Everyone should make an effort to stay healthy… not just people working in construction. However, there is often a need for specific health checks to monitor the impacts on our health while working on construction sites.
Health monitoring is a proactive way of ensuring your team isn’t at risk in the workplace. It’s focused on the most common health risks on construction sites – hearing loss and exposure to dust (e.g. silica or asbestos dust). Health monitoring does not include general wellbeing checks or programs, since things like cholesterol checks and healthy living programs aren’t specific to construction work.
As an Employer, health monitoring is something you need to provide for any of your team who may be exposed to hazards that may cause long-term health-related issues (e.g. silicosis, asbestosis, mesothelioma, noise-induced hearing loss). It’s intended to detect the early signs of ill health or disease, helping you monitor and protect your team from exposure to construction-related health risks. You’ll need a registered medical practitioner with experience in health monitoring to perform the medical tests.
Monitoring the health of your workers is not an alternative to effective hazard control measures, rather, it helps you understand the effectiveness of the controls being used on-site. If a worker’s health is being affected by exposure to construction-related health risks it’s best to find out as early as possible and prevent any further harm to that worker or any other team members.
You have a legal responsibility to monitor workers’ health. Make sure you complete regular Site Reviews on the HazardCo App, as this will help you identify hazards and put an effective health monitoring plan in place.
Remember, like all on-site health and safety, prevention is where it’s at. To ensure you’re meeting your legal requirements when it comes to health monitoring, get on-site with the HazardCo App, and complete an Site Review today.
We don’t need to tell you that asbestos is a big deal. The dangers of the substance are common knowledge. And knowledge is power, in this case, more so than most: the power to save lives.
With this in mind, we’d like to give you some basic information on the dangers of asbestos, where it can be found and what you can do to avoid it.
There are two types of asbestos:
Inhaling asbestos fibres can cause a range of irreversible damage and diseases. Damage may occur in as little as five years or as long as 40-50 years later. Many people will not realise they have been exposed until it’s too late.
Approximately one third of all homes in Australia contain asbestos products. On 31st December 2003 asbestos was banned in Australia. Therefore any building constructed up until then has a high probability of containing asbestos. Remember, if you’re planning to renovate or partially demolish a building, have a survey done first to identify if asbestos containing material is present. If it is, contact your local Licensed asbestos removalist.
Yes – as long as strict guidelines are followed. Bagging and wrapping asbestos pieces is essential in any sort of removal – and dumping asbestos-containing materials can only be done on authorised sites. We advise you to leave this to the Licensed asbestos removalists.
Recognition means everything when it comes to asbestos. From sticking up posters on-site to equipping your team with knowledge of asbestos dangers through the HazardCo app, educating your workers could be the difference between life and death.
There are many asbestos awareness and training courses available online and face to face for further education and training.
Got Questions? Reach out to the HazardCo Health and Safety Advisory Support Team on 1800 954 702 to talk it over.
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Australia is known for its rich cultural diversity, which means we have an array of different cultures and languages across the workforce. A culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) workplace is one where some workers’ preferred language is not English and so they may have limited knowledge of English.
This includes:
It’s important for employers to be aware of the language preferences of their workforce so they can make sure that health and safety is discussed in ways that everyone understands.
Employers have a duty of care to provide and maintain a healthy and safe working environment. As part of this, employers are to provide workers with the necessary information, instruction, training or supervision to enable them to do their work in a way that is safe and without risks to health. Therefore it’s important you provide all workers with the information they need to do their job safely, including information in other languages where appropriate. This means that you need to be aware of any language and cultural barriers that may impact communication in your business, and take reasonable steps to address them.
Starting out with proper consideration and consultation can save you time and money by helping to identify the range of languages spoken in the workplace as well as workers’ preferred forms of communication.
We have put together some tips when it comes to effectively communicating with workers.
When you engage workers, whether they be employees or contractors, make sure you are aware of their language needs.
Key things to consider:
Think about what is the most important information you need to get across. If someone only understood a small amount of what you are trying to say, what are the key things?
