What is ConstructSafe?

By - , Build 177

Accidents are rife in the construction industry. ConstructSafe, a health and safety competency assessment scheme, is looking to change this by providing a consistent standard for assessing worker knowledge.

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Figure 1: The ConstructSafe framework with available endorsements.
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CHASNZ
CHASNZ

ConstructSafe is an industry scheme that provides consistent assessment of health and safety competency across the New Zealand construction industry. Launched in 2016, ConstructSafe is owned by the industry and operated on behalf of industry by CHASNZ.

Assesses health and safety competency

As the New Zealand construction industry is diverse and complex, it is difficult to achieve consistency in health and safety, contributing to unnecessary repetition of compliance effort and cost.

Before ConstructSafe was formed in 2016, there was no means of independently assessing the knowledge of the construction industry workforce and knowing whether investments in training were working. 

ConstructSafe demonstrates a person’s ability to understand the health and safety aspects of their work, giving employers assurance that every worker on site has the same understanding. There is a foundation assessment (like a health and safety driving test), and further endorsements can be achieved depending on a person’s trade or occupation (see Figure 1).

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Figure 1: The ConstructSafe framework with available endorsements.

Start with foundation assessment

The 50-question foundation assessment requires a person to show that they have the basic health and safety knowledge industry requires. CHASNZ facilitates industry groups who set the assessment topics and content.

A person who scores 85% or more in the assessment is deemed to meet the standard and can then progress to other competency endorsements.

What if a person doesn’t pass first time?

Not achieving a pass mark first time is not necessarily a barrier to gaining access to a worksite. 

To help with this, the individual and their employer both receive an assessment report identifying the areas for improvement. These may be due to a momentary lapse of memory, a lack of understanding or knowledge, language barriers or learning difficulties. Regardless, the feedback report provides employers the opportunity to support their people and help them be successful.

As long as the employer puts together a development plan for the individual and provides an appropriate level of supervision until the worker is ready to sit the assessment again, most sites and workplaces will remain accessible. 

A person with knowledge gaps identified from their assessment may require more direct supervision as a condition of working on site. If adequate supervision is not available or practical, site access may be restricted.

Those who understand where their knowledge gaps are and who have confidence that these are minor can be reassessed as soon as possible. Those with significant gaps may require more training or on-site experience over an agreed period of time. Some may have underlying comprehension and understanding requirements that may take longer to improve.

Structured pathway for career progression

Once a person has achieved the required results from the assessment, further knowledge assessments are available specific to particular trades and roles.

ConstructSafe provides a structured path-way that encourages those in trades to progress to supervisory roles and those in supervisory roles to progress through to management roles.

Booking an assessment

The foundation health and safety assessment is available at centres across New Zealand and is designed for everyone working on a construction site.

By signing up to ConstructSafe, employers gain access to free information, tools and data. See constructsafe.kiwi/Test/Company.html.

 

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Introducing CHASNZ

The Construction Health and Safety New Zealand Trust (CHASNZ) is the peak body for health and safety in construction. A key non-governmental organisation, it is a focus point between the New Zealand Government and the construction industry on health and safety matters.

A not-for-profit charitable trust, CHASNZ is led by leaders from across the various sectors of the building and construction industry.

Too many people are killed or seriously injured or have their health adversely affected through working in the construction industry. Workplace construction deaths in New Zealand are at their highest level in a decade. Regrettably, the construction sector ended 2019 with 15 construction-related fatalities, which is 15 too many. 

CHASNZ wants all construction workers to go home safe and well at the end of every day and is creating a step-change in health and safety culture and performance.

CHASNZ

 

For more

To book an assessment or to find out how to become a knowledge assessment centre, visit www.CHASNZ.org/ConstructSafe.

Download the PDF

More articles about these topics

Articles are correct at the time of publication but may have since become outdated.

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Figure 1: The ConstructSafe framework with available endorsements.
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CHASNZ
CHASNZ

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