Getting The Best For Your Business

Everything a construction business needs to have!

COPYRIGHT 2012 www.ensafe.com.au/

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Achieve Construction Compliance And Generate Revenue 4 What Your Site Safety Plan Needs To Have 5 Using A Construction Safety Plan Ensures Employee Health And Company Profits 7 Master Your Business With An Integrated Management System 8 OHS Management System Three Advantages For Construction Companies 9 A Quality Management System Can Save Long-serving Workers 11 ISO 9001 Quality Management System Paves The Right Path For The Business Industry 12 Environmental Management System: EMS Advantages For Business Owners 14

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Prove Your Workplace Is Toxic-free By Using An Environmental Management Plan Template 15 Go Solo And Create Your Businesss Quality Management Plan Yourself 17

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Achieve Construction Compliance And Generate Revenue

River dam projects, city infrastructure contracts, commercial buildings, and other development projects are underway across Australia. While residential construction seems to be headed for a decline, with, according to the Housing Industry Association, land sales taking a dive in 2012, other developments in the construction business are able to still provide jobs for the thousands of skilled workers and allow construction companies to make a steady profit. How does construction compliance play a part in building your business? As a keen businessman, youll want to do everything humanly possible to keep your company afloat, especially if you happen to be involved in the construction industry. You want workers who have passed your stringent hiring process and possess the very best skill, knowledge, and experience that will enable your company to finish projects satisfactorily. You want to have access to suppliers or providers of innovative products that will allow you to build quality projects. Quality people make quality buildings, or any structure for that matter. But its simply not enough to hire the best people and get the best raw materials, which is exactly why the Australian government has instituted safeguards to ensure that builders like you create safe and quality-made projects. These safeguards assure that the processes you apply for your company and for every project you work on allow you to deliver quality projects while guaranteeing protection for your workers during particularly risky situations. One such safeguard is a site specific safety plan, which features occupational health and safety policies, hazard identification, and risk controls that are particular to the type of project your companys doing. A comprehensive site safety plan tailor-made to a particular project will help your workers avoid small incidents and follow protocols to sufficiently address serious catastrophes on work sites. Your companys
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site specific safety plan must comply with Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation. Compliance not only ensures that your management and safety plans adhere to current legislation but they are also your passport to landing projects that are either directly or indirectly funded by the Australian government, which are given only to builders that have acquired the legitimate construction compliance. Because the government will always be working to improve infrastructure to entice further investment and to develop cities and such, youll always get business even as the home construction industry remains stalled. Most of the time, word-of-mouth works for many businesses in any industry, which helps improve bottom lines. The same could be said for construction. But dont just rely on practices, even if they work, to build your business. Ensure your road to success by acquiring the right credentials that allow you to get every kind of project.

What Your Site Safety Plan Needs To Have

Every job site is different. Even when your construction company specializes in, for instance, real estate development, your workers will still be carrying out different tasks for each project whether its a high-rise residential building or a housing development in the suburbs. The work will essentially vary according to the scale of the project, the specification, the location, the timeline, and the allocated budget. It only makes sense, therefore, to implement a site safety plan that corresponds exactly to what the project calls for so you guarantee safe working conditions and deliver a quality project.

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Your job sites safety plan will act as a kind of blueprint of how you and your workers establish and implement a set of processes that will allow for seamless work, especially in cases when potential risks are involved beyond the normal level. When your work site calls for handling chemicals, your safety plan will need to feature specific procedures that address everything from use and disposal to safety protocols in the event of an accident that involves the hazardous material. This will ensure that your workers and the immediate surrounding environment are protected from any unfortunate incident or, in cases when it cannot be avoided, everyone will at least be prepared enough to act accordingly to minimize impact. A thorough description of emergency procedures is necessary to save lives and reduce property damage. If your building project needs to be constructed in areas where earthquakes, unstable weather conditions, or landslides are to be expected, your site specific safety plan needs to outline clear and comprehensible instructions for your workers and, not to be neglected, identify the designated worker assigned to oversee or manage this specific procedure. Its important to keep your safety plan as concise, complete, and comprehensible as possible. If your plan is muddied with unnecessary details, filled with incomprehensible language, and generally impossible to implement, your workers will be confused, leaving your work site dangerously vulnerable to accidents and accidents cost money. Your construction company could either be fined by the state and federal government for not properly implementing safety policies specified in current legislation or you could very well lose a lot of money from work delays and from answering to liabilities. The site specific safety plan may just be a compilation of papers, but its one of the more important documents your construction company needs to have and implement. Make sure your companys site safety plan is easy to read, easy to follow, and easily amended for state and federal compliance. With a tightly written safety plan, you guarantee safe working conditions for your men no matter what job site theyre in andwhether its a real estate development or government funded infrastructureyou ensure delivery of quality projects every single time.
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Using A Construction Safety Plan Ensures Employee Health And Company Profits
Some construction companies use a basic safeguarding process for all their projects, but more often than not these simple company guidelines are not compliant with current health and safety regulations. In other cases, a construction company may have a complete and up-to-date safety plan, only it is not strictly implemented. The owners of such companies reason out that they have rarely experienced worker injuries even if they use rudimentary safety provisions, or that employee injuries in the workplace are often minor, making efforts for carrying out extra safety precautions seem like a waste of the companys precious resources. In the end, because of the low incidence of workplace injuries and the financial protection that insurance offers for the health and safety of their employees, a lot of construction operators tend to think that using a construction safety plan offers little value to the companys operations. However, experts in business will contest this opinion and insist that a well-implemented construction safety plan not only helps ensure the health and safety of employees, but can also contribute to the companys profits and future success, listing three ways that a comprehensive safety plan can boost a companys growth: Increased work efficiency and productivity: With a manual to guide workers for every project, there will be no confusion as to how to perform every task safely. In addition, workers can focus their attention on their responsibilities since they are not plagued by worry about their personal well-being or doubt as to the safety of their assignments. With construction safety guidelines eliminating confusion and anxieties at work, employees can work faster and more efficiently, which ultimately saves money for the company. Better company image: Clients seeking to work with a construction company may evaluate not only items listed in the companys bid proposal, such as history of operations and management guidelines, but also other things that contribute to the companys reputation, such as
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records for employee injuries and the companys means of dealing with such. Having a construction safety plan that is compliant with current regulations indicates that a company is committed not only to employee health and well-being, but also to excellence. The boost in image that a detailed plan for health and safety provides can help construction companies win contracts for more projects. Financial savings: Although stricter implementation and extra safety measures do use up some of the companys resources, the amount spent for such cannot be compared with the cost of compensation for an employee that incurs injury at work. Spending on a construction safety plan can prevent bigger expenditures, giving life to the adage that, An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Master Your Business With An Integrated Management System

