Glossary

Asbestos Class A 

Licence required for any amount of Asbestos including friable (Crumbly) materials or Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM).

Asbestos Class B 

Licence required for any amount of non-friable (non-crumbly) materials or Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM).

All practicable steps

Doing what is reasonably able to be done to control hazards, considering several factors including the likelihood and severity of any harm that might occur, and the availability and cost of ways to prevent harm.

Confined Space

Enclosed or partially enclosed space, not intended or designed for primary human occupancy. It is generally not a ceiling space or under floor space (restricted space).

Emergency Plan

A regularly updated document serving as an emergency response guide by identifying and cataloguing the elements required to respond to an emergency, and defining responsibilities and specific tasks in an emergency.

Event 

Any injury, illness, incident or near miss that has occurred in the workplace.

Event register

Register for recording all events (injury/illness/incident/near miss) in the workplace.

First Aider

It is a requirement under the new legislation for a PCBU to provide their own first aider in the workplace or access to a trained first aider whether this be another organisation or a nearby medical centre/hospital. A basic course is sufficient unless they are a lone worker or carrying out a high-risk task.

Fit for purpose 

Means designed, made and maintained so that it is safe for its intended use.

Hazard Register

A register to record (in writing) the existence of a hazard, what risk it could cause, and what controls will be put in place to manage the hazard.

Hazardous Substance

A hazardous substance is any substance, or product containing a substance, to be used or produced in a workplace that is known or suspected to cause harm to health or the environment.

Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA)

New Zealand's workplace health and safety law.

Health and Safety Objectives

HazardCo members should use this form to help implement their health and safety system. It can take 6-12 months to implement and should be reviewed 3 monthly, however at a minimum annually.

Hot Work

Welding, thermal or oxygen cutting, heating or other fire-producing or spark-producing operations that may increase the risk of fire or explosion.

Induction

Worker Induction - For an employee at commencement of employment

Job Induction - (Construction) For workers and subcontractors on a work site

Property Induction - (Ag/Hort) For contractors coming onto the property

Client Induction - For our member's client such as home owners who are building or renovating

Visitor Induction - All visitors to the workplace

Lifting Appliance 

Any appliance, capable of being operated by mechanical, manual, or other means to raise or lower a load in a vertical or near-vertical plane, and includes any lifting tackle. Example are cranes, hi-ab, excavators, MEWP

Manual Handling

Any activity requiring a person to interact with their environment and use any part of their muscles or skeletal system to lift, lower, push, pull, carry, throw, move, restrain or hold any animate, or inanimate, object.

Mobile Elevated Work Platform (MEWP)

Powered scissor mechanisms, telescoping boom or tower, articulation or any combination of these. They can be vehicle-mounted, self-propelled, towed or moved by hand and used to access work above or below ground level eg Cherry Picker, Boom Lift, Scissor Lift, Hydra Ladder.

Notifiable work

Specified types of work, e.g. working at height, excavation work, logging or tree felling, lifting appliances, explosives, compressed air, asbestos

Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU)

A business is ‘an activity carried out with the intention of making a profit or gain'. An undertaking is ‘an activity that is noncommercial in nature' eg certain activities of a local authority or a not-for-profit organisation.

Permit to work 

Specifies details of the location and type of work to be done, confirms that identified hazards have been evaluated, and specifies the necessary protective measures.

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Any item of equipment used to protect a person from hazards, e.g. hard hat, safety footwear, hearing protection, eye protection, gloves.

Policy

Businesses statement declaring their commitment to health and safety as per the legislation. This document should be signed by the director/s of the business.

Pre-Qualification

Identifies and in some cases grades sub contractors health and safety systems and what they have in place. H&S procedures and completed examples will assist when completing these questionnaires.

Primary duty of care

A business has the primary responsibility for the health and safety of workers and others influenced by its work.

Principal

A person who or that engages any person otherwise than as an employee to do any work for gain or reward.

Procedures

Documented set of procedures advising how the businesses health and safety system will be implemented and managed.

Risk Management

Assessing the risks in your workplace to help you identify hazards that could cause injury or illness; allowing you to implement the appropriate control measures to either eliminate the hazards or minimise the potential for an event to occur. Risk management aims to make each working situation safer by applying the most appropriate and reasonable solution.

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

Is a document that describe the safe use and maintenance for a particular type of plant, machinery or equipment.

Site Pack

Site Packs contain site specific resources for a worksite, including a site specific safety plan (SSSP). They should be ordered for each large or complex worksite eg. a new house build, a large renovation or engaging multiple contractors for a job.

Site Specific Safety Plan (SSSP)

Is a health and safety document created prior to the start of a major construction project outlining the type of works happening on a particular site, safety and emergency contact information, hazards and controls that will be implemented, high risk works, PPE and other critical site information. This is produced by the head PCBU of the job.

Task Analysis (TA)

A document used to assess the risks to health and safety for a specific task. Other common names for a TA is Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS), Job Safety Analysis (JSA).

Working alone

Work carried out in an area where normal means of contact (e.g. verbal, sight) with other staff are not available, so that the potential risk of existing hazards is increased to the extent that extra precautions are needed.

Workplace

A place at which a person works. Includes mobile workplaces such as road vehicles, aircraft and ships.