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CPCWHS3001

Identify construction work hazards and select


risk control strategies
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Safety in the construction industry


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In this section, we look at the importance of safety in the construction industry and the
legislative framework which underpins it.

Safety in the construction industry


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SAFETY AND CONSTRUCTION – AN OVERVIEW


• Safe Work Australia is a national body established by the Australian Government and
funded by national, state and territory governments.
• Its role is to work in partnership with employers, employees and governments to form
national policy related to improving workplace health and safety.

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SO WHY ARE CONSTRUCTION WORKPLACES SO HIGH RISK?


When you stop and think about a construction workplace for a minute, you can
understand why they are high-risk environments. They are busy, noisy places filled that
are often filled with heavy machinery.

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DRILL DOWN
Get to know the Construction section on the Safe Work Australia website. It has construction
specific resources, research, information sheets and links to the work health and safety authority for
your state or territory. You can find the Safe Work Australia Construction page at
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/construction

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KEY TERMINOLOGY
• Workplace health and safety (WHS) • Job safety and environment analysis (JSEA)
• Hazards • Safe work method statement (SWMS)
• Risks • Safety data sheets (SDS).
• Controls
• Person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU)
• Personal protective equipment

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WHS LEGISLATION
The WHS Act and WHS Regulations provide a framework for health and safety to:
• secure the health and safety of workers and their workplaces
• protect workers and other persons against harm
• promote continuous improvement and progressively higher standards of work health
and safety.

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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WHS ACTS, REGULATIONS AND CODES OF PRACTICE


• The Act
• Regulations
• Codes of practice.

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WHS ACTS AND REGULATIONS AND CODES OF PRACTICE BY STATE AND TERRITORY
Safe Work Australia developed and a set of model workplace health and safety laws for all
implementation by the Commonwealth as well as the states and territories. However, it is up to each
state and territory to evaluate, regulate and enforce the laws if they choose.

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ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION
• Some of the hazards and risks that you will be exposed to in your construction work
will be environmental.
• A JSEA considers environmental risks as well as safety risks.

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WORKPLACE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES


Follow your workplace policies and procedures – one of the core reasons that
organisations have policies and procedures is to ensure legislative compliance. Another
reason is to help keep people safe.

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SAFE WORK INSTRUCTIONS


• In building and construction, policies and procedures are often supported by safe work
instructions.
• Safe work instructions are often provided for particular processes which may be
deemed high risk.

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Identifying, assessing and controlling hazards


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• In a construction environment (as in all workplaces) it is important to have a


systematic process in place for identifying, assessing and controlling hazards.
• In this section, we look at strategies for managing hazards and risks.

Identifying, assessing and controlling hazards


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MANAGING WHS RISKS


• Step 1 – Identify hazards
• Step 2 – Assess the risks
• Step 3 – Implement controls
• Step 4 – Review controls.

Identifying, assessing and controlling hazards


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STEP 1 – IDENTIFYING HAZARDS


Construction hazards usually fall under one of the following categories:
• Manual handling
• Gravity
• Mental health
• Electricity
• Hazardous chemicals, substances and materials
• Environmental.

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HOW CAN YOU IDENTIFY HAZARDS?


• completing a formal workplace inspection
• casual observation
• inspecting how plant and equipment are used
• observing an unsafe work practice
• observing a near miss
• observing a failure in policy, procedure or process

Identifying, assessing and controlling hazards


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HOW CAN YOU IDENTIFY HAZARDS?


• information in SDS, manufacturer instructions, union bulletins, industry association
information etc
• equipment failure.

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STEP 2 – ASSESSING THE RISK


• Risk refers to the likelihood that the hazard will occur and what the significance of the
harm will be.
• A common way of assessing risk is to use a risk assessment matrix. A risk assessment
matrix helps you to apply a rating to each hazard.

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HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS
• Level 1 – Elimination
• Level 2 – Substitution, isolation and engineering controls
• Level 3 – Administrative controls
• Level 4 – PPE

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Planning and preparing to work safely


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In this section, we look at the processes for planning and preparing to work safely,
including the development of JSAs for general safety hazards or SWMS for high-risk
construction work hazards.

