In eSafeT, the Risk Assessment is in many ways the backbone of the system. The risk profile of a project is used to generate the correct documentation and, therefore, customizes the documentation for the specific document.
The quality of the documentation will be directly proportional to the quality of the Risk Assessment and it of vital importance that a Risk Assessor be appointed and tasked to do the risk assessment for a project as the law prescribes.
There are two levels of Risk Assessment available for each of the project types namely a Basic and Advanced level. The logged-in user selects this option for a project on creating the project. See Add Client project or Add Contractor project
Whether using Basic or Advanced level, eSafeT Risk Assessment, is based on predefined construction activities that might pose a risk to the project personnel and workers. The following table lists the eSafeT Risk Assessment Activities and a definition for each.
| Activity | RISK |
|---|---|
| Adjacent Land Use | Refers to activities related to the land surrounding the contractors site. |
| Ancillary Lifting Equipment | A power-driven machine which is designed and constructed for the purpose of raising or lowering a load or moving it in suspension, includes hoist, crane, lift truck or jib-crane, but does not include an elevator, escalator, goods hoist or builder’s hoist. |
| Asbestos Cement Sheet Removal | The removal of asbestos sheets that exposes or is likely to expose any person to asbestos dust |
| Asbestos Removal (other than Asbestos Cement) | Any asbestos work, other than the removal of asbestos sheets, that exposes or is likely to expose any person to asbestos dust; |
| Asphalting | The Process where asphalt, usually 95% aggregate, which could be stone, sand, or gravel, and 5% asphalt cement as a binder. The binder is a product of oil refining and acts to glue the aggregates together. The aggregate and asphalt are heated, combined with the recycled material and mixed together and used as a material to provide a road surface. |
| Backfilling | In construction, backfill replaces soil that is removed during building construction, and it is used to strengthen and support a structure's foundation. Backfill is generally a combination of soil, stones and rocks. |
| Batch Plant | Machinery, appliances or other similar devices that are assembled in such a manner so as to be able to mix materials in bulk for the purposes of using the mixed product for construction work; |
| Battery Storage & Charging | Energy derived from a battery, charged by means of a charging apparatus which receives its power from an electric supply |
| Boundary and access control/public liability exposure | The activity to ensure that adjacent land users/surrounding property owners are not exposed to excessive exposure levels that exceed the legislative requirements as stipulated in the Environmental Regulations. |
| Brick / Tile Cutting Machine | A power-saw using a toothed or abrasive disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion |
| Bricklaying | The act of laying bricks in construction. |
| Brush cutting | A power tool worn on a shoulder harness consisting of a rotary head with a small circular saw at the end of a boom, for clearing various kinds of rank or low woody growth (brushwood). |
| Builder’s Hoist | An appliance used in connection with building work for the raising or lowering of material by means of a platform, skip cage or other receptacle on a fixed guide or guides |
| Chainsaw Use | A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable, mechanical saw which cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain that runs along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pruning, cutting firebreaks in wildland fire suppression, and harvesting of firewood. |
| Clearing & Grubbing of the Area/Site | Clearing is defined as removing and disposing of all unwanted surface material, such as trees, brush, grass, weeds, downed trees, or other material. Grubbing is defined as removing and disposing of all unwanted vegetative matter from underground, such as stumps, roots, buried logs, or other debris. |
| Compacting and Filling | Soil compaction is the process in which a stress applied to a soil causes densification as air is displaced from the pores between the soil grains. |
| Compactor Operations | The Operation of one of the three main types of compactor: the plate, the "jumping jack" and the road roller. |
| Compressors and other pneumatic equipment | A pneumatic tool, air tool, air-powered tool or pneumatic-powered tool is a type of power tool, driven by compressed air, supplied by an air compressor. Pneumatic tools can also be driven by compressed carbon dioxide (CO2) stored in small cylinders allowing for portability |
| Concrete Mixer | A device that homogeneously combines cement, aggregate such as sand or gravel, and water to form concrete. A typical concrete mixer uses a revolving drum to mix the components |
| Concrete Pumping | A concrete pump is a machine used for transferring liquid concrete by pumping. There are two types of concrete pumps. The first type of concrete pump is attached to a truck or longer units are on semi-trailers The second main type of concrete pump is either mounted on a truck or placed on a trailer, and it is commonly referred to as a line pump or trailer-mounted concrete pump |
| Confined Spaces | A confined space is a space large enough for a worker to enter, is not designed for "continuous employee occupancy," and has limited means for entry and exit |
| Contact Crime | Contact with an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law |
| Contaminated Land (Working in) | The presence of contaminated materials encountered during construction presents a risk to subsurface soil, surface waters, ground waters and the ambient air and to the health and safety of construction workers |
| Cranes, Tower-, Mobile- and Gantry Erection, Dismantling and Use | A temporary framework like a tower built to support hoisting equipment for the erection of a building or other structure. |
