Many projects involve working on roads, streets, freeways and laneways in Victoria, and wherever there is traffic, there is a risk of injury to your workers. Here’s everything you need to know about safeguarding your workforce in these scenarios.
How do you identify risks in construction projects?
The first and most important thing you should do to identify risks in any construction project is to conduct risk management. This process identifies potential hazards and includes methods on mitigating them. Going through these processes also assesses the severity and tolerability of these risks, and if certain activities are too dangerous, they will need to be re-assessed.
Your risk assessment should cover off every activity involved in your project, including:
- Whether there is a traffic management plan in place
- The training and certifications of staff
- The qualifications of workers to carry out certain actions
- Site-specific hazards
- There are adequate hazard reporting procedures in place, and
- On-site health and safety representatives.
Every project has its risks to be mitigated, and this list should only be treated as a guide. It is vital to run your risk assessment to identify and reduce your workplace risks.
What constitutes a risk in the workplace?
Consider these dangers to individuals that could result in injury, harm or an adverse health reaction/condition. These instances are directly caused by the hazards present in the workplace. Aside from this category, some threats can damage the property, the land you are working on, or the environment.
What is a construction project risk register?
This is effectively a place where you can house your assessment to achieve full regulatory compliance. The audit will also help prevent potential incidents that can cause injury or harm, health problems, property damage, land or the environment.
Your register should include a description, a risk assessment, impact analysis and actions that will be taken to manage and mitigate the threat(s).
What should you do if you identify a hazard in your workplace?
According to Safe Work Australia, once you have identified and assessed any risks, you should then implement effective control measures to minimise the likelihood of this risk occurring. These control measures should be reviewed regularly to ensure they are still relevant and efficient.
For many construction companies and projects, identifying risks creates challenges. There’s often confusion on what to do next or how to minimise these hazards.
We highly encourage you to enlist the support of our experts at The Traffic Plans Company to ensure that you are entirely safe and compliant. Our team has over 60 years of experience and has helped develop solutions for all kinds of scenarios, spanning across various operations.
It is always better to be safe than sorry. Consult us to ensure your entire workplace, project and site is protected.
The Traffic Plans Company specialise in quality traffic management plans and planning around Melbourne and other areas of Australia.
