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In the world of construction, it’s common for duties and health and safety responsibilities to overlap. This can be managed simply – just follow the three C’s – Consultation, Cooperation, and Coordination and you’re on your way to a safer work site!

The role of the Employer

Basically, an Employer is required to ensure the health and safety of their workers, contractors or any visitors who might be affected by work operations.


On-site this means that there can be a lot of overlapping duties, so the principal contractor is responsible for coordinating with other businesses/trades/subcontractors so they can all meet their combined responsibilities. See the image below:

Venn Diagram of your business and their business with overlapping duties in the center

When does this apply?

When there are multiple businesses at the same site, each business must do what they can, within their control, to keep workers safe. In these situations, the most effective way to manage workplace health and safety is by working together.

The Three C’s – Consultation, Cooperation & Coordination 

By following the three C’s everyone will be aware of their overlapping duties, so roles can be clearly defined and work isn’t impacted.

Consultation

Consultation between businesses can help you all reach a common understanding and establish clear roles, responsibilities, and actions in relation to work health and safety. Consultation could require discussions around:

Cooperation

From the consultation comes cooperation. This simply means sharing information and working together to put in place systems for managing and controlling risk agreed during the consultation process. Working together can increase the scope of the hazards recognised – ultimately making the site safer!

Coordination

And last but not least – now actually making sure everything works well together. Businesses should be able to coordinate on what systems will be implemented to control risks. This isn’t about one business pushing all the duties down on another, it’s about everyone involved working together to avoid duplication, or worse, health and safety risks.


The Benefits

What may seem like a hassle at first, is actually a huge benefit to life on-site. Keeping people safe should always be the top priority on any construction site – and of course, Health and safety laws actually require this to be the case. Aligning yourself with other Employers on site and knowing what safety systems are in place is vital and can save lives.


I am a principal contractor, what should I do?

If you are a principal contractor you must document the arrangements in place for consultation, cooperation, and coordination between all the different Employers at your site in your Site Specific Safety Plan (SSSP). The HazardCo system will guide you through creating a SSSP for each of your sites – Test drive the SSSP generator. 

Managing your contractors and their H&S responsibilities is easy with the HazardCo system.  You’ll get all the tools you need to pre-qualify contractors and check their H&S systems are up to scratch, plus everyone will be able to use the guided HazardCo app on site to create SWMS, log toolbox meetings and more. Get a 7-day HazardCo trial. 

If you are a contractor and you have questions on how to best work with other businesses or the process you should follow, have a look at our Overlapping Duties: Working with other businesses blog.

As a plumber, you know your business runs better when you’ve got a good process to manage your jobs. But keeping your job management in top form can be a hard task when you’re on the tools everyday.

Time is money, so the less time you spend making calls to confirm service details or buying materials, the more billable hours you have to complete work. To run your business in a more efficient and profitable way you need to be making the most of your time, instead of getting bogged down by admin.

 

Here’s how a job management app can streamline your daily processes to bring maximum benefit to your business: 

No more hunting for documents

If your team is using paper quotes or sending ad hoc emails, you’ll be wasting precious time every week trying to find this information when you need it. An app-based job management solution stores all of the information you need in one place so you can find all the details you need, when you need them.

Know exactly where your team is

Do you find you’re frequently making calls to your team to stay on top of what they’re working on and what jobs have been completed? On the flip side, do you find your team calling throughout the day wondering where they should be and when?

Remove the need for these calls with a job management app that shares all job information automatically between you and your team members. Simply log on and you’ll see exactly where your team is, what jobs have been completed, and any other info that you need for the day. All in one convenient place.

Never double up again

A top-tier job management solution cuts down on double data entry and saves you time transferring data between quotes, accounting systems, timesheets, and payroll. By housing all of your information in one central location, all of your data populates where it needs to be so you can say goodbye to unnecessary manual data entry.

Create happier customers

From staying current on all projects to collecting invoices, keeping on top of your customer data is a huge part of your business. A job management solution does more than just keep your contact list in order, it also connects all the information you need to run your business such as current quotes or invoices and past jobs. That way, you can keep your customer history in order, as well as being able to easily check in on outstanding items. 

The time you save when you partner with a leading job management system will not only benefit your efficiency but also increase your bottom line. Ultimately, it helps you direct your time and energy to where it’s needed most. Luckily for you, we have just the guys in mind.

Introducing FieldPulse

FieldPulse is a job management tool with a bucketload of slick features. They give plumbers the tools they need for customer management, quoting, scheduling, and invoicing. You’ll even be able to search the entire Reece product catalogue with live pricing information and submit purchase orders directly to Reece without having to leave FieldPulse.

