Health and safety made simple

Building sites are inherently hazardous workplaces, with staff and contractors working at heights, operating power tools, and lifting and manoeuvring heavy materials – which means for anyone running a business in the housing industry, managing onsite safety is a huge part of your day-to-day responsibilities. It’s not just about mitigating risks for your own staff; it’s also about protecting your contractors, clients and anyone else who visits your site.

Implementing workplace health and safety (WHS) protocols onsite often comes with a fairly hefty side-order of paperwork – which can be time-consuming, adds pressure to builders’ often already overloaded workdays, and can be detrimental to productivity.

If you’ve ever struggled to stay on top of the WHS admin, you’re not alone. A few years ago, a couple of tradies who were frustrated by the amount of time they spent meeting safety compliance, but had also seen what can go wrong when onsite risks aren’t well managed, set about designing a better, more efficient system.

The result of their efforts is HazardCo – a simple, streamlined, app-based safety management system. It shortcuts the health and safety paperwork, gives you increased visibility over what’s happening onsite, and helps housing professionals save time and money.

‘Mountains of paperwork won’t keep the person at the top of the ladder safe, yet at the same time we want to make sure we do everything we can to look after ourselves and our people,’ says HazardCo General Manager Luke Williams.

‘That’s where HazardCo comes in. We empower you to manage health and safety, in the simplest way possible.’

How HazardCo works

This WHS management system comprises two parts – a smartphone app and an online hub.

Once downloaded to your smartphone, the App becomes your everyday all-in-one safety tool. It’s pre-loaded with templates that guide you through all your safety documentation including Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS), risk assessments, site reviews, toolbox meetings, vehicle checklists and incident reports. ‘The templates are easy to follow and quick to complete – anytime, anywhere,’ Luke says.

HazardCo also simplifies the site induction process using a QR code feature. At the start of your project, HazardCo set you up with a scan board and a unique QR code. Your site team, subcontractors, clients and any other visitors can then simply scan the QR code whenever they enter or exit the site. The first time they scan in, they’ll be prompted to complete their site induction on their phone, eliminating the need for meetings and paperwork. An added bonus? You get a record of everyone who’s been onsite and when, so you know exactly what’s happening – even if you’re stuck in the office (or at the beach).

‘I love the efficiency and convenience of getting contractors to sign in,’ says HazardCo member and builder, Ryan Strawbridge. ‘If I’m not onsite I know they’ve been onsite and it’s safe from that point of view as well.

The online HazardCo Hub rounds out the system, and if your WHS documentation filing processes are currently all over the shop, you’re going to love it. The Hub stores a complete record of all safety-related activity for each of your sites/projects. ‘Simply log into the online Hub to set up new projects, view and download any completed health and safety activity reports, including site inductions, and to track who’s been onsite and when,’ Luke Williams says. ‘You can see and track everything that’s happening with all of your projects at a glance.’

Less hard work; more value

Currently, more than 9000 companies across Australia and New Zealand are using HazardCo to manage their safety compliance. ‘One of the reasons that HazardCo is gaining traction around the industry is that it was developed by tradies who really understand the day-to-day challenges associated with maintaining compliance with WHS legislation, and ensuring that their site is as safe as it possibly can be,’ says Luke.

‘The system is simple, user-friendly, and designed to fit in with housing professionals’ on-the-go lifestyles, and free you up from the desk.’

Speeding up health and safety processes also translates into improved productivity: instead of getting bogged down with endless paperwork, HazardCo allows builders to spend more time on the tools and get through projects faster. ‘Anytime you can make a job run more efficiently is of huge value – to us and to the customer,’ Ryan Strawbridge says. 

Another HazardCo member, Grant Symons, who owns a flooring company, says the HazardCo system has added value to his business in a variety of ways. ‘It’s made us more efficient in the way that we’re doing things, makes things quick and simple and keeps us on track with our health and safety,’ he says. ‘We’re also recording less minor incidents, as … it’s made everyone more aware of safety procedures.’

At the end of the day, while WHS is about compliance, it’s also about keeping people safe. HazardCo’s smart tools consolidate all aspects of site safety into a single, easy-to-manage and highly accountable system – giving you the confidence that you’re doing all you can to keep your people safe.