Our Critical Risk Protocols (CRPs) provide clarity about what is expected of us, our contractors and subcontractors when conducting high risk activities.
They establish the essential requirements to manage critical safety risks on our projects. Every CRP is equally important – but in this issue of Connect we’re taking a closer look at three:
- Working at height
- Working in and around live traffic
- Working around live services
According to Safe Work Australia, working at height, working in and around live traffic and working around live services are factors in many serious accidents at work.
We’ve also seen some tragic events in other workplaces in Australia and New Zealand in the news recently. These highlight the risks associated with this type of work.
Putting the spotlight on our CRPs
Working at height, around live services, and in and around live traffic are part of the job in a high proportion of the work we do.
Every effort must be made to eliminate the need to perform a task that triggers a CRP. Where the task cannot be eliminated the priority is to apply ‘above the line’ controls – by substituting the risk, isolating the risk, or using engineering controls to keep hazards from harming people.
Every job is different: every person on a project should be aware of the safety hazards and issues specific to their work. The CRPs establish the essential requirements for us to manage critical safety risks on our projects. Your responsibility is to make sure you know the CRPs and apply them.
EXAMPLES OF ‘ABOVE THE LINE’ CONTROLS
1. Working at height:
- Design the work so that it can be performed at ground level – an example is using drones for inspection activities which eliminates the need to work at height
- Use an elevated work platform that is designed for use on the ground conditions and for the surroundings where the work will be performed
- Ensure compliant fixed or mobile platforms and scaffolding are used and inspected by a competent person
2. Working in and around live traffic:
- Design work to minimise exposure to traffic
- Use road closures, detours and traffic staging
- Use traffic Control and Vehicle Management Plans
- Use barriers to physically separate traffic from workers and pedestrians
3. Working around live services:
- Work away from live services using exclusion zones, clearance limits and on-going verification of live services
- Use electronic detection or non-destructive pot-holing for live service location
- Isolate all services prior to work
Note: examples and not an exhaustive list of CRP requirements
Working at height, working in and around live traffic and working around live services
Thank you all for your commitment to our CRPs and for putting safety and health above all else.
Best practice and training
We highlight some examples of good practice in Ventia and Visionstream in these images.
These examples show people understanding the CRPs and putting them into action every day.
What’s next?
The CRPs were first introduced in 2017 and training programs were rolled out in 2018 – with dedicated modules for each protocol.
This year, we have reviewed the CRPs to make sure they remain relevant for our business, as well as checking whether we need to make any changes or improvements. We’ll be relaunching them shortly and the updated versions will be available soon.
To find out more, go to ventia.com/CRP or visit the SHEQ section of theVine.
CRITICAL RISK PROTOCOLS: KEY THINGS TO REMEMBER
Before you start work, stop and look around and ask yourself these questions:
CRPs IN ACTION
Working in and around live traffic
Is this an activity where a CRP applies?
What are the mandatory requirements, controls or actions that must be in place or present throughout any work involving one of the CRPs?
Are these requirements or controls in place and effective?
Take the opportunity to review your CRPs booklet or speak up and discuss the situation with your leader or team.
Main image above: CRPs IN ACTION: Working at height
