Hoardings to Melbourne Demolition and Construction Sites

Who Made the Team? Before you start anything at all, you decide you want to construct a new building or refurbish/ extend an existing building. From that point you usually commence in one of two ways : As client, you discuss the proposed construction work with a couple of designers to see who gels and who you could come to trust. One designer is appointed as team leader (contract administrator), layout and elevations are proposed, approved and fixed. You are aware of a builder who can do the type of job you know you want and they arrange a special design for you or they offer a standard building from their catalogue. Layouts and elevations are proposed, approved and fixed. Some clients initially prefer to appoint a Project Manager but this is relatively rare. For both 1 & 2 before submission to the planning authorities, you may need input from other consultants, perhaps not. After permission to commence work is granted, you appoint other specialist consultants who overlay their designs onto the fixed and approved scheme. What will probably occur. You will for example, engage a consultant structural engineer who will have opinions on an appropriate structure for the house. They will have considered previous land uses, adjacent trees, plants and site conditions, tested the soil type and considered the dead and live loads you are imposing. They will have looked at the layout and thought through issues leading them to conclude on a recommended foundation. The team will continue this process for each structural element of the walls, floors and roof and manufactured components such as windows, doors, and services such as heating & cooling etc. The team will complete the design to meet current regulations and this is a lot to take in and question. If you have concerns and wish to bring them forward for inclusion in the design process, then you are leaving it too late if you only know what is planned on completion by reading their drawings. For you to have an input you will need to have engaged with all the team members earlier and kept up with the design deliberations. This does not normally occur as clients do not usually have this much detailed input. Its more that you employ specialists and they bring their specifications forward in isolation. The danger in this approach is that consultants only design within their specialism. They add to what went before. They do not offer innovation, as they have pre-set guidelines to work within. Fitzpatrick Team look at things differently. We propose that the members of the consultant’s team should not work separately and just bring their expertise individually to bear on the pre-fixed proposal. They should from the beginning feel that they are in a partnership to produce the best overall solution that they can. By the specialist consultant’s early involvement, they influence choices available and selections made. Not only does their input include valuable insights and joined up technologies it also allows items that seem obvious and costly to be omitted or made redundant. The selection of one technology negates or reduces the size of another. This can produce an energy-saving design and reduce costs. The concept of how the team will operate is an excellent starting point in the earliest conversations. Discussion should include your vision for your business, and your take on sustainable design. By raising these points early in preliminary meetings, you are setting the scene for a collaborative or ‘integrative’ approach. Fitzpatrick Team are very focussed on leading the right team to deliver what you want, not what complies with a distant and out of touch regulation. Give Mark a call to discuss your project.

When do you need overhead protection in Melbourne? If your Melbourne building has a street frontage or is close to it and the structure height exceeds 4.0m, you need overhead protection to safeguard members of the public. This mostly affects shops and offices you walk directly into from a public footpath. What protection must be provided? Protection is normally provided by a ‘special duty scaffold’ which by design structurally supports universally distributed live loads. It must also be designed to deflect any demolished materials back onto the scaffold and not into the public area. It is not a case of just asking that this be done – calculations, designs, safety documents etc are all required to meet building regulations. Scaffolding as overhead protection is regulated and must be in line with: AS 2601 – 2001. AS 1576 AS 1577 AS/NZS 4576 Call Fitzpatrick Team to get this right first time.

All workers and visitors to Melbourne construction sites must dress in approved safety wear and helmets. Workers must also wear approved personal protective clothing and carry personal protective equipment (PPE). The Magnificent Seven PCBU - Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking How far can the blame be spread? Construction sites can be dangerous workplaces and the essential safety workwear and PPE to keep all our workers and visitors safe should be used by all who attend your construction site. It is morally imperative that all workers, visitors and passers-by are kept safe and sound and it is a corporate responsibility that sufficient equipment is available. Precautions must be in place to ensure that not only are safe working practices carefully followed but that behaviour matches the aspiration. The Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) must provide sufficient resources to ensure that all contractors and operatives are fully funded to employ safe working methods. This is a catchall that covers the client as well as the builder. Q. If it all goes horribly wrong how far can the blame be spread? A. The blame can be spread far and wide and it is best avoided by taking care on how things are set up in the first place. The builder and client should work together to keep your work-site safe. The Magnificent Seven Checklist Hard hats are required to be worn by all people entering the worksite to protect them from something dropping onto their head or their heads colliding with low lying projecting object (such as a scaffold pole). AS/NZS 1801. Safety footwear protects your feet from being crushed by materials or people. AS/NZS 2210.1 and AS/NZS 2210.2 Safety gloves or mittens to protect your skin from hazardous materials or from rough surfaces or splinters. AS/NZS 2161. Hearing protection shields ears and your senses from loud noise preventing hearing loss. AS 1270. Safety glasses or eye protectors to protect your eyes from dust and dirt. AS1336 and 1337 Industrial safety belts or harnesses to provide a lifeline for people working at height. AS/NZS 1891. (all parts) Reflective clothing (Hi Viz) to make you more visible to others. Clothing should provide body protection and guard the wearer from scuffs and bruises. Bare skin on legs and arms should be protected from sun damage which leads to skin irritation and cancers. The magnificent seven are a great place to start in setting your goals for a safe workplace. Fitzpatrick’s use this checklist to ensure that all people are kept safe whether they are a visitor or on site worker. But this list is only the start, we have systems in place to keep our worksite safe. Give Mark a call and demand a safe working environment for your building works.

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