It’s best to use face-to-face discussion and demonstration where possible, as this is the most effective way to communicate across different languages and allows any misunderstandings to be identified and addressed immediately. Written material should be used to back up more direct communication, and should be in clear and simple language, with diagrams and examples to aid understanding.
Tailoring communication to the language needs and abilities of workers, and ensuring all workers understand the hazards and risks in their workplace, are important steps toward protecting their health and safety and keeping the workplace a healthy and safe work environment for all.
The more often you are exposed to a risk, the less your brain perceives the significance of the risk. The level of risk has not changed. Remember how your first time on a busy worksite felt, all those things going on around you. That level of danger is still there. As you have become constantly exposed to it your mind starts to ignore things it thinks are no longer relevant so you have to consciously pay attention to the ever-changing worksite environment. This is how many of the common injuries happen, the brain switches off and you go into ‘autopilot’.
Hit body on object
Manual handling
Nail gun
Hand Tools
Slip/trips
Of course, reach out to HazardCo and speak to one of our expert Health and Safety Advisors if you have any questions or need more support on ways to combat common incidents on-site. You can contact us on 1800 954 702.
The construction industry is known for its potential hazards and risks, and unfortunately, incidents sometimes occur. Having an incident on-site can be alarming, but your response is crucial in reducing its impact and making sure the team is safer in the future.
Remember, if you’re a HazardCo member we will support you throughout this process, just give us a call.
Incidents can range from very minor, to serious incidents. The steps below can be scaled up or down depending on the seriousness of the incident. If you have a near miss on site, this is also considered an incident. Learn more about reporting near misses.
The health and safety of the people involved in the incident should be the main concern. Immediately assess the situation to identify any ongoing dangers and take appropriate action to eliminate or minimise risks. Evacuate affected areas if necessary and provide medical assistance to injured personnel. Remember, health and safety should always come before anything else.
Once the immediate safety concerns are addressed, you may need to secure the scene to prevent further incidents or unauthorised access. Erect physical barriers, post warning signs and restrict entry if needed.
Maintaining clear and effective communication during and after an incident is really important.
Notify all the relevant people about the incident as soon as possible. This includes workers, supervisors, managers and contractors.
Using the Report Incident feature on your HazardCo App, fill out the fields to capture what happened. Your reported incident will be added to your incident register in the Hub, and HazardCo retains this for as long as you’re a member.
It’s important to note that some incidents are required to be notified to your Regulator. These are referred to as notifiable incidents. A notifiable incident is:
In the event of a notifiable incident, you need to preserve the incident site until an inspector arrives or directs you otherwise. This doesn’t prevent you from helping an injured person or making the site safe.
For more information on the Regulator in your state, head over to our help centre.
Investigating the incident will help to find out exactly what happened and why. We recommend talking to the people involved as well as any witnesses. For a serious incident, it’s best to speak to everyone individually.
Document all your findings in a report, including photos and relevant data. In the report, you should look at immediate causes as well as bigger issues and potential improvements to prevent future incidents. HazardCo members can use the guided Investigation Report in the Hub to identify any shortcomings or gaps that may have contributed to the incident and implement corrective actions. This may involve improving training programs, modifying procedures, upgrading equipment, or implementing new safety technologies.
Pass on what you have learnt to everyone involved. This is your opportunity to emphasise a culture of continuous improvement and learning to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Encourage open communication and create a supportive environment that encourages workers to report near misses and potential hazards without fear of repercussions.
When an incident occurs on a construction site, a swift and effective response is crucial to reduce risks and ensure the health and safety of your crew. Prioritising safety, establishing clear communication channels, securing the scene, communicating and investigating the incident can continuously improve the health and safety of everyone on site. At the end of the day, these measures protect lives, as well as contribute to the long-term success of the project and your business.
If an incident happens at work and your first thought is paperwork, you’re doing health and safety wrong.
Reporting incidents and near misses is vital to good business, and that begins with a ‘safety differently’ approach. A prevention before cure attitude. One that sees incidents reported immediately and investigated thoroughly.