| Crusher Operation | Operation of a crusher. A crusher is a machine designed to reduce large rocks into smaller rocks, gravel, or rock dust |
| Cutting Kerbs | A Kerb is defined as the edge where a raised sidewalk or road median/central reservation meets a street or other roadway. |
| Cutting Off Disc | A disc cutter is a specialised, often hand-held, power tool used for cutting hard materials, for example ceramic tile. This tool is very similar to an angle grinder, with main difference being cutting disc itself (circular diamond blade for disc cutter vs. abrasive grinding wheel for angle grinder). |
| Dealing with existing structures |
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| Demolition Work | A method to dismantle, wreck, break, pull down or knock down of a structure or part thereof by way of manual labour, machinery, or the use of explosives; |
| Diving Operations | Includes ROV dives. The activities in which at least one person takes part or will take part as a diver and extends from the time when that person, or the first such person, commences to prepare to dive until that person, or the last such person, has left the water, chamber or other environment in which the dive, or any part of the dive, took place and has completed any decompression procedures, including any therapeutic recompression and time spent breathing oxygen or other gas mixture at the surface for the purposes of precautionary STAATSKOERANT, 29 JANUARIE 2010 No.32907 7 accelerated inert gas washout, and includes the safety decompression sickness monitoring period after the dive |
| Drainage - Protection against flooding, Flood Control | Flood control refers to all methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flood relief refers to methods used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water levels. A sustainable drainage system is designed to reduce the potential impact of new and existing developments with respect to surface water drainage discharges |
| Electric Tools and Electrical Installations | A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the solely manual labour used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric motor. Electrical Installations mean any fixed appliances, wires, fittings, meters, apparatus or other electrical equipment used for (or for purposes incidental to) the conveyance, measuring, control and use of electricity in a particular place. |
| Electrical Installations Inspection of | Inspection of any fixed appliances, wires, fittings, meters, apparatus or other electrical equipment used for (or for purposes incidental to) the conveyance, measuring, control and use of electricity in a particular place. |
| Electricity | A form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles (such as electrons or protons), either statically as an accumulation of charge or dynamically as a current. |
| Excavations deeper than 1m (Working in and around) | The making of any man-made cavity, trench, pit or depression formed by cutting, digging or scooping; |
| Explosive actuated fastening devices | A tool that is activated by an explosive charge and that is used for driving bolts, nails and similar objects for the purpose of providing fixing. Change explosive power tools to explosive actuated fastening device; |
| Explosive use | The use of explosives and other methods such as gas pressure blasting pyrotechnics, utilized to break rock for excavation |
| Exposure to Dust | Exposure to a fine, dry powder consisting of tiny particles of earth or waste matter lying on the ground or on surfaces or carried in the air. |
| Exposure to Noise | Exposure to a sound, especially one that is loud or unpleasant or that causes disturbance. |
| Exposure to Vibration | Exposure to a periodic motion of the particles of an elastic body or medium in alternately opposite directions from the position of equilibrium when that equilibrium has been disturbed |
| Fire | A process in which substances combine chemically with oxygen from the air and typically give out bright light, heat, and smoke; combustion or burning |
| Fragile Materials | Includes fragile surfaces and materials that will not safely support the weight of a person and any materials that they may be carrying. |
| Gabion work | A gabion is a cage, cylinder, or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes, sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building, military applications and landscaping. |
| Ground/soil conditions | An investigation to acquire a complete information or data of the environment and ground condition to enable a safe practical and economical design of the building |
| Hand tools | A hand tool is any tool that is not a power tool – that is, one powered by hand (manual labour) rather than by an engine |
| Hazardous Substances, Use and Storage | A hazardous material is any item or agent (biological, chemical, radiological, and/or physical), which has the potential to cause harm to humans, animals, or the environment, either by itself or through interaction with other factors |
| Health Risk from the Environment | Environmental hazards are divided into different categories. To better understand them, we can think of them as falling into four categories: physical, chemical, biological, and cultural. |
| Hot Works | Hot work is any process that can be a source of ignition when flammable material is present or can be a fire hazard regardless of the presence of flammable material in the workplace. Common hot work processes are welding, soldering, cutting and brazing. |
| Housekeeping on construction sites | Effective housekeeping can eliminate some workplace hazards and help get a job done safely and properly. Poor housekeeping can frequently contribute to accidents by hiding hazards that cause injuries. If the sight of paper, debris, clutter and spills is accepted as normal, then other more serious health and safety hazards may be taken for granted. Housekeeping is not just cleanliness. It includes keeping work areas neat and orderly; maintaining halls and floors free of slip and trip hazards; and removing of waste materials |