With FieldPulse’s system, you can save yourself 10+ hours of admin a week. Plus, FieldPulse members have seen a 60 percent increase in customer enquiries converting into paying customers resulting in an average of five new jobs being scheduled each week. Sounds good? Yeah, we thought so.

Sounds like a plan?

As a HazardCo member, you’ll receive 20% off a month-to-month Fieldpulse membership. Sign up for a yearly membership and receive 25% off!

Get on top of your health and safety with HazardCo and keep track of job management in FieldPulse. It’s a win-win!

Get a free trial of Fieldpulse.

As a building company, you’re responsible for the H&S of everyone on-site, not just your direct employees. We know that getting contractors involved in H&S is a big challenge for building companies and is exposing you to additional risk.

Of course, building companies often tell us that although they have some influence over contractors on-site, getting them to engage with health and safety is a challenge, as they don’t have the same level of control over contractors compared to direct staff. Too often, contractors arrive on-site without an established H&S system and need a lot of support from the main contractor. If they do have their own system it creates a paperwork nightmare for the building company that is responsible for ensuring reports are completed and collected.  

What does good contractor management look like?

First, you need to make sure contractors have the right skills and experience to do the job, and second, you need to make sure they are going to carry out the work safely. Once they are onboard, you need to monitor throughout the build if the contractor is following good health and safety practices on-site.

 

We’ve created a number of new tools that will help you to manage your contractors before they begin working with you and while they are on-site. We’ve also made it easier to monitor your contractor’s H&S activity, even when you’re in the office. It’s one system for everyone. 


How does it work? 

Pre-site – Do your homework before you start working with contractors to reduce the risk to your business 

On-site – Love the HazardCo app? Now contractors can use it too. One H&S tool for everyone under one roof 

Oversight – Get the big picture view of all H&S activity taking place  

Managing your contractors and ensuring their safety on-site is non-negotiable, so make it simpler, and let our digital and automated tools do the heavy lifting. Get in touch with the HazardCo team to find out more about these pre-qualification tools, and how we can help you to manage contractor safety on-site.

What’s Contractor management?

Contractor Management is simply ensuring your contractors are competent, qualified, licenced and inducted before visiting your site.

 

How does it apply to me?

If you own a building company, chances are you’re the Principal Contractor of the building site. This means it’s your responsibility to check that all contractors meet the requirements to work on your project. This involves making sure everyone is appropriately licenced, competent and compliant before jumping into any work on-site.

It’s also vital to closely observe contractors, especially anyone unfamiliar with your site, to make sure work is conducted safely.

Digitally documenting everything is the easiest way to avoid landing in hot water over lost paperwork or abandoned inductions. 

 

Here’s what you should check:

Check company info annually

Induction of workers

On-site health and safety 

As a general benchmark, we recommend these steps to stay up to date:

 

How to keep track of it all

When you’ve got a lot of contractors coming and going, it can turn into a bit of a headache trying to stay on top of checking all these documents. We’ve created a simple, automated system to nail the pre-qualification of your contractors before you begin working with them, to reduce the risk to your business.

Find out more about HazardCo’s Pre-Qualification Tools here

 

An important part of ensuring a healthy and safe environment for everyone on-site is to have effective contractor selection and management.  The following key steps should be followed by the Principal Contractor:

 Scope

Prequalify

Appoint

Monitor and Review

 

Stay on top of these checks with an automated system.

When you’ve got a lot of contractors coming and going, it can turn into a bit of a headache trying to stay on top of checking all these documents. We’ve created a simple, automated system to nail the pre-qualification of your contractors before you begin working with them, to reduce the risk to your business. 

Find out more about HazardCo’s Pre-Qualification Tools here

With every new contractor you bring on board, remember to tick these boxes to make sure they are going to hit the ground running when it comes to health and safety on-site. It’s your responsibility as the principal contractor to make sure these checks and balances are in place. 

Pre-qualify the contracting company once a year

  • ABN number and company details
  • Insurance (work cover / income protection / public liability) 
  • A health and safety policy and evidence they follow good processes


There are lots of different ways you can check their health and safety processes. A policy is a good place to start, as well as examples of what they will do on-site if they have an incident and how they will record toolbox talks. You should also ask for an example SWMS for any high-risk construction work they will do.

Induction of the worker

  • White card
  • Trade qualifications and experience
  • High Risk Work License

We recommend checking these items before they come on-site so you don’t forget. Tip: Ask for a photograph of the items for your records.

