Understanding OHS Accreditation under The Federal Safety Commissioner Accreditation Scheme in

Building and Construction Industry On 15 September 2005, the Australian Government enacted the Building and Construction Improvement Act 2005 to improve health and safety and make the industry safer. A key strategy in this improvement plan was the establishment of the Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner (FSC). One of the key responsibilities of the FSC is to oversee the Australian Government Building and Construction OHS Accreditation Scheme.

The FSC has issued Eight Safety Principles and an OHS Accreditation Pack to assist construction companies to comply with OHS expectations.

In line with this development the MBA, in partnership with Human Dymensions Pty Ltd, has developed an eight module program (each module lasting four hours) targeting the eight key principles of the FSC.

To meet the requirements of the Federal Safety Commissioner organisations will have to demonstrate compliance with the Commissioner’s eight key principles (and their sub-sets) and systems integration between espoused Policies and Procedures and the realities of safety culture on site.

The purpose of the MBA Program is to:

Understand the OHS Accreditation Scheme key principles

Support and develop the safety leadership and OHS expertise in organisations

Explain the essentials of OHS safety culture

Assist with the effective management of risks and hazards through safety systems integration.

Who should attend this training program? Principal contractors, directors, site managers, OHS managers, subcontractors and suppliers would benefit from this training program.

Participants attending this training program will be provided with a portfolio of system tools in analysis and leadership in OHS and safety culture management.

This training program will commence in mid August. For further information please contact Norma Inglis on 6247 2099 or email on norma@mba.org.au

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In This IssueAmendments to the Copyright Act

Tiger Tails on Power Lines

Asbestos Removal Training

Falls From Heights

Training opportunities within the civil and plant sector

July 2007

241 Northbourne Ave, LynehamCanberra ACT 2602Tel: (02) 6247 2099Fax: (02) 6249 8374www.mba.org.au

A N I N D U S T R Y U P D A T E F R O M T H E M A S T E R B U I L D E R S A S S O C I A T I O N O F T H E A C T

On-site Insight

Important Dates

Friday 7 SeptemberIndustry Dinner & Earth Awards

All Sector Council Meetings

Asbestos Training DatesThursday 2 August

Wednesday 15 August

Thursday 23 August

Thursday 30 August

Wednesday 5 September

Thursday 13 September

Thursday 20 September

Wednesday 26 September

Training opportunities within the civil and plant sector

The news is all good for employers and tradespersons interested in training to becoming trainers and assessors. MBA Group Training has been able to secure funding from the ACT Building and Construction Training Fund Authority to introduce a new initiative in training. We are providing employers with the ability to carry out training and assessment activity on-site, to Australian Qualifications Authority standards and under the auspices of MBA Group Training as the Registered Training Organisation.

MBA Group Training has commenced delivery of formal training for employers or their representatives to create stronger partnerships between MBA Group Training and the workplace. We hope that employers can, equipped with the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, confidently and competently partner their apprentices through their training plans requiring attendance at the Skills Centre for only those competencies which necessitate off-site and theory training. This initiative recognises employer expertise and it sets out to give them a voice in the training and assessment context. MBA Group Training will logically still holds the overarching responsibility for awarding qualifications but we are keen to involve employers more in the process of determining competencies.

The funding provided by the Training Fund Authority has enabled us to provide this employer-based training at no cost.

Cadets and Civil and Plant apprentices are now issued with comprehensive logbooks containing all of their training competencies to make the assessment of competency more streamlined. Copies of these are available for perusal on request. This is the first resource rolled out for on site assessment purposes; we will also be developing a kitset for employers to de-mystify the requirements of the Australian Qualifications Framework as the language can be confusing unless it is explained and understood.

MBA Group Training has already modified the Certificate IV and Diploma in Frontline Management courses so that they more closely align with middle management and civil and plant management activity. We have had more than a dozen graduates of the Certificate IV program to date and two graduates of the Diploma level qualification.

green living Training

What is Master Builders Green Living

The Master Builders Association has created the Green Living nationally accredited training program to provide builders with the knowledge, information and tools to build sustainability options into their construction.

