Hierarchy of control: fix a hazard, do not just warn about it
A warning does not change a hazard. This guide sets out how to rank controls from the most effective to the least, and how to choose and record them on a residential job.
12 min read
Topic
Risk
Articles and news about Risk for Australian builders.
Hierarchy of control: fix a hazard, do not just warn about it
A warning does not change a hazard. This guide sets out how to rank controls from the most effective to the least, and how to choose and record them on a residential job.
12 min read
Key-person dependence in a small building business: the owner as bottleneck
A small building business often runs through one person, the owner, who holds the licence, the client relationships and the approvals. This is where that concentration hides and how to reduce it.
11 min read
Personal guarantees: what a builder puts at risk
A company limits what its owners lose, but a personal guarantee can switch that protection off. Here is how guarantees work for builders and directors, what decides their size and what to check before you sign one.
11 min read
Keeping safety records that defend your business
Safety records are the only proof that a control existed, a toolbox talk happened or an inspection was done. Keep them so they can be found, read and relied on years later.
10 min read
Client selection: red flags to check before you sign a building contract
Vetting a client before you sign is cheaper than managing a dispute after practical completion. These are the red flags that should make you pause, price differently or walk away.
11 min read
Climate resilient home upgrades: bundling hazards into one buildable scope
Most resilience advice arrives one hazard at a time, which is not how a house fails and not how a client budgets. This is a framework for combining the hazards that actually apply to a site into a single, priced, documented scope.
12 min read
Building defect liability and insurance: what NSW builders actually need to cover
Defect liability is a legal exposure; insurance is how you transfer part of it. The two only line up if you read the policy against the defects you actually build, and manage the job so a defect never becomes a claim.
12 min read
Managing materials price volatility in your building contracts
Materials prices can move between tender and lock-up. The contract wording and the procurement sequence decide who carries that movement — and whether it lands as a variation or as your margin.
12 min read
Which insurance cover a building business actually needs
Most builders carry insurance because a contract demands it, not because they have matched the cover to the work they actually do. This is the cover checklist to run against your business.
11 min read
Protecting your business when a subcontractor goes under
A subcontractor failure is rarely sudden, and the builder usually carries the cost. Here is how to structure contracts, records and site controls so a subbie’s collapse does not become yours.
10 min read
Cost plus or fixed price? How contract type shifts risk on a NSW residential job
The contract type decides who carries the risk of the job costing more than expected. Get that allocation wrong and the argument arrives at practical completion, when there is no room left to fix it.
15 min read
Avoiding building disputes in NSW before they start
Most building disputes are set up long before anyone raises their voice. The contract, the variation trail and the site records you keep in the first weeks decide how the argument ends.
10 min read