One of the most challenging parts of managing any site is the volume of subbies, contractors, and visitors on-site at any one time. Adding to this, each individual will bring their own thinking and commitment to health and safety, so it’s important as the site leader that you set the right tone from the get-go, harnessing smart and easy to use tools on the HazardCo App.
Because when your subbies all use HazardCo – everyone benefits.
Saving time on-site can help everyone get the job done quicker. With all your subbies using the same system, everything follows the same format, making it much quicker and easier to find the information you need, when you need it. There will be less time chasing everyone for paperwork, and site inductions can be completed by the subbie or their team members, on their own smartphones so it doesn’t take you away from the job at hand.
HazardCo makes this super easy with the QuickShare feature which lets subbies add their health and safety activity to your project on the HazardCo Hub. All at the touch of a button. Your subbies simply need their own HazardCo membership to enable this.
When your subbies are members of HazardCo too, it means no double handling – once a report or activity is created on the App it can be shared with you straight away. It’s easier for your subbies as they have clear and replicable forms on the App which they can share directly to your Hub… it all adds up to less time on paperwork and less visits to the site office. With the App’s time saving features all available in the palm of their hand, there are no excuses for not doing it, and your subbies don’t have to try and remember to ‘do it later’.
Perhaps most importantly of all, by sharing your information and activity quickly and easily, you’ll both be on the same page when it comes to health and safety for your site. This means you are doing the right thing by yourself and your wider crew.
Whether or not you believe in the well-known phrase, “the customer is always right”, there is no doubt that the customer or client plays an important role in the success of your job.
One way to give them confidence and make those day to day conversations easier is to demonstrate great health and safety management whenever they’re on-site. Using HazardCo’s smart App and online health and safety system, it’s easy to stay on top of site health and safety, and you always know who is on-site in real-time.
Most clients will be inexperienced when it comes to building and site management, and some will want different levels of involvement and visitation to site. By encouraging site visits, you can ensure there are no surprises for your client, and as the project progresses you can manage expectations or discuss changes as necessary. In most cases, this is a significant financial investment for the client – meaning stress and worry can be high, so take the stress out of health and safety using HazardCo’s smart online tools.
Clients should be accompanied whilst on-site. Getting your client to use the HazardCo App to scan in and out of site for each visit, will help you keep health and safety top of mind for them too, because as much as they own the property, you own the construction site. It’s an important reminder that everyone is responsible for health and safety, including the client. This includes being responsible for ensuring the safety of contractors and team at work, including ensuring all projects have a Site Specific Safety Plan and Hazard Board.
Many clients will be unaware that they also have health and safety responsibilities, so share this with them, and show them how HazardCo’s clever system helps you cover all of the bases. This will give them peace of mind that you are on top of site health and safety, giving greater confidence in a successful job.
It’s important that these expectations are established at the start of any job. Meeting with your client to discuss timing for site visits, and frequency on-site. The same rules should apply to them as any other visitor, including receiving a site induction, scanning in and out of site every time, dressing appropriately, and checking the hazard board.
By bringing your client on your health and safety journey with HazardCo, you will be in for a five star review, giving them peace of mind about the job.
If you have any questions reach out to the HazardCo team today!
Here at HazardCo, we always want to be better, and the HazardCo team has been working hard to deliver the latest update which focuses on the scanning in and out feature on our HazardCo App.
Taking onboard feedback from our valued members, our new App update makes it even easier to get everyone using the free HazardCo App to scan in and out of site, each and every day.
What’s changed?
Your team and wider crew won’t have to enter their details every time – just the once, saving them more time so they can get onto the tools.
Scanning into site if it’s your first time on-site
The first time anyone scans into any HazardCo site, they will need to enter their details and complete their site induction. If they already have a HazardCo account, their details will be pre-populated.
Every time after that
For any site that they have visited before, they won’t be asked if it’s their first site visit as the App will remember them and their logged details.
The App will now ask you to contact your site supervisor if your responses aren’t satisfactory e.g. if you are showing COVID symptoms.
The updates to the App are here now, so if you don’t allow automatic App updates on your smartphone, you’ll need to update the App from the App Store or Google Play. Easy as that.
