Resolve to improve construction management with health and safety software tools 

If you work in home construction, you know it’s a dangerous business. In 2023, the construction industry contributed to 14% of all workplace fatalities in Australia. Not surprisingly, labor and machinery jobs are among the most life-threatening.  
 
Construction workers across the globe are at high risk for serious nonfatal injuries as well, which frequently result from falls. In fact, according to this article by CEOWORLD magazine, roofers, ironworkers, construction helpers, landscaping supervisors, construction workers and carpenters are amongst the top 25 most dangerous jobs in the world. 
 

What goes into a safe worksite? 

As a home builder or tradesperson, these facts no doubt only confirm what you see every day. Running a project with many team members, you know the constant effort needed to have a safe and efficient work site. You must think proactively so you can set up policies, procedures and training that prevent team members and clients from injury and illness due to job site conditions. 
 
An analysis by Planning, Building & Construction Today outlines these major tasks that construction managers must master to ensure a safer workplace:
 
  • Regular safety inspections 
  • Health and safety training 
  • Proper equipment maintenance 
  • Finding and mitigating hazards 
  • Enforcing policies and procedures 
  • Promote an overall culture of safety 
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How construction safety management software helps

All of these require effective safety communication tools to be in place among team members and supervisors. Fortunately, software technology is coming together to make this easier through more effective documentation. The creation and management of Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS), induction procedures and site safety plans are the backbone to every safe construction site.

Drafting health and safety documents, like site safety plans and SWMS, can be time intensive especially when work policies and procedures must follow up-to-date legal requirements and industry best practices. Easily understood documents like these are also vital for regular toolbox talks and the proper training of new team members. After all, when properly trained, new team members are the critical link to establishing a consistent, long-lasting culture of safety.

Having clear, easy-to-understand health and safety documents is also a competitive advantage. Clearly stating how you protect your team and clients at a job site and how you consistently document past accidents to improve future safety sets you apart from the competition.

How construction management software helps

To help with this, home builders can choose construction management software tailored for the size of their business. Today’s software brings safety documentation together with multiple other features, from takeoffs to estimating and quoting.

Today’s best software makes safety culture assessment and other health and safety tasks easier with ready-made questionnaires and templates that move the process along quickly and easily.

For example, home construction trades can use software to pre-qualify subbies using automated questionnaires that ask for proof of insurance. Complete software also offers easy templates for the onsite creation of SWMS and the process for tracking SWMS training among team members working on a site.

Just like no two job sites are 100% alike, neither are all SWMS templates. Templates need to be general enough to get you started quickly, but also have the specifics for the task at hand. The right health and safety template saves you from writing repetitive details so that you can spend more time adapting policies and procedures to the specific circumstances and surrounding work of the job site.

Bringing all this functionality together with other construction management tasks is the result of a joint effort between Buildxact, a leading construction management software provider, and HazardCo, a digital health and safety management system.

How Buildxact and HazardCo work together

Together, Buildxact and HazardCo are making online construction job management a complete and easy experience. 

A premium HazardCo subscription easily integrates with Buildxact with a simple user setting that connects to Buildxact’s job management functions. The connection is made based on matching project names. Once this is done, HazardCo safety documents for specific projects appear in the job details section within Buildxact.

To get 2024 off to a safe start, Buildxact and HazardCo are offering discounts to first-time subscribers. HazardCo subscribers new to Buildxact can save 10% off their first year of a Buildxact Pro or Teams. Those already using Buildxact, but new to HazardCo, can save 10% off their first year of HazardCo.

What to learn more? Schedule a Buildxact demo or HazardCo demo at your earliest convenience.

*Buildxact promotion only valid for first time customers in Australia and New Zealand for the first subscription year. All subscriptions require a 12-month commitment. Discount offer valid for a limited time only through 29 February 2024. 

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