Tradie Safety Talk

Construction can be a high-risk industry for a lot of workers. In fact, it is reported by Safe Work Australia that the number one health and safety risk in construction is working from heights. Our team Con-form Group, work at various heights on different sites every day. We take this risk incredibly seriously.

Our industry has changed significantly these past few years. Not just as a result of the covid pandemic, though – it had a major impact! The industry has faced several changes as a result of supply chain disruptions, rising inflation, labour shortages and weaknesses in the residential construction sector.

Regardless of these changes, ours is an industry that will continue to thrive and build – its inherently what we do. The independent statutory body, Infrastructure Australia, who advises the federal government on infrastructure, believes the industry will bounce back from 2024-2026, as a result of the support from the governments focus on infrastructure development.

As of November 2022, it is estimated around one in ten workers (9.4% workforce share), are employed in construction. Of that number, 76% of workers are classed as employees and are covered by workers compensation schemes. It is also predicted that by 2026, employment in construction will grow by 66,400 (or 5.8%)!  

How do we keep a work site safe?

Our team of Site Managers and Installers are experts at what they do, they are educated, they are skilled and above all – their number one concern when working on site is safety.

Appropriate PPE, safety harnesses (if working near a live-edge) and on-site inductions are key; however, maintaining a safe environment is more than looking after yourself.

When installing anything, kitchens, workspaces, air conditioners – it’s very easy for a site to become messy and or hazardous. Which is why our team are conscious of how they prepare and work in their designated area on a site.

Basic housekeeping rules go a long way on site, especially on a roof. 

Housekeeping is a good safety practice.

At the completion of every workday, our Site Managers and/or Installers clean any swarf from the roof/surface around the designated work area, including underneath the plant platform. They also ensure their work area is clean from rubbish & other debris resulting from their work throughout the day. This is a daily exercise, not only ensuring our team’s safety, but the safety of other contractors working around them. It’s important to note, another thorough clean of site is done at job completion. 

Once we’ve completed the job

In our world, once we’ve installed the platform or screen solution, the job is done – but for our clients, we leave them with a piece of critical information that helps them maintain the integrity of their new platform, their roof and overall – their site.

This information is a document all about swarf (extremely small pieces of metal produced when a material is cut). Swarf can cause significant damage to our platform and our client’s roofs. It is common for Contractors to cut items, such as Unistrut products, threaded rods and alike on top of our platforms. As a result, this can generate extra swarf that must be removed.

Excess swarf left on a roof can cause roof staining and corrosion, destroying the roof itself.

We urge our clients to educate mechanical contractors and other relevant team members about the importance of daily cleaning process to avoid any issues caused by swarf.

If you have any questions on how to clean swarf near your platforms, walkways, or anywhere else in the site, ask our Site Managers and/or Installers for assistance. 

Final Thoughts – what do we do with swarf?

It is estimated that over 20 million tons of waste attributed to the Construction industry goes to landfill every year. A new Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Research Hub is focusing on transforming and reducing these wastes into new materials that can be further used in construction or any other manufacturing sectors.

Con-form Group believes in sustainable management of construction waste and uses a 4R hierarchy: 

To Reduce the materials used in the design process of mechanical platforms, Con-form Group has spent a lot of time analysing our manufacturing process to make the build of platforms more efficient, long lasting and 100% recyclable.

Supporting the recycle responsibility, we Reuse the scraps left to mould other materials after making the HVAC platforms.

After an installation is completed, our Installers Review the site, and report back to our Project Managers about their experience so we can continue to improve systems and processes internally and on site.