Lastly, tell everyone! Your next Toolbox Meeting is a great time to get your team and subbies to update the HazardCo App on their smartphone and remind them to scan in and out of site, every time.
Simply scanning into site gives people a useful daily reminder to beware of health and safety – and we all know the more we think about it, the more we look out for and prevent risks. Getting everyone doing their bit shares the load when it comes to health and safety on-site. It’s a win-win!
If you have any questions get in touch with the HazardCo team today!
Homes built or renovated between 1950 and 2000 are likely to contain some asbestos. Therefore, every tradesperson is likely to come into contact with asbestos at work sooner or later. That’s why it’s important for you to understand how to manage the risk from working with or near asbestos, and how to protect yourself and others from exposure to airborne asbestos fibers.
Areas that we recommend getting tested are cladding, roofing, vinyl, fibre cement sheeting, internal ceilings, and plumbing lagging.
There are 3 main types of testing or surveying; Management, Refurbishment, and Demolition, and each of these is designed for a specific purpose.
It is important that when you are conducting work that requires planning permission, it is likely that you will require a demolition or refurbishment survey to search for asbestos present. As the contractor, you have a legal requirement to ensure asbestos is identified and removed before any work begins that may disturb the asbestos in your client’s home.
You can refer to the Healthy Homes NZ website for more details on asbestos testing here
What to do if you or your workers uncover or damage materials that may contain asbestos:
You can view the WorkSafe website to find out how to apply the 10 m2 rule to an object that is not flat, such as asbestos piping and other frequently asked questions relating to Asbestos Licensing here.
Our advisory experts are here to support you, so if you have any asbestos-related questions while you are conducting your renovations – get in touch or give us a call on 0800 555 339.
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:
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:
Some good rules to use are:
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.
If you have any questions get in touch with the HazardCo Team today!
HazardCo understands just how busy a construction site can get. In addition to your team coming and going from site, you need to keep on top of subbies, site deliveries, engineers, architects, assessors, the client… it can be a full time job to keep tabs on everyone. So the team at HazardCo has put together a few tips to help you stay one step ahead when it comes to visitors on-site.
As the main builder on-site, you have an obligation to make sure the health and safety of visitors is not at risk when they’re on your construction site. We recommend that you fence the site with limited entry/exit points and keep these shut. This helps to manage people coming and going. Having a clear site entry also makes it easy to work out where your Hazard Board – make sure they’re hard to miss for anyone entering your site.
It’s important to note, that while you need to manage on-site visitors, they are equally responsible for their own health and safety. What’s more, they have an obligation to ensure their actions don’t have an adverse impact on the health and safety of anyone else on-site. Once visitors understand this, it’s often easier to get their participation.
Ask your visitors to follow the site managers requests while on-site, which are likely to include:
Running a HazardCo site makes things easier for yourself and your visitors since you can get everyone using the free HazardCo App for their site inductions, and to scan in and out of site every time. Just remember, when you communicate everyone’s obligations it can help to share the responsibility. When everyone’s looking out for each other it’s easier to keep everyone on-site safe.
HazardCo was created by tradies, for tradies. After experiencing first hand what happened when on-site risks weren’t well managed, a couple of tradies decided it was time for a change and formed HazardCo. It’s designed to help tradies keep their health and safety sorted – making it simple and easy to manage but without cutting corners.
HazardCo’s smart online tools use everyday technology to help you cut back on paperwork, and saves you time by using straight forward templates and reports, which are full of tips and suggestions to give you the confidence you have it all covered.
You can use the HazardCo App on your smartphone to create a Risk Assessment, Site Review, Toolbox Meeting, Vehicle Checklist, or Accident Report. The App has easy to use tools that guide you through each of these activities, making them quick to complete anywhere, and at any time… all from the palm of your hand. HazardCo members enjoy the convenience of being able to stay on top of health and safety from anywhere on-site, or from the cafe over morning tea, or even on the couch at home after dinner.
