New Zealand is home to a thriving construction industry. From alterations to civil construction, the industry has a wide range of areas and sub-sectors. Yet, across the board, falls are one of the biggest risks to work site safety.
SiteApp can ensure more effective workplace compliance across the board.
In response, the government has outlined a number of specific ways to ensure that workers and employees are safe while on site. Is it possible for multiple companies to ensure they are preventing falls from a height and collaborating across work health and safety systems?
Falls are a source of major concern to authorities
The construction industry is one of the economic pillars in New Zealand. According to the government, close to 180,000 people work in the sector (over 8 per cent of the total workforce), which makes it the sixth largest industry. Additionally, it contributes 6 per cent every year to New Zealand's GDP that puts it on par with the agriculture sector.
The sector relies heavily on labour-only contracting, and as a result, there are fewer opportunities to train less-skilled workers. Therefore, contractors sometimes lack the required skills needed to operate safely, making it imperative to have robust and simple safety processes in place.
WorkSafe New Zealand points out that falls from roofs and ladders at a height of three metres or less account for 18 per cent of injury causing accidents.
As such, it is essential that contractors, construction companies, and developers understand their responsibilities as well as how they can help avoid this on their sites.
Rights of construction workers
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, construction workers are offered a number of rights to stay safe at work. These can include the right to work in a safe environment, where hazards are managed by employers and workers are made aware of how to keep themselves safe.
Additionally, this can also mean that all equipment, such as workplace tools, vehicles and machinery, are safe to use and in good working order.
When this comes to working at heights, workers have the right to the use of a safe ladder – one that is not damaged or in a state of disrepair that could lead to an injury. Additionally, workers have the right to a safe worksite no matter where they are or the type of work they are doing.
Organisational responsibilities
In response to workers' rights, organisations need to ensure that they're satisfying their responsibilities when workers undertake activities from a height.
With some sites having multiple contractors and construction companies working on it, there is a greater need to ensure that these responsibilities are understood by all stakeholders. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, companies are required to engage with both workers and organisations to ensure that safety is approached in a responsible way.
Organisations need to ensure that safety is approached in a responsible way.
Unfortunately, many of the older, paper-based systems are unable to interact with one another due to the large volume of forms and other documentation needed. While they may be able to do the job, there are more effective ways of ensuring that workers' safety rights are protected. For instance, safety software can bring together all the required documentation and make is accessible from one source. Additionally, applications such as SiteApp can simplify compliance by managing the documentation of accurate information, and effective processes.
If you are worried that your safety system is not properly encouraging workers to undertake safe activities when working from heights, talk to SiteApp today. Their safety application can help you keep a track of all the safety processes in action on your sites.
