BUILDERS Archives - Page 5 of 5

Our partners BuiltGrid help residential builders work more efficiently with their suppliers and trades to get projects delivered on time and budget. While you may use estimation software to get rough costings to bid on a customer project or set a budget on a spec home, BuiltGrid comes into play once you have council approval. It allows builders to get competitive quotes matching project needs, side-by-side quote comparisons and lock in materials and labour when you need them. All your supplier admin and communications are together, saving you time and minimising costly errors. Better still, builders don’t pay a cent to use the BuiltGrid platform.

Running a business from an email inbox
Although it’s common practice for small businesses to manage their business from an email inbox, email was never designed to be used that way. Searching years of email history may be useful at times but it’s difficult to find important messages or specific attachments unless you’re super disciplined with folders and labels. BuiltGrid clears your email inbox by linking all of your project docs, quotes, orders, communications and call-ups in one place. Supply partners get selective access to project information and you only get critical notifications.

Select suppliers. Attach a plan. Hit “Send”
“Geez!” is the first response from suppliers and trades when they receive a “Quote this” email with an attached plan and little else. Yet, this is the go-to method used by most builders to request quotes. It’s way too common, attracting inaccurate quotes, pricing issues, delays and rework. The free alternative is to use BuiltGrid’s industry standardised quote request and job scope framework – your suppliers and hip pocket will thank you.

Quote received. Now what?
Admin hassles only start with the “Quote this” email. What about following up suppliers, answering phone calls and questions, making changes, re-quote requests? Quote responses are sent at different times and based on a supplier’s interpretation with varying inclusions, exclusions and terms. It’s messy, time consuming and why most supplier selections are based on a quick view of the quote price! BuiltGrid shows you side-by-side competitive quote comparisons so you can assess where the real value is, beyond price. One-click quote acceptance locks in your supply and notifies unsuccessful suppliers – no more pesky suppliers chasing a deal.

Save 54 days and $39,051 this year
In short, BuiltGrid provides one integrated system for project info, quotes, comparisons, job orders and call-ups. If you’re building five projects a year, time gains have been shown to save builders 54 days. Applying a base hourly rate, that’s $39,051 in your pocket. On top of this, there’s additional profit margins from builders inviting more competition from the broader network. Use the time gained to secure your next project, focus on your craft or hang out with your family.

As a HazardCo member we know you value your time. Now there’s a better way to manage your quoting, ordering and call-ups. And it’s free! Yep, BuiltGrid is free to builders!

Join the free BuiltGrid network now

Machinery and equipment are used every day on the worksite. Machinery and equipment are designed to make work easier, more efficient, and can generate great amounts of power and speed. This is really handy when there is a job to be done, but this also means there is a greater potential for harm and injury. When there is a potential for harm, especially in the workplace, it needs to be managed to prevent incidents or injuries. A great place to start is by identifying the hazards and risks involved with the machinery and equipment being used so that you can put controls in place to effectively manage them.

Hazards & Risks
Many pieces of machinery and equipment use force and motion to cut, bend, join or shape materials. This force and motion can harm workers in many different ways such as crushing, cutting, puncturing and burning.

It is good practice to identify the risks to workers’ safety. When machinery and equipment is identified as a hazard in the workplace, the next required step is to manage the hazard. Begin by assessing the risks that these hazards pose to workers. A risk assessment in relation to the machinery and equipment can be completed in the HazardCo app to record hazards and the controls put in place to manage these risks. Any machinery or equipment that is faulty or damaged should be tagged out and repaired.

It is also good practice to complete Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for your machinery and equipment. The SOP should document instructions on the safe operation and maintenance of and training for any machinery or equipment. Ensure that the SOP is created using the manufacturer’s instructions so that it is specific to the machinery and equipment used.

Pre-Start Checks
Machinery and equipment are often used in harsh working environments, and on a daily basis. These two factors mean that eventually machinery and equipment can become faulty, damaged or break down over-time. If and when this happens, it can pose a risk to the workers who are using or working closely to the machinery or equipment. It is good practice to manage these risks by doing daily pre-start checks before beginning work. This ensures that the machinery and equipment are inspected and are in good working order before beginning the works. These pre-start checks should be recorded and the records should be kept.

Training
Workers should be trained to competently complete the work they are required to do. This is especially important when using machinery and equipment as there is an increased potential for harm when it is not used correctly. Make sure that workers have the appropriate training, supervision and qualification (if required) to safely use the necessary machinery and equipment. Keep an up-to-date register of what machinery and equipment workers are trained on and competent in using.

If you need a hand with managing the hazards and risks involved with using machinery and equipment, give HazardCo a call on 1800 954 702

Hi-Vis is a form of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) designed to make workers more visible to others in order to minimise the risk of injury.

The Australian legislation has Hi-Vis standards around the criteria, types and when it is to be worn.