On-site induction of the worker

  • Have they read and agreed to the site specific safety plan? 
  • Have they been made aware of any hazards on-site?
  • Are they bringing any hazards on-site? 


The on-site induction is your opportunity to set expectations of how you expect the contractor to participate in risk identification and management. New workers are at a greater risk of injuring themself than your existing crew so a good induction is vital in avoiding injuries and downtime.

Stay on top these checks with an automated system
Get peace of mind your contractors are good to go, with an automated system to pre-qualify your contractors, check insurance, trade qualifications and more. Because it’s automated, you won’t have to chase contractors for outstanding documents, and you’ll even get a notification if someone scans-in who hasn’t been approved.

Find out more about HazardCo’s Pre-Qualification solution here.

There are a lot of things to keep in mind when setting up Health and Safety on your construction site that it can seem overwhelming. Use this guide as a tool to understand what you need to do from start to end of your build.

 

Contractor Management
Your obligations as the principal contractor are pretty straightforward. First, you need to make sure contractors have the right skills and experience to do the job, and second, you need to make sure they are going to carry out the work safely. Once they are on board, you also need to monitor if the contractor is following good health and safety practices on-site.

Collecting evidence of this process is important so we recommend putting a system in place so nothing falls through the cracks.

To understand how your contractors manage their Health and Safety it’s important that you talk to your contractors and check that they can show a commitment to keeping workers and visitors safe. This can be demonstrated through clear procedures outlined in their Health and Safety documents, as well as evidence of risk assessments, monitoring work activities, emergency management etc. 

The following areas should be included in their Health and Safety Procedures:

  • Hazards and risks 
  • Training and competency 
  • Emergencies and incidents 
  • Hazardous substances 
  • Health monitoring
  • Sharing information with workers 
  • Plant, machinery, and equipment

When you’ve got a lot of contractors coming and going, it can turn into a bit of a headache trying to stay on top of checking all these documents. We’ve created a simple, automated system to nail the pre-qualification of your contractors before you begin working with them, to reduce the risk to your business. 

Find out more about HazardCo’s Pre-Qualification Tools here

 

Setting Up Your Build
When you start a new build, it is important that health and safety is considered and communicated with everyone coming onto site. If this is created at the beginning of your build, and clear direction is provided and shared, it helps to create and foster good safety practices on-site. With HazardCo it’s easy to set up your site by creating a project in the Hub, all you need to do is: 

  • Provide specific site address details 
  • Add in general information about the project 
  • Identify the emergency procedures that will be put in place on-site 
  • Identify the site hazards and controls that will be used to manage the risks 
  • Choose the contractors that you will be using for the project 
  • The SSSP will be sent automatically to those involved and will advise them to use the site-specific QR code to complete a Site Induction when they arrive on-site and scan in/out each day. 

We recommend that before the project starts, you should think about setting up site fencing, emergency equipment, toilets, handwashing facilities. Make sure that you set up your HazardCo Hazard Board with the site-specific QR code at the entrance of the build, along with the mandatory government COVID Tracing App QR code.

 

During Your Build

  • Update the HazardCo Hazard Board with any new hazards on-site, and encourage contractors to do the same too 
  • Use the site-specific QR Code on the HazardCo Hazard Board to get your workers to complete a digital site induction when they arrive on-site for the first time and scan in/out of site each day .This helps to identify who is on-site, and when
  • Workers should complete a Risk Assessment on the HazardCo App prior to starting work to make sure their work area is safe and the risks are being managed 
  • Monitor works occurring on-site using the Site Review feature on the HazardCo App 
  • For high risk construction work, use the SWMS feature in the HazardCo App. Ensure everyone involved is consulted during the preparation of the SWMS and have read, understood, and will follow the directions provided 
  • Share and capture what’s happening on-site, and upcoming works with workers through the Toolbox Meeting feature on the HazardCo App 
  • Record incidents on-site using the HazardCo App. Any incident, illness or near-miss can be recorded. Check out the HazardCo Hub for your Incident Register 
  • Call our expert Advisory team on 1800 954 702 for any health and safety advice

 

Health and Safety Evidence
Documentation is a key way of showing that Health and Safety is active on-site and provides evidence in areas like incident investigations and learnings that are shared from these. This can be in either digital or physical format. Use the HazardCo tools on the App and Hub for all your H&S needs.

 

If you’re not the principal contractor on-site
We recommend that you use the HazardCo App and Hub to manage your on-site health and safety. At the beginning of each day, complete a Risk Assessment on the HazardCo App. This will help identify that the work area is safe and ensure that you have the correct controls in place for common construction hazards. 

