BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS

The safety of workers onsite is becoming more of a focus in construction in New Zealand – and rightly so if we are to reduce New Zealand’s regrettable workplace injury statistics. Worksafe reports that falls from heights of three metres or less off roofs and from ladders account for most of the serious harm incidents reported from the construction sector. ...

Once your workers are at height, have you considered what would happen if one of them were to fall? The tool to address this risk may be safety nets. Safety nets are designed to stretch and absorb the energy of a fall, so a falling person is less likely to be injured. The greater the fall height, the greater the ...

Health & Safety legislation has undergone a significant change with the passing of the Health & Safety at Work Act (HaSWA) and subsequent regulations made under that Act. The Health and Safety at Work Act changed the focus from compliance by managing hazards to managing Risk. Despite our best efforts, fatalities and serious injuries continue to occur, even among organizations ...

The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HaSWA) is based on the premise that those who create or work with occupational risks, or can influence or direct them, must identify and manage those risks. The legislation is designed in part to cover modern working arrangements, which can contain multiple employers with diverse workforces made up of employees, contractors, subcontractors, ...

The rise in high-density living and developments being undertaken closer to busy roadways has heightened the need to control noise and vibration on the construction site. With many new local and overseas builders and contractors entering the market, particularly in Auckland, it is critical they are made aware of the limits they must adhere to when it comes to noise ...

Health & Safety legislation has undergone a significant change with the passing of the Health & Safety at Work Act and subsequent regulations made under that Act. The Health and Safety at Work Act changed the focus from compliance by managing hazards to managing Risk. Despite our best efforts, fatalities and serious injuries continue to occur, even among organizations with ...

Not all risks on a construction site are obvious. Some you can’t even see, such as toxic fumes and asbestos fibres in the air. But out of sight shouldn’t mean out of mind. Hazardous substances can do just as much damage as a regular workplace accident. In fact they can do more. WorkSafe New Zealand estimates that 20 times as ...

The Fire Protection Association of New Zealand (FPANZ) has forged closer ties with the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) over the last year, with the two organisations working together on several key initiatives, says Scott Lawson, FPANZ executive director. “MBIE is actively engaging us as industry experts. We are sitting with them on a number of working groups ...

All business owners need to be aware of their fire safety responsibilities something that is especially critical in mixed used buildings. While a building’s fire safety features are clearly outlined in the Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF) and compliance schedule, in multi-tenanted buildings identifying who is responsible for maintaining certain fire safety features designed to protect the building’s occupants can ...