Health and safety breaches

Health and safety breach

Safety breaches can injure people and create legal duties, site shutdowns, notifiable events, and serious harm.

All stagessafetyworksafebreach

What it looks like on site

No edge protection
Unsafe excavation
No PPE
Live electrical risk
Plant and pedestrians mixed
Dust uncontrolled

Possible causes

Poor supervision
Missing task analysis
Rushed work
No induction
Controls removed

Immediate action

1Make the area safe first. Stop only the affected workface if continuing could make the issue unsafe, hidden, or harder to fix.
2Take wide, medium, close-up, and context photos before anything is moved or repaired.
3Check the latest consented drawings, specification, RFI responses, site instructions, and inspection requirements.
4Tell the responsible subcontractor what you have found and ask for their proposed correction in writing if the issue affects quality, cost, time, or compliance.

Step-by-step fix

1Identify the exact location using room name, gridline, elevation, peg, manhole number, footing line, or drawing detail reference.
2Compare the site condition with the approved documents and manufacturer instructions.
3Decide whether the fix is simple workmanship correction, RFI, engineer/designer direction, minor variation, amendment, or council inspector discussion.
4Agree the person responsible, repair method, hold point, and reinspection evidence before work resumes.
5Complete the repair, photograph the corrected work, and update the defects/RFI/variation/inspection register.
6Record programme impact, cost impact, and who was notified in the daily report.

What not to do

Do not cover, backfill, line, clad, tile, paint, or pour over the issue to keep the programme moving.
Do not approve a technical fix verbally when structure, moisture, drainage, fire/safety, H1, or consent compliance may be affected.
Do not rely on memory. Record the drawing revision, detail number, photos, people contacted, and agreed next action.

Source / Where to check

WorkSafe NZ construction

Use WorkSafe NZ for construction health and safety duties, risk management, and practical guidance for residential construction work.

WorkSafe NZ excavation

Use for excavation risk management, trenching, collapse, services, access, exclusion, and emergency planning.

WorkSafe NZ asbestos

Use before demolition, refurbishment, or disturbance of possible asbestos-containing material.

Consented drawings and specifications

The issued consent drawings, stamped specifications, engineering drawings, RFIs, minor variations, and amendments control the specific project.

Insufficient data to verify

Insufficient data to verify — check the consented drawings, project specification, relevant NZ Standard, or council requirement.

Who to contact

Site supervisor
PCBU/employer
H&S manager
WorkSafe if notifiable/serious
Client/developer if site risk major

What to photograph

Overall area showing where the issue sits in the site or room
Close-up of the defect with a tape, level, datum, product label, or drawing mark where useful
The related drawing/detail beside the issue if practical
The corrected work before it is covered

What to record

Date/time, weather if relevant, location, trade, workers present, plant/material involved
Drawing/specification/RFI/inspection reference used to assess the issue
Immediate action taken, who was contacted, who owns the fix, and due date
Delay/cost/variation impact and whether an inspection must be rebooked

Documents to check

Site H&S plan
Hazard register
JSA/SWMS/task analysis
Incident/near-miss report
Induction register

When to escalate

Escalate to the builder/project manager when safety, cost, programme, trade responsibility, or client communication is affected.
Escalate to the architect/designer when dimensions, layout, specified products, appearance, weathertightness details, or consented design intent are unclear.
Escalate to the engineer when foundations, framing, bracing, retaining, fixings, penetrations, or structural adequacy may be affected.
Escalate to the council inspector/BCA when an inspection result, minor variation, amendment, or CCC evidence may be affected.
Escalate to the client/developer when the decision changes cost, time, selection, layout, appearance, or risk.

Inspection impact

If the issue affects an inspection area, record whether the inspection must be delayed, rebooked, failed item closed, or discussed with the council inspector. Do not conceal the work until the inspection/evidence requirement is satisfied.

Example wording for daily report

Health and safety breach: issue identified at [location]. Work paused in affected area. Photos taken. Checked [drawing/spec/RFI]. Contacted [person/company]. Agreed action: [fix]. Inspection/programme impact: [impact]. Follow-up due [date].

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