Given how close we are to our neighbours over the ditch, we compare ourselves to Australia in almost every aspect. From sports and culture to economics and lifestyle, we like to think we can keep up with our big brother and show them a thing or two. However, the stark difference in workplace safety and our fatality rate, in particular, is a wake-up call for everyone working in high-risk industries.
On average, there are 73 work-related deaths in New Zealand each year. Relative to the number of people in employment, the NZ workplace fatality rate is double the Australian rate and hasn’t shifted in many years. The NZ rate is similar to those the UK experienced back in the 1980s, making it very clear there is significant room for improvement.
The gap between New Zealand and Australia is consistent across most industries and occupations. Looking at just the construction industry, the NZ fatality rate is 4.41 workers in every 100,000 compared to 2.93 workers in every 100,000 in Australia.
Our workplace injury rates tell a similar story. NZ injury rates reported by ACC have improved over time, however, the Australian rate is 25% lower, and the UK is 45% lower.
Behind these statistics are real people, with families and friends dealing with unimaginable loss when their loved one never returns from work. There is also a very real economic impact, with New Zealand’s workplace accidents and deaths costing the country $4.4 billion. If we could improve our workplace safety performance to match that of Australia, we would reduce costs by nearly $1 billion each year. With 137,939 people out of work in 2022 and receiving weekly compensation from ACC, our high injury rate is also contributing to labour shortage issues.
The 2023 State of a Thriving Nation report says that experts have identified “several factors generate more heat in the system overseas.” For example, in both Australia and the UK, the regulatory environment sets clearer expectations and is firm with enforcement. Australia also has more active trade unions and invests more in new technology.
New Zealand’s workplace fatality statistics are a wake-up call for everyone working in the construction industry, an area that accounts for a large proportion of all fatalities.
The best way to reduce fatalities is to Plan, Do, Check, Act. Focus on the risks on-site which could cause a fatality or a life-altering injury. They are the ones that you want to manage first. Remember, managing risks is more than just using PPE or putting in an administration control.
Looking at NZ construction industry safety statistics over the last five years, the areas that contribute to the greatest number of fatalities are;
These are areas of greatest risk and therefore the areas that should be monitored and reviewed most closely.
The construction industry has additional H&S challenges arising from the volume of contractors and subcontractors from various specialties that must work together on a single site or project. This was reflected in our 2023 member survey where just 66% of building companies agreed that “workers on site (including contractors) are reliable at following H&S procedures and managing/recording H&S where applicable.”
When it comes to how to improve safety engagement with workers and contractors on site, Evette McClure, H&S Advisory & Customer Support Lead at HazardCo says, “When you break it down, ensuring safety on-site can actually be quite simple – it all comes down to communication. Communication is at the heart of all important safety procedures, and it’s the foundation of effective safety management.”
“Good communication creates a culture where everyone is aware and works together. It makes it easier for people to raise concerns and find solutions. In the end, having a culture of strong communication is vital for preventing incidents and keeping everyone safe on the construction site. Just remember, as with anything, it all starts with you. You need to lead by example, start conversations, work together, and create an environment where everyone feels encouraged to participate. You need to be the one to make the change, because if you don’t, nobody else will.”
Although the comparison of workplace safety between New Zealand and Australia is concerning, it shows us that we can and should work to improve our workplace fatality statistics.
We know that getting contractors involved in H&S is a big challenge for building companies and is exposing you to additional risk. That’s why we’ve created a number of new contractor management 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 if you’re in the office.
We’ve developed our Contractor Management system with feedback and input from all the major players in the industry to make sure it matches what kiwi home builders and tradies need. HazardCo’s Pre-qualification tools has been supported by Construction Health and Safety NZ (CHASNZ), the organisation who launched the Totika Pre-Qualification scheme.
CHASNZ, the organisation who launched the Toitika pre-qualification industry standard says “HazardCo’s Complete Plan is an excellent solution for home builders and trades to put in place for their contractors. The HazardCo system helps to grow H&S knowledge in a simple way that’s easily understood and actioned by home builders and trades. It aligns with the Tōtika standard, so those that undertake the Totika assessment after using HazardCo’s Pre-Qualification should find the experience much quicker and simpler”
Tōtika is an ‘umbrella’ scheme created by Construction Health and Safety New Zealand (CHASNZ). Totika independently approves NZ pre-qualification assessment providers to provide a central contractor/supplier register. If you’ve recently worked on a government job, or you’re worked in the Civil or Commercial sector, chances are you’ve heard of Totika and your business may be pre-qualified with a Totika member scheme.
We see it as a great fit with Totika to continue to support the H&S maturity and knowledge in a sector that can find it, at times overwhelming
Please note, HazardCo is not a Totika member scheme. If you’ve been asked to provide a Totika pre-qualification a HazardCo pre-qualification on its own will not qualify. .
