Most construction sites have a Health and Safety Representatives these are knowledgeable about Health and Safety matters and are aware of the rights and responsibilities of everyone in the workplace.
If your company has an elected Health and Safety Representative make sure you know who that person is, as you can go to them for advice if something concerns you.
More Information on the Roles and Responsibilities and “Where you Fit” can be found on pages 6-9 on this SiteSafe practical guide.
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There are a number of potential hazards situations, equipment, activities, tools, and materials on a building site.
A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause harm. Hazards must be looked after, so they do not hurt anyone. When you handle and or use materials, we must implement correct practices and procedures to minimize these hazards, examples of hazards would include your Slips or falls, Struck by objects, or your Electric shocks just to name a few.
Identifying hazards on a work site with a high level safety programme will certainly help you carry out the required site activities safely.
Hazards fall into three main types, these are your:
- BIOLOGICAL: Bacteria, micro-organisms and viruses which can reside in or be transferred.
- CHEMICAL: Manmade substances that can cause illness and harm through mishandling or processing.
- PHYSICAL: Poor practices around standards which can cause harm to ourselves or others
WHAT IS RISK?
Risk arises from people being exposed to a hazard (a source of harm). The level of risk is determined by the combination of:
the likelihood of a hazardous event occurring and well as the severity of the injury/illness.
With minimizing the hazards and risks, Site managers or others in control of a construction site should prepare a safety plan or checklist.
You can find more advice and support on site safety checklists from the government Worksafe website. A link to this resource will be provided for you at the end of the video.
A Health and safety plan must be prepared for by any commercial or multi-unit building sites. It is the site manager’s / employers duty to identify and minimise the risks present, provide safety equipment as required and notify workers and visitors to the site of any potential risks to ensure that health and safety are managed and that proper ways of controlling hazards are implemented
A site safety checklist should cover amenities and facilities such as:
- Hazard notification board.
- Washing facilities.
- Toilets.
- Drinking water stations.
- First aid facility.
- Accommodation for clothes and meals.
- Adequate lighting.
- Maintenance and cleaning of facilities.
- Adequate ventilation.
- Regular safety cheques of plant equipment.
All workers or visitors on site should be provided with personal protective equipment (PPE), be trained in its use and be aware of the reasons for its use. If required, your site safety checklist should also cover/ include things like:
- Consideration of prevention from falling
- Electrical safety consideration.
- All important safety hazardous substances handling and requirements for portable equipment or material handling.
The most effective method to ensure that risks and hazards are covered is to implement a site-specific safety plan (SSSP).
This plan is developed by each contractor or employee on site. It is a documented procedure of how safety will be managed by each contractor or employer.
It describes how safety activities will be coordinated, how safety will be communicated, how it would be monitored and how specific hazards will be controlled.
Taken from Site safe NZ A (SSSP) contains the following main points:
- The name of the subcontractor who developed the site-specific safety plan and the main contractor
- The name of the company site safety representative who has authority for safety
- Any notable work being undertaken
- The hazard management process being used
- Any hazardous substance to be brought on site
- The method of involving employees
- Emergency plans and procedures
- Accident reporting and investigating procedures
- Safety inspection and reviews
- Training and induction activities.
Pre-Starts, Toolbox talks or H&S meetings are a way of communicating these required Health and safety matters, these meetings or gatherings is recommended by site safe to be held regularly onsite or in and around the workplace.
A toolbox talk is the discussion normally from 10 to 15 minutes long on site about your job and how to do it safely. It is a chance for you to participate in health and safety matters around site if you know of hazards that are not controlled, if you have experienced accidents or if there are things that worrying you about your safety.
All of these can be discussed during toolbox talks meetings. Everyone should be encouraged to participate by raising Health and Safety issues for discussion.
Workers of all types should attend, and become involved.
Some businesses undertake toolbox talks at the start of everyday while others hold them every one or two weeks or prior to new work starting. Regardless of their frequency the important thing is that they happen, and the focus is on safety.
Toolbox talks are a great way of for people to share information where they know of hazards and risks that are not controlled.
A few useful tips from SiteSafe.org for running your own toolbox talks are:
- Arrange a suitable meeting location, Actively involve the workers to get their input
- Use props and visual aids, Review your Task break down Analysis
- Talk about problems or incidents, Recognise safe performance
- Encourage feedback
Just remember safety consideration is for all site workers as well as the general public all of which need to be made aware, and talking with everyone is a great way to inform all parties on these Health and Safety matters.
