But the drive to get things right
must come from the top if the audit
reports are to have real value.
“All of the incidents need to go
to management, and it is up to
management to make that happen.
“Some companies use the carrot
to make sure things are reported.
They’ll give people beer, tickets to
the movies, chocolates … Even at
Site Safe there’s a bar of chocolate
every month for reporting hazards.”
The critical risk audit Site Safe offers
is an in-depth look at high-risk
activities happening on a site.
These can be:
• Working at height
• Mobile plant
• Hazardous products and
substances
• Asbestos
• Confined spaces.
While it is physical accidents that
grab headlines it is worker health
that really worries Jim.
One example is people using
chemical sprays to do things
such as waterproofing. “I’ve got
photographs of people spraying
chemicals and they look like
snowmen. Their arms are covered,
their hands are covered – if they’re
wearing goggles you just see two
eyes like an owl looking at you.
“Then you stop to speak to them,
and they light up a cigarette!” He
says controlling health issues are
crucial in the construction sector.
“It’s a reflection of society and
where we are … we kill far more
people from health-related issues
than we do from having them falling
off roofs.”
Then there are the preventable
injuries. “For instance there are
back injuries, they all cost a lot of
money. But nobody does warm-ups.
I tell them: ‘Watch the All Blacks,
they’re out for an hour before the
kick-off getting ready.” On the plus
side, he’s seen plenty of benefits
coming out of regular audits. Waide
Commercial Construction and
Scarbro are two firms that Jim says
use Site Safe’s health and safety
and audit services to continually
improve their operations. “I had
some dealings with Waide’s site
manager and he put me on to their
managing director. Just a month
ago he said to me, ‘You’re doing
a good job, we appreciate what’s
happening here.’
“They’re now scoring 95%, 96%. It’s
really just doing a bit of tweaking
and coaching, and we’re starting to
look at things like improving incident
reporting and identifying underlying
causes. “Scarbro have been going
for years and they’re just getting
better and better.” Jim says that a
main reason people keep having
regular audits is it just keeps them
focused on improving things.
“As soon as you get a score,
everybody wants to do better. “And
we keep reminding them they are
doing lots of good things as well.”
Site Safe offers a range of audit
options tailored for medium to large
commercial or civil construction
projects. For small projects its
auditors can also provide flexible
health and safety audits, reviews
and advice. “We also have plenty to
offer the small business operator to
help them in plenty of ways as well,”
Jim says.
For more information about Site
Safe audits visit www.sitesafe.org.
nz/products-and-services/safetyaudits/
Jim Bell of SiteSafe
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