Every construction site must have:

Hi-Vis policy or rules
Guide on how to wear and fit correctly
Training on its effectiveness and better options for risk control.

As a business owner, you must manage the risks associated with your workplace activities and in doing so follow a process to control those risks. If you cannot eliminate a risk, you must implement measures to reduce the level of risk, provide training to workers, and provide PPE – which includes hi-vis.

Protective clothing is one of many control measures used to mitigate risk, however, it is the ‘last line of defense’, and all other reasonably practicable control measures should be in place first before relying on protective clothing. It is up to the PCBU if hi-vis clothing is a control that will be implemented on-site. However, it should always be worn around moving vehicles, plant and machinery.

Types of Hi-Vis
There are many types of hi-vis clothing available in Australia, and it is important to understand the different types of hi-vis, what is appropriate for your workplace, and ensure that you supply hi-vis that meets the standards. The two hi-vis colours that meet the standard for daytime visibility are yellow and orange.

Class D – (Daytime use) made from fluorescent or other high visibility materials, are designed for daytime use. They are intended only for use in workplaces where lighting levels are good, and no work is done outside of daylight hours.
Class N – (Nighttime use) designed and only suitable for night use, with no background material specified. The reflective tape must meet certain measurements and configurations.
Class D/N – (Day and nighttime use) These garments combine fluorescent or other high-visibility background materials with strips of reflective tape, making them suitable for day and night use, or for work areas where there are low light levels.

Maintaining Hi-Vis
It is important that the correct hi-vis is selected and used correctly. Your workers should know:

When using hi-vis is required
How to wear it correctly, and that the zippers/velcro need to be done up securely
Be of a suitable fit and not interfere with normal movement
Be compatible with any other PPE requirements
Know when to request a replacement due to damage/wear and tear

Hi-vis should be maintained to ensure that it remains effective, over time the materials can fade which will affect the performance of the tape and fabric. It should be regularly checked for wear and tear, fading, and ensure that there are no additional fabrics, logos, or pockets impacting the functionality of the hi-vis in accordance with the standards AS/NZS 4602 and AS/NZS 1906.4.

Whether or not you believe in the well-known phrase, “the customer is always right”, there is no doubt that the customer or client plays an important role in the success of your job.

One way to give them confidence and make those day to day conversations easier is to demonstrate great health and safety management whenever they’re on-site. Using HazardCo’s smart App and online health and safety system, it’s easy to stay on top of site health and safety, and you always know who is on-site in real-time.

Most clients will be inexperienced when it comes to building and site management, and some will want different levels of involvement and visitation to site. By encouraging site visits, you can ensure there are no surprises for your client, and as the project progresses you can manage expectations or discuss changes as necessary. In most cases, this is a significant financial investment for the client – meaning stress and worry can be high, so take the stress out of health and safety using HazardCo’s smart online tools.

Clients should be accompanied whilst on-site. Getting your client to use the HazardCo App to scan in and out of site for each visit, will help you keep health and safety top of mind for them too, because as much as they own the property, you own the construction site. It’s an important reminder that everyone is responsible for health and safety, including the client. This includes being responsible for ensuring the safety of contractors and team at work, including ensuring all projects have a Site Specific Safety Plan and Hazard Board.

Many clients will be unaware that they also have health and safety responsibilities, so share this with them, and show them how HazardCo’s clever system helps you cover all of the bases. This will give them peace of mind that you are on top of site health and safety, giving greater confidence in a successful job.

It’s important that these expectations are established at the start of any job. Meeting with your client to discuss timing for site visits, and frequency on-site. The same rules should apply to them as any other visitor, including receiving a site induction, scanning in and out of site every time, dressing appropriately, and checking the hazard board.

By bringing your client on your health and safety journey with HazardCo, you will be in for a five star review, giving them peace of mind about the job.

While working on-site, you may need to organise a builders temporary. Electricity can be supplied to a small construction site through a temporary connection.

A builder’s temporary provides builders and other tradespeople an electricity supply on-site where there is no existing connection to an electricity network. Only a licensed electrical worker can install, connect, modify or move a builder’s temporary.

What certifications and inspections are required?
Before you can use a builder’s temporary, an electrician must give you

A certificate of Compliance (CoC)
A Record of Inspection (RoI) as per the requirements of AS/NZS 3000 (2018) Electrical Installations (Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules)
An Electrical Safety Certificate (ESC) – issued by the State based Electrical regulator

These documents guarantee that the builder’s temporary meets the requirements of AS/NZS 3012 (2019) Electrical Installations – Construction and Demolition sites . The builder’s temporary must be assessed by a licensed electrician (A class) or electrical inspector at least every six months. As well as a visual inspection, the wiring should be re-tested for earth continuity and insulation resistance of the installation. Records of inspection and re-testing should be kept on-site and be made available on request

Where should a builder’s temporary be located?
A builder’s temporary should be located close to where the electrical work will be carried out. Consider where most of the electrical work on-site will be done and how connections can be made without using too many extension leads – which can be a potential electrical and trip hazard.