| Kerb Laying | Laying a line of stone or concrete forming an edge between a pavement and a roadway, so that the pavement is some 15 cm above the level of the road |
| Ladder Use | Use of a piece of equipment consisting of a series of bars or steps between two upright lengths of wood, metal, used for climbing up or down something |
| Lifting & lowering Operations | A lifting operation is an operation concerned with the lifting and lowering of a load. A load is the item or items being lifted which could include a person or people. A lifting operation may be performed manually or using lifting equipment. |
| Loading and offloading of trucks & other materials | Loading or unloading materials from trucks. Includes both manual loading and loading by way of cranes. |
| Lock-out Procedure | |
| Manhole Rings and Pipes Storage | Storage of a manhole (alternatively utility hole, cable chamber, maintenance hole, inspection chamber, access chamber, sewer hole, or confined space) is the top opening to an underground utility vault used to house an access point for making connections, inspection, valve adjustments or performing maintenance on underground and buried public utility and other services including water, sewers, telephone, electricity, storm drains, district heating and gas. |
| Manual and mechanical handling | Manual handling of loads (MHL), manual material handling (MMH) involves the use of the human body to lift, lower, fill, empty, or carry loads. The load can be animate (a person or animal) or inanimate (an object). Most manufacturing or distribution systems require some manual handling tasks. Mechanical handling involves short-distance movement within the confines of a building or between a building and a transportation vehicle.] It utilizes a wide range of manual, semi-automated, and automated equipment and includes consideration of the protection, storage, and control of materials throughout their manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, consumption, and disposal |
| Manual Handling of General Items | Involves the use of the human body to lift, lower, fill, empty, or carry loads |
| Material hHoist | A hoist used to lower or raise material and equipment, excluding passengers; |
| Mobile Scaffold (a.k.a. Tower Scaffold) | A scaffold is a temporary elevated platform and supporting structure used for providing access to and supporting workmen or materials or both; |
| Overhead Services (Working near) | Includes overhead power lines is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more conductors (commonly multiples of three) suspended by towers or poles. Since most of the insulation is provided by air, overhead power lines are generally the lowest-cost method of power transmission for large quantities of electric energy |
| Painting | A substance composed of solid coloring matter suspended in a liquid medium and applied as a protective or decorative coating to various surfaces, or to canvas or other materials in producing a work of art |
| Paving (Laying) | Pavement in construction is an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering. Paving materials include asphalt, concrete, stone such as flagstone, cobblestone, and setts, artificial stone, bricks, tiles, and sometimes wood. |
| Pile Erection | Erection of Vertical supports holding horizontal sheeting or walings in place. They are secured by struts across the excavation or by ground anchor tie backs. |
| Plant or Vehicles Operation | Workers injured by passing traffic, road users and pedestrians at risk from operation of tractor and mower Noise |
| Plastering | Plaster is a building material used for the protective and/or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for molding and casting decorative elements |
| Plumbing | The system of pipes, tanks, fittings, and other apparatus required for the water supply, heating, and sanitation in a building. |
| Portable & Bench Grinders | A bench grinder is a type of benchtop grinding machine used to drive abrasive wheels. A pedestal grinder is a larger version of a bench grinder that is mounted on a pedestal, which is bolted to the floor. These types of grinders are commonly used to hand grind cutting tools and perform other rough grinding |
| Portable electrical tools | A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the solely manual labour used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric motors |
| Precast Slab / Unit Laying and Fixing | A practice is commonly used as a structural element of modern buildings. Horizontal slabs of steel reinforced concrete, typically between 4 and 20 inches (100 and 500 millimeters) thick, are most often used to construct floors and ceilings, while thinner slabs are also used for exterior paving. |
| Protection against dehydration / heat exhaustion | Protection from a condition caused by the excessive loss of water from the body, which causes a rise in blood sodium levels. Since dehydration is most often caused by excessive sweating, vomiting, or diarrhea, water loss is usually accompanied by a deficiency of electrolytes |
| Protection from overhead power lines/Services | Requires a safe limit of approach distances for overhead power lines are intended to prevent power line contacts, injuries and fatalities. |
| Protection from wet & cold conditions | Protection from cold stress, which are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to workers. |
| Road Construction | The construction of A road seen as a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places that has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by foot or some form of conveyance, including a motor vehicle, cart, bicycle, or horse. |
| Roof Work | Roof Work regulations is to prevent incidents at workplaces involving falls of more than 2 metres, and to prevent or reduce injury resulting from those falls. |
| Rope Access | Rope access is a form of work positioning which applies practical ropework to allow workers to access difficult-to-reach locations without the use of scaffolding, cradles or an aerial work platform. |
