Construction is one of the most vital industries we support in New Zealand. Unfortunately, it is also one of the riskiest verticals for staff and business owners. This is why the Health and Safety at Work Act is so rigorous; it protects everyone on-site by introducing careful measures to identify and manage risks.
As someone in the construction industry, understanding WHS construction-side is vital. But it can also be overwhelming to keep track of every training record, every Toolbox Talk, every hazard identification.
To help you streamline your day and build a robust safety culture in your construction company, we have a few WHS compliance tips to help you build a safer and more efficient workplace. This article also unpacks how to use construction health and safety software at various points in your business to ensure compliance is never in question.
1. Keep the paper trail, ditch the pile.
Paper can be convenient in the moment, but at almost all other times, it’s an ineffective way to keep track of your construction health and safety. If you’re still relying on paper at the moment, you’re likely working harder than you need to be. It’s too slow, and remarkably easy to lose. Not to mention, it forms the dreaded pile.
One of the best WHS compliance tips we have for every construction firm is to migrate your compliance data into a digital format. This is the best way to preserve the paper trail while getting rid of the stuffed drawer of binders. By using construction health and safety software, you can have your team members scan a QR code, complete a quick induction on their phones, and be ready to work in minutes.
Not to mention, you’ll preserve your training records, risk assessments, and all other paperwork in an easy-to-access trail that’s perfect for audit time.
2. Make sure your ToolBox Talks are doing their job.
Your Toolbox Talk is a staple of your WHS construction safety. But a lot of the time, the good work that happens in those talks isn’t making it into your paperwork, because you’re all busy getting the job done. We don’t want those sitting in a glovebox.
There are a few ways to streamline this. One of our WHS compliance tips is to start using a template you fill out as the talk goes on. The template should cover:
- The weather.
- Any specific high-risk tasks for the day.
- Any call-outs for safety or an additional hazard identified by staff members.
- Any new crew members or subcontractors on-site for the day.
Then, make sure the template gets around to everyone for signature. This keeps you compliant day-to-day while ensuring you have proof of your safety engagement.
3. Get hazard reporting as close to real-time as possible.
Near misses happen on-site; it’s a fact of life. Ideally, you would be able to recall every single detail of the near miss and record it perfectly at the end of the shift. But details often get left behind or misremembered, or the near miss is simply never filed, in the name of dealing with the incident right then.
Catching these near misses is so important for your WHS construction compliance. So, one of our WHS compliance tips is to reduce the barriers to reporting a near miss as much as possible. Have a dedicated team member responsible for logging them if they happen, or create a quick way for your staff to snap a photo of the issue and log it instantly.
That way, you can address incidents before they happen, all while leaving a solid paper trail of your robust safety culture.
4. Get all your certifications in one place.
Your team has likely got a lot of expiration dates following them around. Site Safe cards, machinery tickets, first aid certificates; there’s always something that needs renewing. It’s a lot to keep in your head, never mind in a calendar on the wall.
A major benefit of using construction health and safety software is that it essentially acts like a personal assistant, but for certification deadlines. Not only can it store every certificate for your staff and subcontractors, but it can also alert you when those certificates are about to expire, so nobody lapses mid-shift.
5. Make sure everyone can see safety documentation.
Finally, if you’re managing different sites across Auckland, you can’t be everywhere at once. This is where that “streamline” part really kicks in, because you need to make sure every single staff member has access to the safety systems they need at any given moment.
If you’re on one site with the master copy of the risk register, you either need to manually update it when a staff member calls, or you need to consolidate all the copies across sites as often as possible. It’s a real headache.
If you bring your safety documentation to a digital platform that everyone can access on-site from their phones, like purpose-built construction health and safety software, then all that friction is gone.
With these steps taken care of, you can be sure that no one is skipping vital steps in your WHS construction compliance. When compliance is simple, people actually do it. So if you leave today with just one of these WHS compliance tips, let it be this: keep it simple, and keep it visible.
That way, everyone goes home safe.
Explore purpose-built construction health and safety software.
We’re SiteConnect, and we build for the builders. Implement safety software that keeps all your staff members safe and compliant all day, every day. Create a hub for your risk registers, subcontractors, and keep a paper trail that would make a WorkSafe auditor weep with joy.
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