More in depth explanation on these Site Specific Safety Plans can be found in the
https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/environment/looking-after-aucklands-water/stormwater/docsbmphealthsafety/site-specific-safety-plans.pdf
Further information on getting the most from your SSSP can be found in these “plain safe guides that’s right for you” from site safe NZ.
https://www.sitesafe.org.nz/products-and-services/sssp/
This video provided by “HASpod” on YouTube, illustrates an example of a toolbox talk that could be carried out on “manual handling” on site.
HAZARD, RISK, and INJURIES.
The focus of the new Health and Safety at Work Act is to protect workers and other people against harm to their health, safety, and wellbeing. This is achieved by eliminating or minimising potential risks at work.
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To manage risks all PCBUs are required to identify any reasonably foreseeable hazards that give rise to health and safety risk to their employees or workers. The level of the risk for each hazard must then be assessed.
Risk management is simply the process of, Identifying hazards
Assessing the level of risk posed by these hazards then Implementing controls to eliminate or minimise these risks and monitoring the effectiveness of these controls.
A risk Assessment Matrix is one tool that can be used to help assess risk in your workplace.
Ref: SiteSafe
Assessing these risks
PCBUs and supervisors have a duty to conduct risk assessments to ensure protection against potential hazards on sites. Conducting risk assessments is fundamental to preventing and reducing injuries.
WHAT DOES A RISK ASSESSMENT INVOLVE?
Assessing the risks involves identifying the hazards that exist and assessing the impact of the identified hazards on those that work in the area.
Assessing the risk means determining the likelihood that the hazard may lead to injury and/or disease.
In other words, determine if the risk is low, medium or high.
For example, a tripping hazard is present when an extension cord is placed across an area on site. The risk, however, may be low or high dependent on a number of factors.
The risk may be low if no one ever walks in that area. The risk may be high if any one of the following is present:
- the area is used frequently,
- the lighting in the area is poor,
- and/or there are no warning signs or devices to indicate there is a hazard.
Controlling the Risk.
Once hazards are identified and risks are assessed, the risks need to be controlled or eliminated effectively.
So referenced from SiteSafe “A control measure is any measure taken to eliminate or minimise risk”.
When controlling most hazards and risks, the better the controls used, the lower the level of risk.
This is then called the Hierarchy of control measures.
This hierarchy system associated with control measures minimize hazards and potential risks. How it works is that when minimizing a hazard, the controls higher on the list are more effective in managing those risks related.
| Substitution controls | These could include things like using a different type of chemical which is not as toxic as another or using a different building material. |
|---|---|
| Isolation controls. | These are barriers that keep workers and hazards apart . Separation is another word to use as a method of isolation. |
| Engineering controls | These could include sound enclosures around loud plant machinery or an airborne extraction system such as fans and ducting that remove hazardous vapors from a combined or enclosed space or room. |
| Administrative controls. | These could include things like training, policies and procedures and putting up signs and visual warnings. |
| Personal protective equipment | This is gear and clothing that you wear as the first line of defence. |
Ref:Worksafe.govt.nz
Situation, Isolation, and Engineering (SIE) controls are most effective when minimizing a risk. Administrative and PPE control should be used in conjunction with other controls further up the hierarchy (S,I,E).
Controls may involve just a single measure or a combination of different measures, that when are together provide the highest level of protection that is reasonably practicable.
A quick way of remembering the Hierarchy of Controls is the phrase:
“Every Smoko I Eat A Pie”
So the “risk management” process is to identify the hazards and to find out what cause harm and how to prevent them.
There are three common risk management process or ways that can do this, you might already be familiar with or currently carrying out these. They are:
- Step back 5x5 or
- 7-Point Analysis or the (Can i?) or
- Task analysis or (TA) which set out and break down the activities in a logical sequences.
Site Safe NZ have produced a Passport handbook which is a great online resource library on all these risk managements strategies which will be provided at the end of this short video.
www.sitesafe.org.nz/guides--resources/passport-handbook/
Your own site emergency procedures
As we know construction sites areas are harmful, employees or public should be aware about their potential hazards.
During your work experience you would have been taught how to avoid these injuries related to your own project site, you would have also been shown how to carry out the correct first aid procedures in the event of an injury.
Referenced from Worksafe NZ: Under the Health and Safety at Work in the General Risk and Workplace Management section of the Regulations, PCBUs have a duty to provide first aid for their workers at work.
So, first aid supplies are the basic essentials that should be easily accessible and checked. Basically when an injury or accident occurs, workers should always:
- Seek immediate first aid treatment,
- Know where the First aid facilities are and who to contact.
The contents of the first aid kit should be placed in a weatherproof container with individual sealed packages for each type of item. It needs to be checked by the employer at least once a week on each job to ensure that the expended items are replaced.
Job site first aid equipment is a legislated requirement and employees should be made aware of their kits and their locations.
