It's not uncommon for construction sites to operate without a Work Health and Safety (WHS) system or compliance in place. However, for builders, site managers, or workers, it's crucial to quickly establish fundamental safety protocols to ensure a safe working environment.
Under state laws everyone on site has an obligation to make the workplace safer.
If you have a safety management system in place USE IT - but if you don’t then with or without management input do these simple things first. Don’t wait hoping someone will implement a system, do these things first:
Inductions: Start by conducting inductions using available forms to introduce staff to safety procedures. It is vital that if anything happens on site you know the names of the people working there. Don’t have forms handy? Don’t write the name, phone number, next of kin
Tool box talk - These are nothing magical or special - It’s just a regularly brief meeting to emphasise the importance of safety. When you have them and what format they take is not as important as the fact that you have:
empowered staff by telling them that their safety is important to you,
you want to hear about any safety concerns - and
Record this (again the format is not as important - site diary is fine - just put the date time, who you spoke to and what was said, what actions follow
Get a first aid kit - First aid kits are inexpensive and readily available - there is simple no excuse for a site not to have one.
SWMS - Create Safe Work Method Statements for any high-risk tasks to outline the safest ways to carry out these jobs. Again there is no magic here - ideally use a template (we’ll provide links below) but if you don’t have this just write down what might go wrong with what you’re doing and what you’re going to do to prevent it. This is not ideal - ideally you fill in a template that is part of your WHS System - but as ad hoc as I have described here - if its the difference between doing something and doing nothing - then something is infinitely better.
Get protective equipment - Ask what protective equipment your staff need and just buy it - this is my pet hate - a site manager or worrying about who has taken site safety gear and whinging about having to supply it - they simply cannot see the forest for the trees - the cost of eye protection, ear protection, respirators and hard hats is typical so negligible in the context of construction that it is almost zero - in fact it will cost the company more in lost time to worry about who took what then to make safety gear free and readily available to all including your subcontractors - even neighbours. No brainer.
Then do these 5 things
Site Safety Checklist: Implement a checklist to regularly review and maintain safety standards on site.
First Aid Training: Offer first aid training to yourself and your team, equipping everyone to handle emergencies.
Comprehensive Safety Training: Ensure that all staff, especially those involved in high-risk activities, are properly trained and certified.
Incident Reporting Mechanism: Set up a system for reporting safety incidents to track and address potential hazards.
Resources to get you going are available here:
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