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.
Get your hands on all the tools and advice you need, from managing contractors and on-site inductions to making sure the crew has easy-to-use guided tools. You’ll know everything is covered, and saved in one place. No more photocopying, filing, looking for lost paperwork, and feeling like you are in the dark about the health and safety taking place on your sites.
As always if you have any question please reach out to the team today
As part of our ongoing partnership with Buildxact, we’ve recently built a connection between our two systems to help residential building companies and renovators further simplify their business processes.
Buildxact is a Software-as-a-Service company specialising in residential construction management systems. Buildxact is headquartered in Melbourne Australia and is used extensively throughout Australia and New Zealand.
We share a common goal of wanting to simplify home construction by offering easy-to-use digital tools. We are excited to bring together two leading systems and help our members work more efficiently. Our shared vision is to empower builders by helping them to transition to digital systems and reduce their paperwork burden.
There has been strong market demand to build a connection between HazardCo and Buildxact. The first version of this connection automatically uploads important health and safety documents created using the HazardCo system directly to Buildxact. By storing project documents, such as estimates, quote letters, invoices, alongside safety documents like SWMS or safety induction notes in one easily accessible location, builders can save time. We are continuing to work with our members to get their feedback on these tools and discover what other functionality would be valuable.
The integration between HazardCo and Buildxact comes at no additional cost to builders who are already using both systems.
An estimate being created using BuildXact:
At HazardCo, the safety and well-being of every person on the job site is our top priority. By connecting our leading health and safety system with Buildxact’s residential construction management system, we are providing builders with an integrated solution that enables them to complete their projects efficiently while ensuring a safe working environment.
Learn more about Buildxact and the integration here
This strategic partnership brings together two leading systems, as construction companies across Australia and New Zealand are increasingly adopting on-site technology to ease their administrative burden and work more efficiently.
We make health and safety simple, giving more than 10,000 companies the confidence they are keeping their team and their business safe, while reducing the time they spend on paperwork. Our system provides guided digital tools as well as incident support and health and safety advice when it is needed. We’re most well known for our simple and effective site induction and scan-in solution.
“We’re pleased to be able to integrate Procore with our unique site induction and scan-in solution, making it faster and easier than ever for Procore customers to know who is on-site, and when,” said Nick Halley, Head of Product at HazardCo. “Members receive a hazard board with a unique QR code for their site fence, and everyone uses the free app to scan into site, induct themselves and accept the safety plan, with H&S docs seamlessly flowing back into Procore.”
“Our goal is to make health and safety simple. This exciting partnership between HazardCo and Procore connects construction management and health and safety together, giving building companies an out-of-the box digital WHS system that seamlessly connects with their existing workflows,” said Iain Dixon, Chief Executive at HazardCo.
He concludes, “we regularly speak to builders that are passionate about building scalable and efficient processes for their business, but health and safety continues to be a very manual and paper-heavy activity for them. There are large gains to be made by digitizing health and safety, with HazardCo members telling us they have halved the time they spend on WHS admin using our simple system. This partnership will make it easier for building companies to streamline their processes and give them the confidence they are on top of their health and safety requirements.”
We are excited to announce our partnership with Acuite, a construction-specific reporting and analytics platform, to help small and medium-sized building companies to get on top of their health and safety.
This strategic partnership will deliver powerful new Dashboards, powered by Acuite to HazardCo members, giving them the tools to track health and safety activity and improve safety outcomes.
With so much to keep track of on-site, Dashboards are a practical way for HazardCo members to understand what health and safety activity is taking place across their business and at each project site. Often the business owner or admin staff are based in an office or moving between multiple sites. They want to be able to see at a glance what health and safety activity is taking place, view trends over time, and discover how to improve.
David Speight, Co-Founder, and CEO of Acuite Construction Intelligence says, “the Acuite founders are builders and we know it’s not easy. Through combining forces with HazardCo, we feel we can make a real difference by not only making sites safer but also improving the lives of builders through arming them with the knowledge to put them on the front foot of their projects”
Following the integration, HazardCo members can get real-time insights into key health and safety activities happening on their sites through Dashboards. These Dashboards help users to understand the areas that are performing well, and those in need of improvement in a simple and easy-to-understand way.
Iain Dixon, Chief Executive Officer at HazardCo says “We are excited to be working with Acuite because they are the best in the business for reporting, analytics, and insights. Like HazardCo, they specialise in construction, they come from the industry and keep things simple. We’ve had a great response from our members already with feedback that they are loving the quick snapshot they can get from viewing their Dashboards, and being able to see at a glance what health and safety activity is happening or not happening”.
Acuite is a reporting and analytics platform. As builders themselves, their mission is to improve the lives of those in construction by creating holistic data-driven insights as well as arming them with the knowledge, time, and transparency to make better decisions.