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PLANNING AND PREPARING TO WORK SAFELY


• STEP 1: Planning and preparation
• STEP 2: Breaking the project down into its component tasks
• STEP 3: Identifying hazards, risks and controls for each component task
• STEP 4: Reviewing the SWMS/JSEA/JSA immediately before you start work
• STEP 5: Store the SWMS/JSEA/JSA on site

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A NOTE ABOUT INSPECTING WORKSITES


Wear your PPE!
As you saw earlier, personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to the equipment and
clothing that is worn or used by you personally to help protect you from harm.

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SIGNAGE AND BARRICADES


Signage and barriers are used extensively in building and construction in a number of
ways including:
• to advise people that they are entering a hazardous area and that they need to take
action
• to exclude people from a high-risk area
• to provide information
• to prevent falls, trips etc.

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DRILL DOWN – BARRICADES AND SIGNAGE


Watch the video from Safe Work Australia about the importance of paying attention to exclusion
zones at https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/media-centre/dont-ignore-exclusion-zone

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JSA OR SWMS? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE AND HOW DO I CHOOSE?


The primary difference is that an SWMS is a regulatory requirement where the job task
includes one of the 19 construction activities which have been identified as high risk
construction work (HRCW) in the Model WHS Regulations 2017.

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HOW DO I CHOOSE BETWEEN A JSEA/JSA AND AN SWMS?


If the job task involves one of the 19 high-risk construction work activities identified in the
Model OHS Regulations 2017 you must choose a SWMS.

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HIGH-RISK CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES


In Australia, 19 construction activities have been identified as particularly high risk. These
activities are referred to as high-risk construction work (HRCW).

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WHAT IS A SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT?


As you saw earlier, an SWMS is a planning tool that identifies the hazards, risks and
controls of a particular activity. It should provide clear advice to workers about how each
component of the work can be completed safely.

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HAZARDS, RISKS AND CONTROLS


• Hazards – are identified as having the potential to harm any of the people on site.
• Risk – the likelihood that the hazard will occur.
• Control – the strategies put in place to mitigate the hazards and risks.

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WHAT’S IN A SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT (OR A JSA)?


• The HRCW • Relevant Australian Standards
• Hazards and risks • Model Codes of Practice.
• Controls
• Dates and locations
• Consultation
• Relevant legislation

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BEING CLEAR AND CONCISE


Safe work method statements must be clear, concise and prepared in a way in which they
can be easily understood by all of the people who will use it.

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DON’T BE A TOOL – JUST ASK!


Don’t wait! Ask questions if something is not clear and don’t start work until you are confident that
the SWMS is in place and is up to date.

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES


Employers
Employers are responsible for preparing a SWMS before any HRCW is undertaken by
their employees.

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES


Employees
Employees have a responsibility to read, understand and follow the SWMS. The SWMS
should always be available on site so that it is readily available.

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DEVELOPING A SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT

DRILL DOWN – HOW TO DEVELOP A SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT


Safe Work Australia has produced an information sheet about how to develop a safe work method
statement for high-risk construction work. You will find the information sheet at
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/system/files/documents/1703/information-sheet-safe-work-met
hod-statement.pdf

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DRILL DOWN
The video at the following link is a webinar which includes a comprehensive explanation of Safe
Work Method Statements. It is quite long at 45 minutes but gives a clear and thorough explanation
of what they are, why they are important and how they are developed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw_ACH4w9D4

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THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSULTATION


One of the most important things to do when developing an SWMS or a JSA is to consult
with the people that it affects.

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WHEN TO CONSULT
• Consult in the early stages of the planning process.
• Consult again immediately before work begins on the task.
• Consult again as the project unfolds to ensure that the document remains current and
relevant.

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HOW TO CONSULT
Be genuine about your consultation. Listen actively, ask effective questions and be
respectful.

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DRILL DOWN – RESPECTFUL, INCLUSIVE AND CULTURALLY SAFE


COMMUNICATION
The Diversity Council of Australia provides the listed videos to help you with different aspects of
diversity and inclusion.

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STORING AN SWMS/JSA ON SITE


SWMS or JSAs should be kept at the site where the hazardous activities will take place.

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DRILL DOWN – STORING AN SWMS


For more information on storing an SWMS, refer to
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/safe-work-method-statement-high-risk-construction-work-i
nformation-sheet

Planning and preparing to work safely

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