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Site Safe answers some commonly asked health and safety questions.
Question: How often should a task analysis (TA) take place on site? What are the legal obligations? There are no legal obligations related to TAs specifically. The Health and Safety at Work legislation prescribes several duties including:
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• Risk management (identify, assess, control, monitor). • Use of formal risk control hierarchy for high-risk work. • Worker participation in the health and safety. • Consultation, co-operation and co-ordination of activities between all parties. • Emergency management. The TA (or Safe Work Method Statement) is a tool that incorporates all these duties and is the most common one used in construction. But there are other tools that perform the same function and the legislation does not specify which tool a business should use.
TO VIEW AN EXAMPLE TA AND TO LEARN HOW TO COMPLETE ONE
check out the Practical Advice Page on the Site Safe website. Site Safe also offers a SiteSpecific Safety Planning Course which teaches you the ins and outs of writing health and safety documents, including TAs. Go to www.sitesafe.org.nz to find out more.
How often should task analysis take place on site? Developing a TA is not a question of how often it should be done but for which activities should it occur. Site Safe recommends that a TA is completed for high-risk work, such as:
• Work that involves risks specified by regulation. • Work deemed by regulation to be notifiable as particularly hazardous. • Work carried out under a permit to work system. • Any other high-risk work where failure is not an option. Only one TA is required for a task, however it is a living document and there needs to be ongoing reviews of the work plan. It should usually be reviewed at the start of each workday (by the business and the workers) and after any adverse event or change in work environment/methods. Please note that this guidance is industry standard – some clients may request additional/different requirements in the contract for work.
Jeff Strampel, Health and Safety Lead, Site Safe NZ. Site Safe is a not-for-profit, membership-based organisation that supports a culture of health and safety in New Zealand construction.