Remember to use the HazardCo App to report any incidents or near misses on your site. This will notify the HazardCo Advisory Team and we will help guide you through the next steps.

During your job:

  • Complete a Risk Assessment on the HazardCo App prior to starting work to make sure their work area is safe and the risks are being managed 
  • For high risk construction work, make sure that you have read, understood and will follow the directions provided in the SWMS completed by the builder
  • Share and capture what’s happening on-site through the Toolbox Meeting feature on the HazardCo App 
  • Record incidents on-site using the HazardCo App. Any incident, illness or near-miss can be recorded. 
  • Call Advisory anytime on 1800 954 702 for any health and safety advice 

 

Don’t forget, as part of your membership, you get unlimited access to the HazardCo team. 

Phone Support
The support you need from people who know their stuff. 

  • 24/7 incident support
  • Get expert advice from our highly qualified advisory team
  • Get full support for your HazardCo system from our customer service team

It’s important to us that you and your crew are kept safe. You know the drill, we’re here to help, so get in touch if there’s anything you need. You can contact us on 1800 954 702 or email info@hazardco.com.

Even if you are self-employed you still carry the same duties under the legislation as the main contractor.

 

If a contractor, in turn, engages other businesses then they too must assume some of the responsibility for their work. A contractor is most likely to have the greatest influence and control of their own work activities and workers (or contractors).

 

There should be a way of recording your planning and the ways in which you share this information. All businesses should have access to information to keep themselves or their workers safe.

 

Your primary duty remains to prevent harm arising from your work. Identify risks that could arise and share information between relevant parties.

 

The following key steps should be followed by contractors:

 

Scope

  • Engage with the main contractor to identify risks
  • If engaging your own contractors share information relating to risks, safety plans and expectations

Prequalify

  • Provide the main contractor with evidence to demonstrate your health and safety procedures eg Task Analysis, Safe Work Method Statements, Training Registers
  • If engaging contractors of your own, prequalify their procedures. Make sure you are happy with how safely they will work.
  • Find out more about HazardCo’s Pre-Qualification Tools here, or get in touch with the team to find out if it’s right for you.

Select

  • If engaging your own contractors, select them based Select the contractors based on prequalification outcome and any other factors including availability, skills etc.

Appoint

  • Complete risk assessments (e.g. Risk Assessment on the HazardCo App, Task Analysis or other risk management plans).
  • Agree these with your workers and other businesses

Monitor

  • Complete Risk Assessments/Site inspections/Observations at the start of the day to make the work area is safe to work in
  • Hold regular toolbox meeting, so all workers are aware of safety expectations, share this with other contractors on-site where they are affected by your work
  • Investigate any incidents and share the findings with the team and the main contractor

Review

  • Review health and safety performance with your own workers and contractors
  • If engaging contractors, review during the project and post-project review

Working along other businesses is a natural part of residential construction. Everyone on-site has a duty to open up the lines of communication and look out for each other.

Businesses (PCBUs) that work together will often share health and safety duties in relation to work done. Businesses have a legal duty to consult, cooperate with, and coordinate activities with all other businesses they share overlapping duties with.

What does this mean and how can you ensure that people are not harmed, and you are complying with your legal obligations? Here are some expectations:

  1. Work with designers to reduce risks 
  2. Set clear health and safety expectations and incorporate these into your agreements with contractors
  3. Ensure contractors have appropriate health and safety procedures in place
  4. Prepare a Site Safety Plan for the job and share with all workers and contractors
  5. Establish health and safety reporting requirements with your contractor. A great tool for this is to use the HazardCo App to complete Risk Assessments, Incident Reports and more.
  6. Ensure site inductions take place. Coordinate and communicate site rules and procedures to everyone who accesses the work site, this can be done via the HazardCo App by scanning the QR code located on your Hazard Board.
  7. Set up clear requirements for information sharing for the duration of the project
  8. Ensure that there is effective communication between all parties (e.g. Toolbox Meetings through the HazardCo App)
  9. Monitor your workers and/or contractors you hire

The following key steps should be followed by Principal Contractor:

Scope

  • Consider health and safety risks prior to selecting contractors.
  • Discuss the project with potential contractors to make sure they are capable.
  • Document the process and store in the HazardCo Hub.

Prequalify

  • Ensure prospective contractors have effective health and safety procedures in place.
  • Keep records of contractors’ prequalification.
  • Get peace of mind your contractors are good to go, with an automated system to pre-qualify your contractors, check insurance, trade qualifications and more with HazardCo’s Pre-Qualification Tools. Find out more here, or get in touch with the team to find out if it’s right for you.

