Construction Site Hazards and Safe Work Practices
The big killers
Construction fatalities cluster around a handful of mechanisms: falls from height, electrocution, being hit by moving plant or falling objects, excavation collapse, and hazardous substances such as silica and asbestos. Learn each one's controls.
Falls and height work
Any work where a person could fall more than two metres is high-risk construction work requiring a SWMS. Control falls by working from the ground or a solid construction, then using guardrails, scaffolds, elevated work platforms, and only then fall-arrest systems. Traps: ladders are for access, not as a work platform; incomplete scaffolds must be tagged and not used; edge protection must be in place before work starts.
Excavations
Before digging, locate underground services (dial before you dig, service plans, isolation). Excavations deeper than 1.5 metres require shoring, benching or battering to prevent collapse, and a safe access route within a set distance. Spoil and plant must be kept back from the edge, and the excavation must be inspected by a competent person.
Plant and vehicles
Separate pedestrians and plant with barriers and designated walkways; use spotters for reversing plant; ensure pre-start checks and exclusion zones around slew zones. Traps: assuming a reversing beeper is sufficient control.
Hazardous substances and asbestos
Silica dust from cutting concrete or stone requires water suppression and respiratory protection. Asbestos is likely in buildings built before the late 1980s; if suspected, stop work, do not disturb, and engage a licensed asbestos assessor or removalist.
Worked example
A crew must install roof sheeting on a two-storey building. The best answer sequences controls: plan the job with a SWMS, install perimeter guardrails and void protection, use a scaffold or elevating work platform, and only use harness and anchor points where other controls are impracticable.
Rule of thumb
If a task could kill in one mistake, it is high-risk construction work and needs a SWMS and a competent person's oversight.