Time and time again we see incidents happen and fingers pointed. What is absolutely vital for your business is a health and safety culture that involves no blame, is open, honest and educated. How do you nurture this culture? You need the right tools.
You don’t need to over complicate matters here. Incidents and near misses should be registered in one convenient place that is easy to manage and draw upon when needed.
The HazardCo App has been designed with just this in mind. Simply login, report who was involved in the incident, what treatment was required, and the details surrounding what happened.
All of this information is then stored automatically as an incident register on the HazardCo Hub for you to access and view anytime.
You should report all health and safety incidents or near misses that happen at work. These can be incidents that affect you, your workers, or anyone on-site.
Every single worker plays a part in protecting ourselves and one another in the workplace. By reporting incidents you are helping identify areas where you can work together to improve health and safety, and potentially save lives.
It’s important that when incidents occur, time is taken to review and learn from them.
Depending on the complexity of the incident, learning from it might be as simple as meeting with the team afterward to figure out what went wrong, and what can be done to stop it from happening again. Some incidents may need more investigation to help find out exactly what happened and why.
Yes, it is. And that’s why we are so proud of what we do. The HazardCo App and Hub puts health and safety in everyone’s hands, so everyone is protecting their workforce and working safely.
By reporting and investigating an incident, you will find the cause, but you are also likely to identify other areas where improvements can be made. Investigations aren’t about blame and punishment but learning and improving.
No workplace is perfect, and failure will occur. Let your workers know this, and that blame is off the table. This is about making sure everyone is safe and able to get on with the job at hand.
Educate to empower, and enable your workforce to sort their safety today.
All Complete, Premium and Standard HazardCo members receive incident support as part of their plan.
If you have an incident on-site, get in touch and we will help you work out if it’s notifiable to your State/ Territory Regulator and guide you through the next steps. Incidents on-site are stressful for everyone involved, so we will make sure you are following the right processes.
We’re here to help. Reach out to our team if you have any questions or need health and safety advice.
Nail guns are used frequently on construction jobs, including in residential construction. Like all power tools, nail guns can cause serious injury. Nail gun injuries can happen due to accidental discharges whilst moving, carrying, and repositioning. Injury can also happen when fired nails strike other nails or timber knots causing them to ricochet. Incidents also occur when workers accidentally place themselves into positions where they are directly exposed to the projectile path of a nail gun.
The risk of a nail gun injury is greatly increased when using a contact trigger (bump fire or multishot) compared to using a full sequential trigger (single-shot). Most injuries occur when the nail gun is set to ‘bump fire’ mode, resulting in penetrating wounds to the operator or nearby workers.
It’s important you review the type of nail gun trigger system and the extent of information,instruction and training given to workers, particularly inexperienced and young workers.
There are a number of ways to reduce the risk of injuries. We have put together a few suggestions below and we encourage you to consult with your workers about how you can work together to ensure safe nail gun use on-site :
Note: Bump-fire nail guns potentially may be used to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries (e.g. strains and sprains) for jobs that involve high volume production and repetitive tasks. In these circumstances, ensure only highly experienced and skilled workers use these types of nail guns and implement other additional control measures to reduce the risk of injury.
While many industries seem to have recovered post-pandemic, the construction sector is still battling tough conditions.
It’s important to keep on top of your business processes to reduce headaches later down the track. Whether it’s your invoicing, your insurance, or your health and safety, neglecting these things can really hurt later on. Some businesses are choosing to take this time to invest in their current systems and processes, to help them to build a more resilient business that can respond to the market.
If your business has scaled back a bit, such as cutting back on help, switching to smaller renovation projects, or you plan to really tighten the belt on the budget for a while, we’re here to remind you to prioritise your H&S. As long as you or your team are on the tools, you need to manage health and safety effectively. This means:
The HazardCo system helps you to manage your health and safety in the simplest way possible, so you’ll feel confident you are keeping your team and your business safe. The system is designed especially for home builders, and comes with all the reports and templates you need, loaded up with advice provided by experts
Key benefits include:
Health and safety should never take a back seat. It’s still as crucial as it’s ever been and HazardCo’s here to keep you out of strife.
