Communication, Teamwork and Site Management
Domain 7 tests how information, people and sequence are managed on site: written records, RFIs and variations, inspection hold points, trade coordination and the amenities and consultation duties that sit alongside the build.
Information flow
- Instructions should be written: site diary, RFI, variation order, delivery docket, dated photographs. A verbal instruction is confirmed in writing the same day.
- An RFI resolves conflicting or missing information; a variation changes scope, price and time and must be authorised before the work proceeds.
- Hold points must be inspected before being covered: bracing and fixings, flashings before cladding, and the pre-line inspection before linings.
Site management
- Sequence the programme - set-out, foundations, framing, roof, lock-up, services, linings, fit-out - and coordinate trades so inspections are not buried behind other work.
- Manage the physical site: access, storage, waste, dust and noise controls, and amenities such as toilets, first aid and drinking water.
- Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 workers must be engaged on matters that affect them; toolbox meetings and pre-start briefings are the mechanism.
Worked example
A client asks on site for a window to move 200 mm. This alters the consented drawings and may affect bracing, cladding set-out and flashing details. Stop, record the request, price it as a variation, and check whether a consent amendment is needed before any framing changes.
Traps that cost marks
- Undocumented variations and verbal instructions.
- Building a change that no longer matches the consented plans.
- Closing walls before a scheduled inspection.
- Raising problems after the fact instead of recording them in the site diary.