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When you are renovating, you will most likely be working with others, such as the client or other contractors on-site. This means that you will need to think about how you will manage health and safety on-site and how you will communicate this with other people involved with the project. This will ensure that everyone is on top of the site hazards and practicing good health and safety during your renovation.

Here are a few things you will need to think about for your upcoming renovations:

Inductions are a way of ensuring workers and clients are aware of the risks and hazards that are involved in the job at hand, conducted at the start of each new job.

It is important that you induct your clients prior to starting the job, advising them about the health and safety guidelines that need to be followed for your work area, even when it’s their home.

If your work site is occupied by a client, or the client is likely to visit, then we recommend that you carry out the following:

Firstly, check the following three COVID-19 related questions with your client:

• Do you or anyone in the home have any symptoms associated with COVID-19 or are awaiting the results from a COVID-19 test?
• Have you or anyone in the home been in contact with any known or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the past 14 days?
• Have you or anyone in the home returned from overseas in the past 14 days or been in contact with anyone that has?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then the work should not commence.

Next, meet the client at the worksite (if possible) and explain the following:

• The main hazards that will be present during the work e.g. ladders, power tools, noise, materials, electricity
• The ‘no-go’ areas while work is being carried out. Putting up a barrier clearly defines the work area for the homeowner or client.
• Run through the worksite rules with the client

Some good rules to use are:

• Follow health and safety instructions from workers onsite
• Take reasonable care for your own health and safety and do not do anything to endanger yourself or others
• Keep away from vehicles, machinery and tools
• Do not touch electrical wiring or electrical devices
• Do not remove hole or trench covers and stay behind barriers if in place
• Do not climb on or stand under any height equipment
• Keep clear of stacked materials and storage areas
• Children should not enter the work area while work is in progress or touch any materials and equipment

These steps will help to identify the risks that you will be bringing into your clients home, because when health and safety is top of mind – your site is a safer place for everyone involved.

If you are working alone we suggest that you set up a procedure to regularly contact someone throughout the day to check-in that you are safe.