What’s more, everyone on-site downloads the App for free; that’s your direct team, subbies, and any site visitors. At the site scan-in board, they use the App to scan the QR code on their way in and out of site every day, giving the main builder a record of who’s been on-site and when, without having to be there themself. Even better, the first time anyone scans into the site, they complete their site induction right there on their own smartphone – with no need for meetings or paperwork.
Complementing the App is the HazardCo Hub – the online tool where you set up new projects. Being online, you can login anywhere, anytime, and also use the Hub to view and download any completed health and safety activity reports, including site inductions, and to track who’s been on-site and when.
Good health and safety is about more than just compliance; staying on top of your health and safety makes your site safer – simple as that. HazardCo’s smart tools save you time and paperwork, giving you the confidence you’re doing all you can to help keep your crew safe.
If you have any questions reach out to the HazardCo team today!
There have been recent changes to the hazardous substances regulations that come into effect April 30th 2021 that you need to be aware of. You will have a 4 year transition period, but we recommend you start making the changes to labelling, SDS, and packaging as soon as possible.
You can find out more about the changes below so you can make sure you are up to date with the latest info.
There have been changes to the Hazard Classifications, and you will no longer use the following classes for your hazardous substances:
The new Hazard Classes for hazardous substances will be classed as a physical hazard, a health hazard, or an environmental hazard, detailed below:
You will need to ensure that your SDS, packaging, and labelling of substances have been updated to reflect the new classes or you are in the process of updating. This can be done by reaching out to the supplier or manufacturer of substances.
If you have any questions about these changes, you can give our Advisory Team a call on 0800 555 339.
While working on-site, you may need to organise a builders temporary. Electricity can be supplied to a small construction site through a temporary connection.
A builder’s temporary provides builders and other tradespeople an electricity supply on-site where there is no existing connection to an electricity network. Only a licensed electrical worker can install, connect, modify or move a builder’s temporary.
What certifications and inspections are required?
Before you can use a builder’s temporary, an electrician must give you
These documents guarantee that the builder’s temporary meets New Zealand’s electrical safety standards. The builder’s temporary must be assessed by a qualified electrical worker at least every six months.
Where should a builder’s temporary be located?
A builder’s temporary should be located close to where the electrical work will be carried out. Consider where most of the electrical work on-site will be done and how connections can be made without using too many extension leads – which can be a potential electrical and trip hazard.
Working with other PCBU’s on-site
PCBU’s and contractors working on the same site must, so far as is reasonably practicable, work together to manage electrical safety risks. Have a discussion about how electricity will be supplied and used in areas where your health and safety duties may overlap. This will help to prevent any gaps in managing health and safety risks. You can read more about this in our blog ‘Overlapping Duties: Working with other businesses’
Keeping you and your team safe at work is a priority, so make sure you are aware of the employer’s requirements of temporary power supplies in the workplace.
The HazardCo App Site Review resource has a list of electrical controls that should be in place to mitigate the risk of electrical hazards.
Why not kick off the year by keeping your health and safety sorted, starting with a Risk Assessment via the HazardCo App? Risk Assessments help you identify hazards, assess the risk, and implement controls to help prevent incidents.
The HazardCo Risk Assessment feature is perfect to use before starting a new task or at the beginning of the day, but remember if you need to review the full building site, complete a Site Review instead. So, take a few moments to think about any major tasks coming up, and then open the Risk Assessment tool. The App gives you a number of question areas and will give you some options on how to control the risk – simply select any that apply. Of course, you can add your own comments and upload photos before moving to the next topic.
Once all topics are complete, hit submit and the completed assessment is saved to the Hub and available anywhere, anytime. You can also download the assessment and email to others as needed – easy as that.
The App makes completing a Risk Assessment really straight forward, and the suggestions on how to control possible risks give you confidence you’re doing all you can to keep your crew safe. Because the App is in the palm of your hand 24/7, Risk Assessments can be completed at any time… no paperwork needed.
As you get back into the swing of things, now’s the perfect time to start planning the first few weeks on-site and ensuring you start out the way you’d like the year to continue. HazardCo’s Risk Assessments help you keep your health and safety sorted and make sure everyone leaves the site safely at the end of each day.
If you have any questions get in touch with the HazardCo team today!
