Constructions sites can be an extremely dangerous place to work if the correct safety measures aren’t in place. With the use of machinery, a large number of workers, it is vital to stay on top of the safety aspects of your construction site.

As a manager, it is your responsibility to complete risk assessments for the construction site, and address many issues that arise. All incidents must be recorded in an incident book, even near misses. The record of incidents is to help improve the overall safety as it can be used to reflect upon.

All machinery must be tested before it can be used on the site, while and faulty items must be clearly labelled as out of order, and will need fixing and re-testing before they can be used on site again. Team members must be trained to use each machinery, and deemed competent before they can use it within your construction site.

Energy audits are carried out by energy consultants, they allow for a buildings energy efficiency to be calculated using specialist equipment through a series of tests. These tests will show what upgrades can be made to the building to increase its overall energy efficiency.

The upgrades can be small changes to existing equipment, or they could be larger structural changes. As well as saving energy, once they are completed the upgrades make the building more comfortable to use and save money on its energy bills.

A common test carried out in an energy audit is the blower door test. This measures the air infiltration rate of a building, using the pressure of the room and a flow gauge to show the difference between the inside and outside airflow.

Audit tests can take roughly two to three hours to carry out, and cost between $250 and $650. If an energy audit is set up through a utility company you may be eligible for a rebate.

When working on the roof of a heritage building it’s important to consider the type of roof that’s currently used in its construction, as well as any other original parts it may have. Determining what the significant original roof is, or was, helps to understand later non-original changes and additions.

For heritage buildings the goal is to maintain the historical integrity of the building wherever possible. This means using construction methods that help create the original designs, and using materials that replicate the original construction. For example, many heritage buildings are clad in galvanised corrugating roofing which originally came in 6ft lengths. These materials can be modernised, restored and painted to lengthen their life, whilst still using the original design. Maintaining historical accuracy.

Other important considerations to make might be the types of guttering that was used, or if it is available, restoring the original to a usable state.

One of the most basic jobs on a construction site is cutting wood. It’s a common task that’s often carried out with little thought, but it’s also one of the most advanced construction techniques used by builders.

Cutting a piece of wood requires skill. Cutting a piece of wood well, and with consistency requires understanding and mastery of the tools used and the material being cut. Even with the advanced power tools that are used today, traditional skills and knowledge still come into play.

You could have the most advanced tools available, but there will still be a margin for error and a possibility to improve the cut. It could be in the finish, or the speed of cutting multiple items. Cutting a piece of wood is a fundamental skill and a foundation of building that can show understanding of construction processes used since their conception.