No matter where you are in Australia, you need to have a Construction Safety Checklist when working on a worksite
. The purpose of one is to verify whether the worksite is in compliance with the relevant legislation or not. It must be pointed out that despite different legislation in each state and territory, they are all very similar with only minor differences
What a Checklist Contains
A checklist contains a list of necessary conditions to ensure Construction Safety for all personnel on the worksite. There are many checklists offered by both organisations and governments alike.
You can a list of the most important things a Construction Safety Checklist should contain below.
Is the worksite fenced off?
Is the public protected from any hazards that the site may present?
Have all electrical power tools and equipment been tested and approved?
Make sure all electrical leads have been successfully tested and tagged?
Do you have adequate first aid facilities on site?
Are the construction signs on the site sufficient?
Are all workers fitted with protective clothing and equipment when required?
Are all workers trained and knowledgeable enough to understand the work that they are undertaking?
Don't forget that the list presented above is only a guide and one can add more things to the list if necessary. Nonetheless, it's a good way for a beginner contractor to start assessing Construction Safety.
Construction Safety Plan
Perhaps you would prefer not to worry about a checklist and ticking off each point. Theres nothing wrong with having a Construction Safety Checklist, however, one gets the impression that it just serves to cover bases. You tick all these things off and youre covered because youre complying with the legislation. Thats great but its a bare minimum. Why not provide your workers with an extremely safe and assuring work environment?
A Construction Safety Plan becomes useful in such a situation. And it cant be just any plan written up in half an hour. If you want to ensure the best working conditions for workers on the site, then you need a site safety plan that is professionally written and structured.
You have to do much more than just a checklist if you aspire to provide the best possible working conditions for your personnel. If safety is the number one concern on a worksite, then you can't settle for second best and just use a construction safety checklist.