Construction Safety and White Card Training

Construction Safety and White Card Training

Guest Post by Alertforce

Anyone who handles construction work in Australia is required to have a White Card OHS Training. This is a new national certificate for the field. If you are self-employed, a labourer, an carpenter apprentice or trainee, a trades-personnel, supervisor, manager, or other overseer of construction projects, or recommended to retraining due to changes in the law you are legally required to take a course on construction safety before engaging in further construction activity. Any employee in the field who has been inactive for 2 years must retake the training course. Only those who just make deliveries of materials and supplies or are only visiting the site are exempt.

Construction occupational health and safety training leads to a certificate that certifies competency inCPCCOHS1001A “Work Safely in the Construction Industry”. This White Card does not expire unless one does not work in construction for 2 years or more. A white card is recognized across the country in all Australian states. Accidents on construction sites can be fatal or lead to life long disability making it very important that every single individual on the job puts safety first. The National standards behind the white card are more stringent than the older state by state standards.

Anything in the fields of asbestos removal, bricklaying, carpentry, civil construction, refurbishment or renovations, etc, requires a white card. Employers will not hire employees in these businesses who cannot produce proof of certification. This is because new workers are at the greatest risk of on the job injury or death due to the unfamiliarity of the job site, work procedures, and other employees. White card certification ensures that new workers know about safe work habits, how to manage risk, what safety signs and symbols mean, how to apply personal protection standards, and the use of fire safety equipment.

Employers know that those workers with a White Card are going to be careful and diligent on the job as they learn about others who are working there. This means that they can focus on the human elements of proper communication, task training, and hazard awareness that are specific to the job site.

For $60 one can take the required training course online to get a nationally recognized White Card for employment in the construction field. Reduction of worker injuries is directly related to correcting poor training, work methods, behavior patterns, and attentiveness.

One of the things covered in Construction safety White Card training courses are risk management and safety. This is an essential element of construction safety practices. Both small projects, like pouring a driveway, or landscaping with brickwork, and large projects like building a highrise, share the need for better risk management practices. General safety principles can be applied to all construction sites. Certain hazards are common on any job site dealing with building or renovations. Knowing these hazards are key to ensuring that every work day is a safe day. Online training for construction site safety can be the perfect way to meet your white card certification goals.

Article by: Alertforce.com.au – online and face to face OHS and WHS training experts.