MBA builders who complete the two days training and implement sustainable innovations in their operations will be able to exclusively market themselves as a “Master Builders Accredited Green Living Builder”.

Benefits for the Builder

Access to a range of tools that will enable builders to better design and construct dwellings offering sustainable solutions for their clients

Promotion by Master Builders of the benefits of using accredited Green Living Builders

Access to a marketing brand that will ensure they are recognised by the community as leaders in pursuing cost effective sustainable outcomes

New skills and knowledge that will enable builders to better meet the demands of their clients and regulators

Cost

MBA Members $125 Non-Members $350A rebate from the Training Fund Authority has been factored into this price

CPD Points

26 CPD Points towards NSW Builders Licence

For more information about the green living Training please contact Grant Daly on 6247 2099 or email grant@mba.org.au

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Residential Builders, Planners and Designers

241 Northbourne Ave, Lyneham ACT 2602Tel: (02) 6247 2099

www.mba.org.au

New National Training Course

Amendments to the Copyright Act: what it means for the average Australian

Jane Quodling – Lawyer

In December 2006, the Australian Parliament passed amendments to the Copyright Act. Of most interest to the general public are changes made in relation to time-shifting, format-shifting, space-shifting and technological protection measures.

Briefly, the time-shifting provisions allow you to record a television or radio program, on private premises, to watch or listen to at a later time, either inside or outside your home. You can view or listen to the recording with family and friends, including on a mobile device. You can not play any such recording for public use and you are not permitted to build up a collection of recordings to keep indefinitely for repeated use, despite the fact that it is for your own use.

Space-shifting allows you to make a copy of a sound recording, such as a CD, to play on another device, such as a computer or iPod, as long as you own that device and the copy is only for personal use. For example, you can download music from a CD that you own onto your iPod. Again, you can not sell or distribute the recording to anyone else or use it in a public forum.

Finally, format-shifting allows you to convert material in a particular format into other formats; but only where you are using the material for personal use, you own the original and you retain both the original and the copy you make. For example, you can scan a book or magazine you own into a digital form so you can view it on a computer screen. As with time-shifting and space-shifting, you cannot sell, rent or distribute the copy (or the original) to another person.

It is now also an offence to down load or use software which cracks Technological protection measures (TPMs). These are technological mechanisms (or ‘locks) used by copyright owners to prevent unauthorised copying of copyright content.

Whilst these amendments were intended to legalise people’s common actions in today’s digital world, many an average Australian is breaching copyright laws on a regular basis; for example by copying music from their friends and family, by creating libraries of material recorded off the television or radio, by using free software to crack protection codes on CDs and

DVDs and by downloading files containing other people’s copyright material from the Internet.

The people most likely to attempt to enforce these laws are the big media players who have much to lose from the continuing black market of pirated material, such as Sony and BMG Records. However, whether these media giants will take action in relation to these everyday breaches of the Copyright Act, and against whom, remains to be seen.

A N I N D U S T R Y U P D A T E F R O M T H E M A S T E R B U I L D E R S A S S O C I A T I O N O F T H E A C T

On-site InsightOn-site Insight

In the meantime, it would be prudent to act cautiously in using and copying both nonpirated copyright material which you do not own and any “pirated” copyright material, including music, videos, photographs and literary works.

For further information please email amy.sydney@meyervandenberg.com.au

Tiger Tails on Power Lines This Hazard Alert is issued to inform persons involved in construction, plant operations or other worksites activities where live electrical power lines enclosed in tiger tails are present.

BackgroundACT WorkCover has received notification of potentially dangerous work practices where persons working near live power lines are relying only on the presence of tiger tails to ensure electrical safety for workers.

InformationTiger tails are a yellow and black striped cover placed over power lines by ACTEW. They provide a useful VISUAL WARNING ONLY to people working in the area of power lines so that the worker is aware of the danger.

Tiger tails on electricity power lines ARE NOT INSULATORS and DO NOT PROTECT PEOPLE from the risk of electrocution or electric shock.

Preventative Measures to safeguard workersWhenever there is a risk of workers being exposed to electrical hazards appropriate safety controls must be implemented to protect workers from the risk of electrocution or electric shock, such as de-energising the line (by ACTEW) or isolation of the line.