| Scaffold Erection/Dismantling | The erection of a temporary elevated platform and supporting structure used for providing access to and supporting workmen or materials or both; |
| Shuttering Walls, Beams, Columns Formwork | The term given to either temporary or permanent molds into which concrete or similar materials are poured. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering molds |
| Site Establishment | Deals with matters such as Site layout considerations, access, site facilities, construction equipment areas, work areas and security |
| Site Strip | The strip of any structure involving the removal of all internal loose fixtures and fittings as well as fixed items. In some cases, the previous occupiers have been known to walk out leaving all furniture down to the bedding on the bed. However, generally it’s unwanted and discarded items from the previous building occupants. |
| Skipping of Concrete | A heavy duty concrete skip for pouring concrete into columns or narrow formwork and often used where access is difficult. |
| Steel Erection | The erection of structural steelwork consisting of the assembly of steel components into a frame on site. The processes involve lifting and placing components into position, then connecting them together |
| Steel Fixing | Positioning and securing of steel reinforcing bars, also known as rebar, and steel mesh used in reinforced concrete on construction projects. |
| Street Lighting | Erection of a street light, light pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard that is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or walkway. |
| Support Work | The parts of a construction project that are needed to enable the permanent works to be built. Usually the support works are removed after use - eg access scaffolds, props, shoring, excavation support, falsework and formwork, |
| Surrounding property exposures | Refers to the properties surrounding the contractors site that might be susceptible to damage should the contractor not implement proper barricading techniques. |
| Suspended platforms | A working platform suspended from supports by means of one or more separate ropes from each support; |
| Temporary Works | Any falsework, formwork, support work, scaffold, shoring or other temporary structure designed to provide support or means of access during construction work; |
| Trenching | A type of excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared to its length (as opposed to a simple hole) |
| Tunnelling | The construction of any tunnel beneath the natural surface of the earth for a purpose other than the searching for or winning of a mineral. |
| Underground Services | Utility location is the process of identifying and labeling public utility mains that are underground. These mains may include lines for telecommunication, electricity distribution, natural gas, cable television, fiber optics, traffic lights, street lights, storm drains, water mains, and wastewater pipes. In some locations, major oil and gas pipelines, national defense communication lines, mass transit, rail and road tunnels also compete for space underground. |
| Underpinning | A solid foundation laid below ground level to support or strengthen a building. |
| Use and storage of flammable liquids | Flammable and combustible liquids are liquids that can burn. They are classified, or grouped, as either flammable or combustible by their flashpoints. Generally speaking, flammable liquids will ignite (catch on fire) and burn easily at normal working temperatures. Combustible liquids have the ability to burn at temperatures that are usually above working temperatures |
| Use of Portable Electrical Equipment | Use of any electrically operated implement, with the exception of ordinary household electrical appliances, which is designed for use with;
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| Waste Generation | Consists of unwanted material produced directly or incidentally by the construction or industries. This includes building materials such as insulation, nails, electrical wiring, shingle, and roofing as well as waste originating from site preparation such as dredging materials, tree stumps, and rubble. Construction waste may contain lead, asbestos, or other hazardous substances |
| Welding & Flame Cutting Equipment Inspection & Use | Oxy-fuel welding and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases and oxygen to weld and cut metals, respectively. |
| White lining Road surface marking | Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a road surface in order to convey official information. They can also be applied in other facilities used by vehicles to mark parking spaces or designate areas for other uses. |
| Work over or next to Water | Simply, working over or next to water, including but not limited to standing water, rivers and puddles |
| Working at Height (Excluding roof work) Fall risk | Any potential exposure to falling either from, off, onto or into |
| Working next to Road | The actual activity next to A road which may be either a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places that has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by foot or some form of conveyance, including a motor vehicle, cart, bicycle, or horse. |
| Working with Cartridge Tools also known as Explosive actuated fastening devices | A powder-actuated tool (often generically called a "Hilti gun" or a "Ramset gun" after their manufacturing companies) is a type of nail gun used in construction and manufacturing to join materials to hard substrates such as steel and concrete. Known as direct fastening, this technology relies on a controlled explosion created by small chemical propellant charge, similar to the process that discharges a firearm. |
| Working with Effluent | Handling of waste material (as smoke, liquid industrial refuse, or sewage) discharged into the environment especially when serving as a pollutant. |
If a project comprises risk prone activities not in the predefined list, the user can contact the eSafeT technical team who could amend or update the list.