Working with other PCBU’s on-site
PCBU’s and contractors working on the same site must, so far as is reasonably practicable, work together to manage electrical safety risks. Have a discussion about how electricity will be supplied and used in areas where your health and safety duties may overlap. This will help to prevent any gaps in managing health and safety risks. You can read more about this in our blog ‘The three C’s: Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination’.

Keeping you and your team safe at work is a priority, so make sure you are aware of the employer’s requirements of temporary power supplies in the workplace.

The HazardCo App Site Review resource has a list of electrical controls that should be in place to mitigate the risk of electrical hazards.

Why not kick off the year by keeping your health and safety sorted, starting with a Risk Assessment via the HazardCo App? Risk Assessments help you identify hazards, assess the risk, and implement controls to help prevent incidents.

The HazardCo Risk Assessment feature is perfect to use before starting a new task or at the beginning of the day, but remember if you need to review the full building site, complete a Site Review instead. So, take a few moments to think about any major tasks coming up, and then open the Risk Assessment tool. The App gives you a number of question areas – quickly tap each topic and if the risk is not present for this task, select ‘No’. Where the risk is present, select ‘Yes’ or ‘Not Sure’ and the App will give you some options on how to control the risk – simply select any that apply. Of course, you can add your own comments and upload photos before moving to the next topic.

Once all topics are complete, hit submit and the completed assessment is saved to the Hub and available anywhere, anytime. You can also download the assessment and email to others as needed – easy as that.

The App makes completing a Risk Assessment really straight forward, and the suggestions on how to control possible risks give you confidence you’re doing all you can to keep your crew safe. Because the App is in the palm of your hand 24/7, Risk Assessments can be completed at any time… no paperwork needed.

As you get back into the swing of things, now’s the perfect time to start planning the first few weeks on-site and ensuring you start out the way you’d like the year to continue. HazardCo’s Risk Assessments help you keep your health and safety sorted and make sure everyone leaves the site safely at the end of each day.

A wise Desmond Tutu once said, “There is only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time.”

And Health and Safety is no different. We know that Health and Safety can feel daunting, overwhelming, and even impossible at times, but it can be accomplished by taking on just a little at a time.

You can get your on-site safety on track this year by just starting one step at a time. Health and Safety is a team sport, you can’t do it by yourself, so you need to make sure everyone is involved, and scanning on and off site is a great place to start to create behavioral habits. Encourage your subbies and everyone on-site to create a habit of scanning on and off of your site every day with the HazardCo App.

When workers are engaged in work Health and Safety, everyone benefits. Your business is a healthier and safer place for everyone, performance and productivity increases, and a more engaged workforce means better builds, a stronger and more well-regarded brand in the market, more work, higher margins, and ultimately more money! What’s not to love?

Most people know how to, and do operate safely, recording activity – that’s what you need, and once you have that sorted – the rest is a piece of cake.

If your subbies already have the HazardCo App you’re already halfway there. Now you just need to get them to use it and make it a regular and consistent part of their workday on-site.

It couldn’t be any easier. All your subbies have to do is simply open the HazardCo App on their smartphones, scan onto your site using the unique QR code located on your site’s Hazard Board and they will be able to successfully complete a contactless induction onto your site! As the Main Contractor, you will have full and real-time visibility of scanning activity stored securely in your Hub – and what’s more? you’ll be stoked that your subbies are supporting your Health and Safety efforts.

Bottom line? Safe sites are better sites. So make it a priority this year to make Health & Safety top of mind, and get your subbies using our scanning feature on the HazardCo App today.

For you, for your team, for the families waiting for you at home. Safety first, always.

If you need a hand getting started or would like more information, get in touch with the friendly HazardCo team today.

Risks change, all day, everyday. That’s the reality of life on site.

Methods change because of different training and experience, people on the job change, there are differences in machinery and materials used, as well as environmental changes from hour to hour.

It’s a lot.

Risk is a product of the work processes being carried out. So, if the work doesn’t happen, the risk isn’t present.

But, if a work process is defined then risk can be recognised and taken into account.

The key question tradies and supervisors need to be asking themselves is:

How do I adapt my task when a change occurs?

It’s not about mountains of paperwork. It’s about 4 simple steps:

Plan: Identify and assess the risk
Do: Eliminate or minimise the risk
Check: Monitor the control measures
Act: Review for continuous improvement

A change occurs. Repeat.

Plan. Do. Check. Act.

Repeat.

(You get the picture)

We should all be working towards a heightened sense of awareness on site. And of course, treating risks as priority should be a collective mindset. Reinforced by supervisors who should be adapting plans and guiding teams to take account of the constantly evolving risk environment.

The power of change in risk can kill, the power of change in process can save a life.

Be the change you want to see.