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The Canterbury Safety Charter, in collaboration with the Building Innovation Partnership at the University of Canterbury, are launching a new project aimed at reducing construction workplace accidents and injuries through the visualisation and collaboration powers of Building Information Modelling (BIM). The use of BIM has doubled in New Zealand construction over the last 5 years, and will soon become the standard by which building specifications are developed and communicated. Just as a digital representation of roads and places (Google Maps) has now changed the way in which we navigate and find our way around, BIM will do the same for navigating through a construction process.
BIM is a three-dimensional digital model of a construction project and can be used to visually represent the project at any stage of construction. The model can then be used to evaluate and manage the risks of the project before construction begins. BIMSafe’s long term outcome is to reduce the high occurrence of accidents and injuries in construction through the greater understanding, communication, and mitigation of the safety risks. Currently construction accounts for 8% of the workforce, but 16% of ACC work claims. A 10% reduction in claims would save the country $15 million annually.
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All project stakeholders, from the designers to the main contractor, to the sub-contractor and health and safety representatives, can work collaboratively on the model reducing risk through design mitigation. A comprehensive health and safety file can be embedded in the BIM model to document these design decisions. Hazards can be evaluated and “flagged” at any stage of the construction phase. Workers will be able to access the model and make real-time decisions based on visual representations of the hazards and risks. Being able to “see” a hazard is a more powerful learning method than being told about it. The BIM model is also available to asset owners and occupiers, who will be able to utilise the information in maintenance and public use.
The project has three workstreams.
- Development of New Zealand “Best Practice Guidelines” for the integration of H&S information into BIM.
- A case study involving a live building project
- Engagement and education of the wider construction industry on the results of the case study and the benefits of using the Guidelines.
The three-year project has a budget of $1.7 million, with contributions from both Government and Industry. The Steering group is comprised of Chris Alderson (CEO of CHASNZ), Lindsay Crossen (former CEOs of Fulton Hogan) and Ian Campbell (former CEO of SCIRT). The project management group is comprised or representatives from the Safety Charter’s Professional Services Working Group, and the University of Canterbury.
The project is going to be launched on 29th October at Tait Technology Centre. Check out the invitation in this newsletter. Come along and see what the future holds for health and safety in Construction.
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The Halo Effect
Innovation for the built environment can come from outside of our industry. A near fatal crash in Formula 1 motor racing in mid-September 2021 inspired my review of how safety protocols, regulations and safety culture have evolved in the sport. Technical innovations pioneered by Formula 1 can be found in your vehicle and the safety improvements, on and off track, have been change makers we can examine and compare to industry.
A wide variety of hazards necessitates continual risk management; to identify, manage, mitigate, control or ideally eliminate. Cars racing at high speed, crashes, debris, fire, wet weather and a different circuit to navigate each race. Until 1951 drivers wore short sleeved shirts to keep cool, a cap and goggles while driving as fast as possible around street circuits marked by hay-bales. In 1952 helmets became mandatory, 1963 saw the introduction of overalls and 1975, fire suits. Jump forward to 2021 and embrace the head-and-neck support system, super-licences and biometric gloves for real time driver feedback. Different arena, same need for safety.
Consider Industry safety requirements, protective clothing, safety boots, gloves, hard hats, glasses and high visibility clothing are now common place. The leadership from Government agencies, clients, PMO’s, Alliances, contractors and specialist trades have all contributed to these improvements, as well as legislation and groups like the Charter. However, PPE should only be used as a last line of defence after all other reasonably practicable actions have been taken to eliminate or minimise risks.
Risks must be managed firstly by elimination, or if this is not reasonably practicable, through minimisation. You can minimise risk by using substitution, isolation, or engineering control measures. If it is not reasonably practicable to minimise using those control measures, you can use administrative controls, and then, PPE to reduce any remaining risks to workers’ health and safety. Source: Worksafe website. 2021.
In F1, track and pit lane safety management introductions include separation by a wall, pitlane speed limit, the safety car, dangerous corners changed, better barriers and run-off areas, along with proper medical teams and facilities. The car also has undergone safety improvements with six point harness, flexible fuel tanks, the survival cell concept in 1981, tethering of wheels and in 2018 the introduction of the ‘halo’, a cockpit device to protect the driver’s head, initially very controversial. The link below provides further details of the halo and the recent incident mentioned above. https://www.autoweek.com/racing/formula-1/a37563290/halo-saves-lewis-hamiltons-life-verstappen/
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Source: Autoweek
Although F1 has a governing body, the FIA, drivers and teams are heavily involved in the decision making process and often advocating for mandatory changes to make the sport safer. Within Industry we have Health and Safety Committees (HSCs), as described below. HSCs bring together workers and management in the development and review of health and safety policies and procedures for the workplace. HSCs enable a business and its worker representatives to meet regularly and work cooperatively to improve work health and safety. The main functions of an HSC are to:
- make it easy for the business and workers to cooperate on ways to ensure workers’ health and safety at work
- assist in developing standards, rules, and policies or procedures for work health and safety
- make recommendations relating to work health and safety
- carry out other tasks that are agreed between the business and the committee.