Select

  • Select the contractors based on prequalification outcome and any other factors including availability, skills etc.

Appoint

  • Create a Project in the HazardCo Hub, which creates a Site Specific Safety Plan, QR code and Hazard Board. Share the information with contractors.
  • Ensure induction expectations are understood by all workers, contractors and visitors.
  • Ensure all contractors have reviewed the information and agreement is reached and documented.

Monitor

  • Regular communication regarding health and safety performance (e.g. toolbox meetings, site reviews, site inductions etc.)
  • Investigate any incidents and follow up on any outstanding issues.
  • Regular review during the assignment (e.g. Site Reviews)

Review

  • Post contract review – It’s good practice to review the performance of your contractors at the end of the project. Look back at areas that were monitored during the project such as communication, incidents, Site Reviews, etc.

Working along other businesses is a natural part of residential construction. Everyone on-site has a duty to open up the lines of communication and look out for each other. 

You can read more about contractor management and overlapping duties here or if you have any questions about working with other businesses on-site, give our expert Advisory Team a call on 1800 954 702.

What is Contractor Management?
“Contractor management” is a WHS / OHS term used by building companies. It’s referring to the process of checking if your contractors are competent and work safely.

As a building company, what do I need to do?
Your obligations as the principal contractor are pretty straightforward. First, you need to make sure contractors have the right skills and experience to do the job, and second, you need to make sure they are going to carry out the work safely. Once they are on board, you also need to monitor if the contractor is following good health and safety practices on-site.

Collecting evidence of this process is important so we recommend putting a system in place so nothing falls through the cracks.   

What you should be asking your contractors for:

Pre-qualification company checks once a year:

  • ABN number and company details
  • Insurance (work cover / income protection / public liability)
  • A health and safety policy and evidence they follow good processes

Pre-site induction of workers:

  • White card
  • Trade qualifications and experience
  • High Risk Work License

On-site induction of workers:

  • Have they read and agreed to the site specific safety plan?
  • Have they been made aware of any hazards on-site?
  • Are they bringing any hazards on-site?

On-site health and safety:
As a yardstick, good health and safety on-site would be your contractor completing at least two Toolbox Meetings and four Risk Assessments a month plus a SWMS any time high-risk construction work is carried out. 

 

How to stay on top of all these checks: 

 

Stay on top of these checks with an automated system.
Get peace of mind your contractors are good to go, with an automated system to pre-qualify your contractors, check insurance, trade qualifications and more. Because it’s automated, you won’t have to chase contractors for outstanding documents, and you’ll even get a notification if someone scans-in who hasn’t been approved.

Find out more about HazardCo’s Pre-Qualification Tools here, or get in touch with the team by giving us a call on 1800 954 702 or email info@hazardco.com

In the world of construction, it's common for duties and health and safety responsibilities to overlap. This can be managed simply – just follow the three C’s – Consultation, Cooperation, and ...
As a plumber, you know your business runs better when you’ve got a good process to manage your jobs. But keeping your job management in top form can be a hard task when you’re on the tools eve...
As a building company, you’re responsible for the H&S of everyone on-site, not just your direct employees. We know that getting contractors involved in H&S is a big challenge for build...
What’s Contractor management? Contractor Management is simply ensuring your contractors are competent, qualified, licenced and inducted before visiting your site.   How does it apply...
An important part of ensuring a healthy and safe environment for everyone on-site is to have effective contractor selection and management.  The following key steps should be followed by the P...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With every new contractor you bring on board, remember to tick these boxes to make sure they are going to hit the ground running when it comes to health and ...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There are a lot of things to keep in mind when setting up Health and Safety on your construction site that it can seem overwhelming. Use this guide as a tool...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Even if you are self-employed you still carry the same duties under the legislation as the main contractor.   If a contractor, in turn, engages ot...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Businesses (PCBUs) that work together will often share health and safety duties in relation to work done. Businesses have a legal duty to consult, cooperate ...
Two workers using a ipad to fill out incident report on site
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What is Contractor Management? “Contractor management” is a WHS / OHS term used by building companies. It’s referring to the process of checking if your con...
Construction work involves many businesses and undertakings involved in the same task or activity (for example suppliers, contractors, and building owners). This means there may be multiple bu...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Whenever there are multiple businesses on-site at once it can be a bit confusing who is responsible for what.  The simple rule of thumb is each business m...