A PCBU must not impose a levy or charge on a worker for anything done or provided in relation to health and safety, including the provision of first aid kits and facilities.
Just remember If a fellow worker is seriously injured, arrange for a qualified first aider, a doctor or ambulance to be called immediately. All staff should learn how to deal with different types of emergencies and by obtaining a first aid certificate provides people with the skills needed to provide the first level of treatment.
Then the first aid certificates need to be kept up to date, which means attending refresher courses in the future.
Just remember in an emergency call 111
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Websites
Worksafe New Zealand https://worksafe.govt.nz
Site Safe New Zealand https://sitesafe.org.nz
Building and Performance: https://learning.building.govt.nz/course/index.php?categoryid=15
Branz: https://www.branz.co.nz/
Pexels.com
mbie.govt.nz
Dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/due-diligence
Articles
Building blocks for building controls
buildmagazine.org.nz/index.php/articles/show/building-blocks-for-building-controls
Building Performance: How the Building Code Works
https://www.building.govt.nz/building-code-compliance/how-the-building-code-works/
(MBIE) Licensed Building Practitioners: Building Confidence
https://www.lbp.govt.nz/assets/lbp/documents/lbp-handbook.pdf
Building Legislation. A Tradies Guide: BCITO plus series
https://bcito.org.nz/documents/274/BCITO_Tradies_Guide_Building_Legislation.pdf
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. A Tradies Guide:
https://bcito.org.nz/documents/276/BCITO_Tradies_Guide_HSWA.pdf
Worksafe: hazardoussubstances.govt.nz
https://www.hazardoussubstances.govt.nz/media/1073/wsnz_2268-working-safety-with-haz-sub-v25-2-fa-lr.pdf
https://www.hazardoussubstances.govt.nz/videos
Building Code Handbook | Third edition
https://www.building.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/building-code-compliance/handbooks/building-code-handbook/building-code-handbook-3rd-edition-amendment-13.pdf
Construction in New Zealand: Everyone who goes to work comes home safe:
worksafe-construction-safety-survey-handout.pdf (sitesafe.org.nz)
Site Safe: The New Health and Safety at Work Act: April 2016
https://www.sitesafe.org.nz/globalassets/guides-and-resources/safety-blog/the-new-health-and-safety-at-work-act-2016-web-120716.pdf
Worksafe: Safety data sheets in the workplace: November 2017
file:///C:/Users/090511/Downloads/2632WKS-5-hazardous-substances-safety-data-sheets.pdf
BOOKS (Physical copies)
Pringle, T. (2018). BRANZ House Building Guide (3rd Edition)
NZS 3604:2011 Timber Building Standards
Pryda Building Guide for fixings and installation
The construction industry is known for being one of the most dangerous fields.
- In 2019, eleven people died while working in the construction sector during this particular year, the most of any full calendar year since 2009, when 19 people died.
- In 2020, we saw five worker deaths related to the construction industry, five too many still!
“Every worker is entitled to go to work and return home safely.” -Worksafe
The hazardous materials we use in and around the site can be responsible for respiratory and other health-related problems with our workers. Still, most work-related respiratory deaths are the result of asbestos exposure. Watch out it kills!
“Trades workers have had the highest number of ACC claims by occupation since 2007. They made 41,900 claims in 2018. Almost 1 in 5 claims admitted 2018 Construction workers made 37,200 claims, 400 fewer than in 2017”. (Branz)
Most injuries occur from body stress, falling from heights, slipping and trips, or using power tools. Hearing loss is also very common among on-site workers.
One in every ten construction workers perceive a risk of serious injury on site.
Looking at the financial side of hazard prevention, construction companies can save a lot of money each year with injury prevention and training for their staff to avoid these potential workplace accidents.
“You’ve only got one body, you’ve got to look after it.”
- Jono van Echten, Scaffolder (ACC Workplace Safety)
While the construction industry is risky, proper safety and health training and regular inspections and equipment checks can lessen some of these risks.
Working in your team to eliminate safety hazards associated with falls, falling objects and vehicles can save companies hundreds of dollars annually. These are beneficial for keeping workers safe, resulting in being able to go home after a hard day’s work.
This site-safe factsheet provides some key information about the growth of the construction sector in New Zealand. But, with growth comes potential risk. These pressures put on workers potentially increase the risks to health and safety.
We must make ourselves aware of the legislation that affects us and do our best to follow it. This is especially important in fields such as construction, where people may be harmed, and damage caused to buildings due to our actions or inactions.
We should look upon it as a way of protecting ourselves and our clients from future harm. As a rule, if it is done legally, we can be sure it is done and carried out correctly.
