Intent
As a key construction contractor for Energy Australia, and working on high voltage electrical substations, it is essential for the company to demonstrate a high level of OHS performance and compliance with regulatory requirements. Brief was for Exis to perform weekly occupational health and safety (OHS) audits of substation construction site (including live 33kV yard) to facilitate improvement in key safety performance areas. Audit criteria included NSW OHS Act and Regulation, NSW WorkCover Codes of Practice/Guidelines and Energy Australia’s network standards and internal OHS and contractor requirements.
Approach
- Develop customised ‘OHS Operations’ audit protocol and ‘OHS Systems’ audit protocol, complete with scoring systems, regulatory references and graphical results reporting within the audit reports.
- Perform weekly audits on construction site, including live substation yard, assessing performance levels across 13 elements.
- Complete audit report and distribute to relevant personnel from the construction company and Energy.
- Attend fortnightly project meetings to report audit results to Energy Australia contract and OHS representatives.
Deployment
Weekly OHS audits on the construction site over the life of the project (10 months), with periodic audits including head office functions such as training management and plant maintenance and registration of relevant plant and equipment. Audit activities include site inspection, interview of employees and sub-contractors and review of relevant documentation and records. OHS elements as part of the audit assessed include excavation and trenching, manual handling, working at heights, electrical work, welding, tools and equipment, concrete and formwork, first aid, PPE and substation work. Sub-contractor performance and Safe Work Method Statements are also examined to ensure all construction partners maintain a high level of OHS performance.
Audit results are compiled into a detailed audit report which provides the construction company with performance results on a regular basis. The audit report uses a customised scoring/rating system with colour-coding to assist with identifying key risk areas. OHS Officer develops an action plan from each audit report, and ensures findings are addressed and closed-out in a timely manner. Support services carried out as part of the project include review of safe work method statements and standard operating procedures, development of emergency response documentation and review of job safety risk assessments.
Outcomes
Construction company has continually improved OHS performance in all areas, cementing their place as a preferred Energy Australia contractor. Implementation of audit recommendations ensures practical improvement outcomes which benefit both the safety of their people and operations. Audit results and lessons learned have also been applied at the company’s other construction sites to improve overall organisational performance.
As a result of the company’s desire to remain a preferred supplier, and to meet new Energy Australia requirements for certified management systems, Exis has also performed internal management system audits against AS 4801, ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 standards, resulting in a development and implementation strategy to achieve certification to all three standards.