New Zealand is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world, which means we have an array of different cultures and languages across the workforce. This can sometimes create a challenging environment when it comes to communicating key information to all workers equally.
As a business, you have a general responsibility to make your workplace safe. As part of this, you are responsible for providing 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.
It’s important for businesses to be aware of the language preferences of their workforce so they can make sure that health and safety is discussed in a way that everyone understands. Workers will be trying to cope with a lot of information; the task at hand, the quality expectations, health and safety etc, so when communicating with workers where English isn’t their first language it is a great time to remember, to keep safety simple.
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.
Worker engagement, participation, and representation is a key part of the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) in New Zealand.
The HSWA requires engagement in certain circumstances, such as when identifying hazards and assessing risks to work health and safety arising from the work carried out by the PCBU.
As the Main Contractor who has engaged workers with English as a second language, you need to consider the following as your responsibility:
This is how a PCBU involves workers in health and safety matters and decisions in the workplace. A PCBU that has good engagement with workers will:
This is one way for workers to raise health and safety concerns, suggest ways to improve health and safety, and make decisions that affect work health and safety. A PCBU that has good worker participation will:
This involves workers electing one or more person/s as their Health and Safety Representative (HSR) to represent them on health and safety matters. The HSR is entitled to specialist training and becomes the workers’ advocate at that workplace. The HSR does not have to be a member of a union.
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.
Of course, reach out to HazardCo and speak to one of our Health and Safety experts if you have any questions or need more support on ways to communicate across different languages on-site. HazardCo members get 24/7 incident support, and Health and Safety advice from our Advisory team. You can contact us on 0800 555 339 or email info@hazardco.com.
When it comes to incidents, a common misconception is that you need to report incidents to HazardCo immediately. This is not the case. Reporting to HazardCo can often happen later once details of the incident have been established. The only time an incident should be reported immediately is when it is a notifiable incident to be reported to WorkSafe NZ.
HazardCo assesses all incidents that get reported via the ‘Report an Incident’ function on the HazardCo App. If the incident is notifiable to WorkSafe NZ, we will contact you to determine further details and ensure that the appropriate steps have been taken. If you need assistance in determining what happened or appropriate corrective actions then call 0800 555 339 to speak to an advisor who will be able to assist you.
Below is an example of an incident report that could be improved upon and what good reporting looks like:
Geoff hurt his leg.
The above report tells us nothing about Geoff’s injury, how he is, how it happened or what steps have been taken to prevent the incident from reoccurring.
Geoff hurt his leg while carrying timber around the warratahs by himself. The load he was carrying was awkward and the warratahs were uncapped. He dropped the timber and suffered a graze and some bruising to the back of his right leg and knee. Geoff was checked over by Bob, a first aider. A band-aid was applied to his graze, he rested for a few minutes concerned about his knee but no swelling appeared and he was able to return to work. We spoke to Geoff about carrying awkward loads and advised him that next time he should get someone to help him. We have a toolbox meeting scheduled with the team to talk about this incident and advise all workers about safe manual handling techniques and that waratahs should always be capped.
The above report tells us everything that we need to know about the incident. It advises:
The incident wasn’t serious (but had the potential to be if he had fallen), it is clear what treatment he received and that steps have been taken to ensure that Geoff asks for help in the future and that the working environment remains safe.
Of course, reach out to HazardCo and speak to one of our expert Health and Safety Advisors if you have any questions or need support for incidents or near misses on your site. You can contact us on 0800 555 339.
Risks change, all day, everyday. That’s the reality of life on site. Managing risk needs to be apart of life onsite.
Methods change because of different training and experience, people on the job change, there are differences in machinery and materials used, as well as environmental changes from hour to hour.
It’s a lot.
Risk is a product of the work processes being carried out. So, if the work doesn’t happen, the risk isn’t present.
But, if a work process is defined then risk can be recognised and taken into account.
The key question tradies and supervisors need to be asking themselves is:
How do I adapt my task when a change occurs?
It’s not about mountains of paperwork. It’s about 4 simple steps:
A change occurs. Repeat.
Plan. Do. Check. Act.
Repeat.
(You get the picture)
We should all be working towards a heightened sense of awareness on site. And of course, treating risks as priority should be a collective mindset. Reinforced by supervisors who should be adapting plans and guiding teams to take account of the constantly evolving risk environment.
The power of change in risk can kill, the power of change in process can save a life.
Be the change you want to see.
If you have any questions please reach out to the Hazardco team today
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 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 that in mind. Simply log in, report who was involved, if medical treatment was required, and the details of what happened. Visit the HazardCo Help Centre for assistance on Reporting an Incident.
All of this information is then stored as an incident register in your HazardCo Hub for you to easily access at any time.
The Advisory team is available 24/7 for serious incidents, give us a call on 0800 555 339.
