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
Work Health Safety
Articles and news about Work Health Safety 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
The daily pre-start walk: what a builder checks before crews arrive
The pre-start walk is the one check that looks at the site as it is this morning, not as the plan says it should be. Here is what to look at and how to record it.
11 min read
Fitness for work and a drug and alcohol policy for crews
A worker who arrives unfit to work puts everyone within reach at risk. A written policy and a consistent supervisor response turn a difficult morning into a managed one.
11 min read
Housekeeping and slips on house sites: a practical routine
Most house site injuries are trips, slips and stacks that were never meant to stay where they were put. A routine that owns the walkways prevents most of them.
12 min read
Protecting your crew’s hearing from power tools and saws
Hearing loss from site noise is permanent, and it builds so slowly that workers rarely notice it until the damage is done. Protecting a crew starts with knowing which tasks are loud, not with handing out earmuffs.
11 min read
Storing and moving gas cylinders safely on a house site
Gas cylinders are the most ordinary item on a house site and one of the least respected. Where they stand, how they travel and what is kept beside them decides whether a bad day stays a bad day or becomes a fire.
12 min read
Workers compensation and insurance after a site injury: what it costs the business
Regulator notification is one obligation after a site injury. The insurance and premium consequences are a separate set of problems, and they arrive later, on a renewal notice you did not expect.
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
A WHS management plan sized for small builders
A WHS management plan is not a document you buy and file. It is the written version of how you control risk on a particular job, and it only works if it is short enough that you and your subbies actually use it.
11 min read
Principal contractor duties on NSW residential sites: WHS and coordination
On a residential site the principal contractor is not a title on a contract, it is a set of WHS duties that attach to whoever holds the role. Here is what those duties require in practice, and where the coordination usually breaks down.
12 min read
Safe demolition and strip-out before a rebuild
Demolition is the phase where the site is least like the job you priced, and where the safety controls are hardest to retrofit. The work is short, the hazards are concentrated, and the trades on site are often the ones you have least control over.
11 min read
Wearables and worker tracking on a small site: the business and privacy case
Tracking technology can make a small crew safer and better organised, but it also creates personal information and a duty to look after it. Here is how to weigh the case before you buy.
11 min read