Asbestos RemovalIf you work in the trades, maintenance and services sector of the Construction Industry there’s a good chance you will need to work with small amounts of bonded asbestos, as part of your daily work activities. In the ACT, you must be trained to work with and remove any amount and type of asbestos. It is important that you get the skills you need to handle it safely and avoid health risks. Otherwise, engage a licensed asbestos removalist.

The legislation relating to the removal of asbestos commenced on 1 July 2006. However, the provisions, namely the transitional arrangements commenced on the 18th of November 2006.

These transitional arrangements mean that builders can still remove bonded asbestos until their license expires or the 19th November 2007, whichever comes first. From then on they will require endorsement on their license if they are undertaking work involving the removal of asbestos.

Asbestos removalists’ licensingYou must be licensed to remove asbestos over 10m2.

Types of licencesThere are two specialist classes of asbestos removalists:

Asbestos removalists Class A: licensees can handle (include disturbing) asbestos in buildings, and remove and dispose of asbestos from buildings; and Asbestos removalists Class B: licensees can handle (include disturbing) only bonded asbestos in buildings, and remove and dispose of only bonded asbestos from buildings.

Builders, tradespeople, maintenance and services providers in the construction industry can work with or remove asbestos, if required in the course of their daily work activity, as exempt building work if and only if:

the asbestos is bonded asbestos; andnot more than 10m2 of asbestos is handled during the activity; andeach person who handles the asbestos

Works in a prescribed occupation; andHas a relevant asbestos qualification; anThe asbestos is handled by each person who handles it in the course of their occupation

The MBA strongly recommends that builders, tradespeople, maintenance and services providers, should undertake the accredited course offered (see important dates) to ensure that when the transitional arrangements expire they will comply with the legislative requirements.

To register for asbestos training contact Norma Inglis on 6247 2099 or email norma@mba.org.au

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Falls From Heights – A Deadly IssueCoroner, Maria Doogan, has found the death in 2004 of a worker on an ACT construction site was due to the employer’s failure to provide fall protection.

The employee was standing on top of a 2.6 metre high shipping container, removing 60kg light poles, when he fell to the ground and a light pole fell on top of him.

ACT WorkCover acting Occupational Health and Safety Commissioner, Steven Hart, said shipping containers are not designed or maintained to store equipment on their roof and this is a timely reminder that no one should work at heights above 1.8 metres unless there are control measures such as guardrails or scaffolding in place to prevent falls.

“Falls from heights are a major cause of serious injuries and the most common cause of death on building and construction sites,” Mr Hart said. Provision should be made to prevent persons falling if work is to be carried out within two metres of any edge on a new or existing roof from which any person could fall 1.8 metres or more.

The method selected is generally determined by individual job factors including the nature of the work, the size of area to be roofed, availability of equipment and interaction with other trades.

“The recommended method is safety mesh and guardrails however other available methods include individual fall arrest systems, scaffolding, safety nets or a combination of these,” Mr Hart said. These other methods should only be used if the recommended method cannot be used. The use of on-ground prefabrication also helps to reduce risks.

“It is of real concern that commercial construction contractors fail to meet their safety obligations in relation to the hazards of work at heights despite the known risks, the quantity of information available on height safety, and the ready availability of control measures,” Mr Hart concluded.

For further information contact the Master Builders Association of the ACT on 6247 2099ASBESTOS TRAINING

Identification & Safe Handling of Asbestos(National Accreditation Code 80803ACT)

The Master Builders Association of the ACT will be commencing asbestos training in July 2007 for its members and the broader community. This course is accredited by the ACT Government.

Secure your position on this training course by contacting Norma Inglis on 02 6247 2099 or email norma@mba.org.au.

241 Northbourne AveLyneham ACT 2602

Phone 02 6247 2099www.mba.org.au

Master Builders Fidelity FundProviding:

• ACT Home Warranty Insurance• Discounts for MBA Members• Speedy Application Process

For more information about the Fidelity Fund contact Dave on 6247 2099