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Home / Northern Advocate

Nationwide safety test seeks to reduce injuries in construction

By Christine Allen
Northern Advocate·
19 Feb, 2017 07:00 PM2 mins to read

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Forrest  Parker logs on to the ConstructSafe test from his workplace, the Clements Contractors quarry in Whangarei. PHOTO/John Stone
Forrest Parker logs on to the ConstructSafe test from his workplace, the Clements Contractors quarry in Whangarei. PHOTO/John Stone

Forrest Parker logs on to the ConstructSafe test from his workplace, the Clements Contractors quarry in Whangarei. PHOTO/John Stone

A new online safety test for construction workers is being rolled out across the region to help reduce the number of injuries in Northland's second most dangerous industry.

The ConstructSafe Scheme was developed by the Construction Safety Council and has so far had almost 400 workers tested in Northland, with a 75 per cent pass rate for the region.

ConstructSafe administrator Martin Riding said the test had already been taken by about 5000 people nationwide since April 2016.

The test was developed to combat the high incidence of injury in construction after the Pike River Mine disaster, said scheme administrator Martin Riding.

Mr Riding said there had been no national standard for safety in the industry and traditional general training was time-consuming with no measured outcome.

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"The test identifies gaps in knowledge, which managers can then address with specific training."

He said the recent health and safety regulation changes also meant that the onus was on employers with contractors to avoid hazards and workplace accidents.

"We are hoping to roll this out nationwide this year," he said.

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Murray Clements, managing director of Clements Contractors, and Northland chairman of Civil Construction NZ said 13 of his 44 staff had taken the test. The company included civil construction, quarry and transport divisions.

The tests were delivered with the help of Whangarei health and safety consultant Helen Smuts-Kennedy of Safety In Mind, the only accredited ConstructSafe tester.
"We have already identified a need for better signage awareness," he said.

Mr Clements said a proactive approach was vital.

"The major issues in construction are around working with heavy machinery, and also strains from lifting, it's labour intensive."

"The test just takes about 40 minutes. We have now developed some leaflets about signage."

The test recorded the competency for workers in roading, domestic and commercial construction, specialist trades, civil construction, utilities and consulting.

He said injury reports were brushed under the carpet 10 years ago, but now the industry wanted to see its incidents reported.

The Construction Safety Council was established in 2009 by chief executives and presidents of Registered Master Builders Federation, Certified Builders Association New Zealand, Civil Contractors NZ, New Zealand Specialist Trade Contractors Federation and Site Safe New Zealand.

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