HSCs are particularly effective in workplaces with multiple businesses such as a construction site or university campus, with committee members drawn from each business. This helps a business which shares responsibility for work health and safety with other businesses, to meet the HSWA requirement to consult, cooperate with, and coordinate activities with other businesses. Source: Worksafe website. 2021.
The introduction of the ‘halo’ in 2018 is an example of collaboration between F1 teams and the FIA, but required strong leadership from the FIA. At the time the sport was under a lot of pressure receiving negative feedback from drivers, teams and traditionalist who felt it ruined the single seater racing experience. Thankfully they had the confidence not to yield and to do the right thing. The ‘halo’ has been credited with saving a number of lives already and in 2021 it has been universally accepted. The link below provides further information on the introduction objections.
https://www.palatinate.org.uk/once-hated-now-hailed-the-halo-is-a-necessity-in-formula-1/
In summary, let’s acknowledge the industry advances we have made whilst remaining risk vigilant. When it comes to safety there is always room for improvement. What’s the ‘halo’ in your industry?
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Please join jus for the launch of
The New Zealand Construction Industry has one of the highest rates of accidents and injury. BIMSafe NZ is set to be a ‘game changer’ for construction safety worker outcomes and is an exciting opportunity to bring about meaningful industry change.
Hear about the Project from guest speakers: BIMSafe Advisory Group, ACC, MBIE and Ngāi Tahu.
- Friday 29th October 2021
- Tait Technology Centre, 254 Woodridge Road, Christchurch
- Morning Tea from 10.30; Presentations 11am -12pm
Registrations Essential
Follow BIMSafe NZ on LinkedIn
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MBIE announces proposed Health and Safety Reforms
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Over three quarters of New Zealand work fatalities involve plant and structures. Plant includes any vehicles, machinery, tools, vessels and theme park rides, cranes etc. Structures includes anything that is constructed, either temporarily or permanent, such as scaffolding or excavations. To address this issue, MBIE is releasing new Draft Regulations on Plant and Structures in early 2022, following industry consultation. Individuals and organisations will have the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes before implementation in late 2022.
PCBU’s will need to apply the Prescribed Risk Management Process to any work with plant. mobile plant, work at height, and on excavations. The Prescribed Risk management Process is set out in the Workplace Management Regulations 2016. This requires PCBU’s to identify hazards, manage them using a hierarchy of control measures, maintain effective control measures, and review and revise these measures to ensure they are effective. Upstream organisations will also be affected, and includes anyone who designs, manufactures, supplies or modifies plant. These organisations will be required to take steps to ensure any plant entering New Zealand is safe, and that critical safety information is provided across the supply chain.
The proposed new regulations will layer controls according to the risk. The higher the risk, the more layers are involved. The first layer is the existing duties in the Health and Safety at Work Act. Then comes four more layers of additional regulatory controls. The first layer here covers all plant and structures, followed by specific plant with specific risk, followed by additional controls for high and very risk plant.
The relevant sector affected are manufacturing, construction, agriculture, forestry, transport, amusement activities, tourism, recreation, and designers and importers of Plant.
These changes in regulations are to replace a range of outdates, complex, and incomplete requirements. The new Health and Safety Regulations are designed to provide more clarity and certainty for PCBU’s, and better safety and health for workers.
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Forum members have increasingly been asking questions about the need for a Covid-19 vaccination policy. While some organisations have already rolled out such a policy, others are just starting to think about it, or have not started.
The Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Froum have pulled together a short guidance note, based on the experiences of their members, as well as international research. This aims to support you to think about some of the issues and opportunities to consider when creating a vaccination policy, or guidelines for your organisation
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The Construction Sector Accord and CHASNZ are helping the Canterbury District Health Board to drive COVID-19 vaccination uptake among the construction sector in Canterbury.
The survey below includes questions about likely participation in events already underway, what other options might work, and what barriers to vaccination exist.
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| Meet our Working Group Members |
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Health & Safety Leadership Group
I have a trade related background, beginning work with a Christchurch electrical firm before moving to plumbing, gasfitting, and drain laying experts Clyne & Bennie, originally within their branch at Rangiora, North Canterbury.
Beginning in an administration role, Health and Safety never registered on the radar until the opportunity arose to review the company’s health and safety management system and begin the process towards gaining what was then, ACC accreditation.
In 2019, I was a recipient of the Site Safe Scholarship and achieved the Level 3 Certificate in Workplace Health and Safety. This has led into my current study towards the Level 6 Diploma in Workplace Health and Safety via EMA.
I love that my role is ever evolving and varies bringing different challenges and situations every day. I love dealing with a diverse range of people with differing views and experiences. Mental wellness and awareness is something I feel strongly about. I believe a person well supported mentally is key to ensuring safe practices on the worksite and in the workplace.
Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my family and our dog, I am a Girl Guide leader and I love getting outdoors for a bit of fitness, boating and fishing. I also don’t think you can beat reading a good book in the sun and listening to your favourite music.
n is married with 4 children, a keen motorcyclist, enjoys an occasional tramp in the mountain and leads a weekly mens group.
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