Get a free 7-day trial of the HazardCo health and safety system.
As a plumber, you know your business runs better when you’ve got a good process to manage your jobs. But keeping your job management in top form can be a hard task when you’re on the tools everyday.
Time is money, so the less time you spend making calls to confirm service details or buying materials, the more billable hours you have to complete work. To run your business in a more efficient and profitable way you need to be making the most of your time, instead of getting bogged down by admin.
If your team is using paper quotes or sending ad hoc emails, you’ll be wasting precious time every week trying to find this information when you need it. An app-based job management solution stores all of the information you need in one place so you can find all the details you need, when you need them.
Do you find you’re frequently making calls to your team to stay on top of what they’re working on and what jobs have been completed? On the flip side, do you find your team calling throughout the day wondering where they should be and when?
Remove the need for these calls with a job management app that shares all job information automatically between you and your team members. Simply log on and you’ll see exactly where your team is, what jobs have been completed, and any other info that you need for the day. All in one convenient place.
A top-tier job management solution cuts down on double data entry and saves you time transferring data between quotes, accounting systems, timesheets, and payroll. By housing all of your information in one central location, all of your data populates where it needs to be so you can say goodbye to unnecessary manual data entry.
From staying current on all projects to collecting invoices, keeping on top of your customer data is a huge part of your business. A job management solution does more than just keep your contact list in order, it also connects all the information you need to run your business such as current quotes or invoices and past jobs. That way, you can keep your customer history in order, as well as being able to easily check in on outstanding items.
The time you save when you partner with a leading job management system will not only benefit your efficiency but also increase your bottom line. Ultimately, it helps you direct your time and energy to where it’s needed most. Luckily for you, we have just the guys in mind.
FieldPulse is a job management tool with a bucketload of slick features. They give plumbers the tools they need for customer management, quoting, scheduling, and invoicing. You’ll even be able to search the entire Reece product catalogue with live pricing information and submit purchase orders directly to Reece without having to leave FieldPulse.
With FieldPulse’s system, you can save yourself 10+ hours of admin a week. Plus, FieldPulse members have seen a 60 percent increase in customer enquiries converting into paying customers resulting in an average of five new jobs being scheduled each week. Sounds good? Yeah, we thought so.
As a HazardCo member, you’ll receive 20% off a month-to-month Fieldpulse membership. Sign up for a yearly membership and receive 25% off!
Get on top of your health and safety with HazardCo and keep track of job management in FieldPulse. It’s a win-win!
Get a free trial of Fieldpulse.
As part of our ongoing partnership with Buildxact, we’ve recently built a connection between our two systems to help residential building companies and renovators further simplify their business processes.
Buildxact is a Software-as-a-Service company specialising in residential construction management systems. Buildxact is headquartered in Melbourne Australia and is used extensively throughout Australia and New Zealand.
We share a common goal of wanting to simplify home construction by offering easy-to-use digital tools. We are excited to bring together two leading systems and help our members work more efficiently. Our shared vision is to empower builders by helping them to transition to digital systems and reduce their paperwork burden.
There has been strong market demand to build a connection between HazardCo and Buildxact. The first version of this connection automatically uploads important health and safety documents created using the HazardCo system directly to Buildxact. By storing project documents, such as estimates, quote letters, invoices, alongside safety documents like SWMS or safety induction notes in one easily accessible location, builders can save time. We are continuing to work with our members to get their feedback on these tools and discover what other functionality would be valuable.
The integration between HazardCo and Buildxact comes at no additional cost to builders who are already using both systems.
An estimate being created using BuildXact:
At HazardCo, the safety and well-being of every person on the job site is our top priority. By connecting our leading health and safety system with Buildxact’s residential construction management system, we are providing builders with an integrated solution that enables them to complete their projects efficiently while ensuring a safe working environment.
Learn more about Buildxact and the integration here
