Health and safety: a cost or an investment for the building industry?

Expert insight

Fines of up to 3,000,000, yet most people are unaware

Duthie Whyte Lawyers solicitor

Kenneth Sun (Sun Gonghao) told YIJU New Zealand that people often fail to recognise their obligations under the legislation or the severity of its penalties — fines of up to NZ$3,000,000 and imprisonment for up to 5 years.

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The penalties also apply directly to those in charge of a company.

This means business owners cannot escape penalties by liquidating their companies. Nor can they take out insurance against potential fines.

He stressed that all business owners must take their health and safety obligations seriously and take reasonable steps to provide a safe working environment. With sufficient written and other evidence that they have taken reasonable steps, business owners can minimise the likelihood of accidents and being taken to court.

Take proactive steps to prevent accidents

“Business owners know their own work best, so they should also know what they need to do to reduce risks to workers,”

said Kenneth Sun. In construction, for example, one of the main risks is workers falling from ladders or roofs.

“Business owners must take several measures to reduce the occurrence of such accidents.

Identifying risks in the working environment is the first step. He then recommends that business owners put at least 2–3 preventive measures in place.

If the first measure fails, others are there as a backup.

Business owners must also regularly check that these preventive measures are being implemented.

In addition, business owners need to keep detailed records of everything they do to protect health and safety, along with supporting documents.

It is understood that any incident on a construction site is highly likely to attract WorkSafe’s attention. If a WorkSafe inspection identifies health and safety hazards, it will take the builder to court.

A considerable number of builders are taken to court by WorkSafe each year.

Health hazards on construction sites are very apparent, yet easily overlooked. Many construction activities, tools and pieces of equipment generate high levels of noise.

Prolonged exposure to these environments can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss. Besides noise, dust generated when cutting boards or timber can affect lung function.

However, when builders compete through price wars, they often cut spending on health and safety.

An industry perspective

Prioritising health and safety builds confidence in quality

In New Zealand, safety standards on Chinese-run construction sites often give the impression of doing just enough to get by. Are adequate health and safety precautions truly being taken on site? The answer is uncertain.

However, commercial builder Livefirm Construction (N.I.) Ltd (referred to below as Livefirm), which has a Chinese background, offers an affirmative answer.

Since its establishment, Livefirm has gradually made a commitment to health and safety part of its company culture through its ongoing work with leading local commercial contractors.

Livefirm has adopted good practices from New Zealand’s mainstream construction industry: a weekly safety review meeting lasting 30–45 minutes and a 15-minute safety briefing each morning before work are essential.

Under this standardised approach, the time involved accounts for at least 5% of a 50-hour working week, effectively increasing labour costs by 5%.

Livefirm also incurs additional costs of around 2% for a fully staffed safety department, regular site safety inspections, staff safety training, and safety equipment and protective gear. Dedicated personnel monitor safety across its sites, working with each site’s safety managers to identify and resolve problems promptly and create the safest possible working environment.

For safety training alone, Livefirm spends at least a 5-figure sum each year.

Arranging Site Safe training and helping employees obtain a commercial construction site permit is a basic requirement for every employee.

The company also provides training suited to different work requirements, including working at height, first aid and the safe use of mobile equipment. To ensure work progresses safely throughout a project, it also gives managers advanced training in areas such as site safety management and risk management. In addition, the company spends heavily each year on personal protective equipment and safety equipment.

For example, to meet the relevant employment law standards and contractors’ requirements, the company supplies and replaces protective items for every employee, including hard hats, high-visibility clothing, earmuffs, safety glasses, steel-toed boots and sunscreen.

For high-risk tasks such as working at height, the company prohibits work without the appropriate safety equipment and specialist training.

“We must never cut spending on safety, even if that means we cannot make a profit!” In company owner TK’s view, health and safety is embedded in Livefirm’s corporate culture, and its place there is unshakeable.

“It is like Chinese people coming to New Zealand — rice remains a staple they cannot give up.”

For several consecutive years, employee health

checks have been one of Livefirm’s staff benefits. Because prolonged exposure to the various noises on construction sites can cause irreversible hearing damage, Livefirm has replaced the earplugs commonly used in the industry with more expensive earmuffs offering Class 5 protection.

To proactively prevent workplace health and safety hazards, Livefirm not only invests heavily but also pursues innovation in technology and equipment.

A senior engineering manager at the company with a background in mechanical engineering invented a drop-saw dust collector to meet practical needs.

By collecting sawdust in a specially designed container, it greatly reduces dust pollution across the construction site, lowering the likelihood of damage to workers’ lung function.

On the main contractor’s recommendation, Livefirm entered the innovation category of the annual NZIOB awards for New Zealand’s mainstream commercial construction industry.

SiteWise is an organisation established by several of New Zealand’s leading contractors to comprehensively assess building companies’ safety systems.

These contractors will only consider working with companies that score above 75 in the assessment, giving them the opportunity to participate in New Zealand’s major commercial construction projects.

Livefirm has scored above 90 in assessments for several consecutive years, making it a preferred partner for these contractors.

As the company has raised its safety standards, it has also built its reputation throughout New Zealand’s commercial construction sector.

Since 2015, TK has noticed a clear increase in the importance the wider construction industry places on health and safety.

In his view, prioritising health and safety is neither a cost nor an investment, but an essential responsibility towards employees. Only by following this principle can safety improve.