Reminder: Ensure Your Site is Secure

When there is no one around, a construction site might be a place for kids to explore, for vandals to target or for opportunists to pick up any loose items.  A construction site, irrespective of the stage of the works, can be a dangerous place.   As the builder, you are also deemed to be the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) and the person responsible for ensuring that the site is as safe and secure as reasonably practicable to prevent any loss or injury to any person while there are no works being undertaken.

Simple tips, such as ensuring your site fencing is secure and locking loose items in the garage or off-site, might be simple yet effective measures to mitigate any risk to you.  You should also remind your client that there is to be no unauthorised access to site during this period, either in accordance with your building contract or the Work Health and Safety laws.  While you cannot entirely remove risks, you should do what you can to mitigate them.

Practical ways to ensure that your site is secure includes:

• securing access points with locks or other mechanical means to restrict entry
• bracing or securing fencing so it can’t be pushed down or blown over
• blocking gaps under fences and gates
• ensuring electrical safety by turning off the main switch and securing the main switchboard
• bracing and securing partially constructed building elements such as walls and roofs to withstand strong winds and bad weather
• securing or removing roofing sheets and other loose materials that have the potential to turn into missiles in strong winds
• backfilling excavations or covering them
• removing unwanted construction materials and waste.

If you have any questions relating to site security, please contact our Workplace Relations and Legal Team on (02) 6175 5900.