Company Announcement - Master Builders Association North is developing an innovative, proactive initiative to assist its members and the construction industry to comply with the important Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) Construction Regulations which come into effect from August this year.

Lea Smith, immediate past president of MBA North, says the Association's new OHS Information Technology System is aimed at driving compliance, monitoring and enforcement of the new Regulations. "While the government's proposed Construction Regulations are very clearly spelt out, the areas where we can foresee problems and challenges are in the implementation, monitoring and enforcement of the regulations. The primary aim of MBA North's new web-based IT System is to find a practical, workable, 'real time' proactive implementation and monitoring solution to key the legislative requirements  of the Construction Regulations," he stated.

MBA North introduced its IT System to invited OHS experts in the building industry, including representatives of other MBAs, employer organisations, principal contractors and OHS consultants at a special one-day workshop at a hotel at OR Tambo International Airport at the end of April. During the workshop, input was obtained from the delegates for the development of an effective auditing checklist  which could be incorporated into the IT System. "The delegates provided their authoritative views - based on individual experience - on the elements that should form part of the industry's pro-active auditing checklist to help clients, agents, contractors and sub-contractors to be well prepared for the Department of Labour's compulsory monthly OHS audits which will be implemented from August 2015," Smith explained.

He said it was important to remember that compliance would be assessed monthly not only on safety measures in operation on site but also on the need for all employees to have valid certificates of fitness, and the need to provide proof that sufficient OHS induction/training of employees  had taken place.

Doug Michell, MBA North Construction Health & Safety Manager, said the workshop  - which will pave the way for the development and promotion of the MBA North Information Technology System -  had been most successful and promised strong support from the rest of the industry, nationally. "The concept and powerful operational  potential of the system was wholeheartedly supported by the attendees. MBA North believes that the 'real time' monitoring facility provided in our system  will play an important role  in proactive implementation of the Construction Regulations' requirements. Such  identification of non-compliance would reduce construction safety incidents and prompt the necessary corrective action that would not only aid compliance, but also save lives and prevent injury on site," Michell added.