You should report any health and safety incidents or near misses that happen at work. This could be an incident that affects you, your staff, or anyone on-site.
From minor to serious, everyone has the right to know of any threats relating to them in the workplace. Some serious incidents may need to be reported to the Regulator, WorkSafe. You can find out about What events need to be notified here.
Those affected by the incident are also entitled to a fair and formal record of what happened, be sure to hold a toolbox talk/safety meeting with all relevant workers once the investigation is complete, you can complete this from the HazardCo App or download a Toolbox Talk from the Templates section of your Hub. .
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.
We understand that it’s unrealistic to expect no incidents. They can – and do – happen. What’s important is that when they do, workers take time 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.
Complete an Incident Investigation Form to determine the cause of the incident and any corrective actions that you need to implement.
Yes, it is. And that’s why we are so proud of what we do. The HazardCo App 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 likely occur at some point. 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.
We’re here to help. Reach out to our team if you have any questions or need health and safety advice.
Winter weather has the potential to hit hard, with strong winds, low temperatures, and of course, lots of rain. All of these factors can cause hazards for you and your workers. From trips and slips, to numb fingers and damaged gear and equipment, cold temperatures call for specific measures to ensure that your workplace is safe during the cold and wet winter months.
Work doesn’t stop when winter weather rolls in, so it’s important to know what to do to keep your workers safe and warm.
When the winter weather starts rolling through it’s important for you to inspect your workplace. If you are somewhere that experiences snow, make sure that you identify and clear, where possible, all snow and ice from working surfaces, platforms and walkways that are used. It’s crucial to stress the importance of fall protection when icy conditions are present. To ensure your site is safe, complete a Site Assessment using your HazardCo App, or you can download a .pdf version from the templates section of your HazardCo Hub, or by clicking here.
Vehicle accidents don’t just happen on the roads, they can also happen in the work yard. Stress to your team that winter driving rules for the road also apply to your workplace and it’s important that they take care while operating work vehicles and equipment. To ensure your vehicles are safe for the road complete a Vehicle checklist using your HazardCo App, or you can download a PDF version from the templates section of your HazardCo Hub, or by clicking here.
The last thing you need is for the weather to catch you by surprise. Keep an eye on the weather forecast, so your workers can prioritise the work that will be affected should the weather take a turn for the worse, and that they have the right gear to be able to do the job safely.
Be vigilant when ensuring that workers are wearing proper PPE and suitable clothing when winter weather conditions are present.
Follow these tips to optimise your crew’s safety so you can enjoy a productive winter while keeping your team safe. If you have any questions reach out to the HazardCo Team
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 WorkSafe. 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 a WorkSafe inspector arrives or WorkSafe directs you otherwise. This doesn’t prevent you from helping an injured person or making the site safe.
For more information on what to do when it comes to notifiable incidents, head over to the WorkSafe website.
Investigating 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 learned 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.
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.
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.
If you have any questions please reach out to the HazardCo Team
If you perform an activity that is carried out in isolation from other workers without close or direct supervision there is a high chance you or your team will be considered lone workers. While working alongside your team may not be an option, looking out for your staff should be a top priority.
If this sounds like your workforce, then you need to consider the following:
Naturally, lone workers need to be more aware of risks or threats to the safety of themselves or the equipment/material they are working with.
Working on your own can be lonely. With no co-workers or customers to interact with or bounce off, people can become isolated.
Make sure you arrange regular catch-ups to check-in with your team. This could be a simple phone call once a day, group messages or video calls. Don’t underestimate the power of human interaction in these times.
Remote or lone workers require the exact same level of training, development opportunities or important information, as other employees.
In times like this, keep the lines of communication open with everyone. Just because they aren’t next to you on-site, doesn’t mean they should be less informed.
Set your team up for success. Ensure all lone workers have the technology and equipment they need to carry out their jobs as usual.
Employee safety should be your highest priority. Whether they’re working on-site or in an office or remotely, all risks should be considered and managed accordingly.
Protect your team by ensuring they have access to the following:
Whether you have multiple staff working remotely or only a handful, set up a buddy system. It may sound basic, but this is a simple and easy way to not only increase the safety of your team but increase the lines of communication and engagement.
Have team members check in with each other on a daily basis, share their location, daily workload, and encourage a bit of banter. By doing this, you raise the likelihood that if something does go wrong, it is picked up in a reasonable time.
Use the Emergency Plan template in your HazardCo Hub to design a plan for how you can get help quickly to your workers in an emergency. Make sure that this plan is tested and all workers who need to know have been informed of the plan. The idea of having the plan is to cover how (or where) you can get help to your workers should an incident occur. As an employer ensure that you hold up-to-date emergency contact details for your workers.
The biggest tip we can give you is to look out for your team as if they were still with you on-site, or in the office.
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.