Businesses have a lot of things going for them. There are business owners or entrepreneurs who go about their demands and study these demands as they come, while there are those who prefer to streamline their operations by creating a plan that already includes the numerous what if situations that may come as opportunities for expansion pour in. An integrated management system (IMS) is important in making sure that your business is ready for whatever the future may bring. So what is an IMS? There are so many management systems nowadayscant one just cover all the requirements? Well, they have specific purposes and to achieve the best results, you have to make every management system required for your business to work hand in hand. The integrated management system, just like its name, integrates a businesss processes into a cohesive system, ensuring that all efforts are directed to the best accomplishment of the sole objective. Its used to enhance the overall performance of the business because every department works towards the same goal. The IMS presents the
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complete picture so all the members of the business know what their contribution should be, instantly lessening unnecessary or superfluous efforts. It also creates the best strategies or techniques to maximize resources and drive the business to full efficacy. Creating an integrated management system allows businesses to prioritize effectively; there are no scattered efforts which often result in requiring workers to take on tasks that may not be part of their job description or up their alley just to cater to demands or meet deadlines. By having a clear set of priorities, your business gets to stick to them in an energy and time-efficient manner. Another important advantage of the IMS is that it helps business owners determine the help that they need, be they manual workforce or tools and gadgets. There are tasks that may be too tricky or even impossible to accomplish with the provided time period. With the IMS, the organization gets to explore all viable options to ensure that the work is done without compromising the final output; it may be time to take in more employees who will be particularly effective in the departments where they will be placed in, or acquire more equipment to increase productivity. When the prospects of profitability are great, diving into that venture could be incredibly tempting. Before deciding to take it on, its imperative that as a business owner, you would make sure that you are the good master of your own business operations. Create an IMS and you will increase both your businesss productivity and profitability and youll also have workers who are happy with their jobs.

OHS Management System: Three Advantages For Construction Companies

The construction business has proven to be one of the most profitable fields of industry, especially since a lot of countries and cities around the world are pushing towards urban development. With more companies offering construction services, its easy to overlook other seemingly minor details such as employee health and safety in the workplace to
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prioritize more important endeavours such as getting more clients. What most business owners fail to realize, however, is that their workers form the core of their operations; without an Occupational Health and Safety manual, or OHS management system, implemented at work, a company risks injuring its workers, which can eventually lead to dire consequences for the companys future. Some construction business owners are still reluctant to use of OHS manuals, saying that such systems appear to be of little value; these people often cite low incidences of workplace injuries or fatalities, as well as ample financial coverage from workers health insurance as reasons for not using a complete and updated OHS management system for their projects. To effectively make the case for using OHS manuals in the workplace, experts in the construction industry offer the following advantages: Decreased risk for lawsuits: One of the legal requirements for operation in the construction business is providing OHS-compliant guidelines that the company will use for every project. Without such a document, a company will be completing construction projects illegally, which can result in not only job closures, but also lawsuits from clients. In addition, workers who have sustained injuries in the workplace can sue for the companys negligence in complying with safety regulations. All these can spell financial troubles for the company, damaged reputations, as well as loss of future clients, resulting in reduced company profits and growth. Enhanced employee performance and productivity: Using an OHS management system for every project can offer workers with clear guidelines on the safe operations of machinery and other equipment. Such well-defined rules for performing tasks can clear up confusion in the workplace, saving precious time and effort that would have been used in educating workers had there been no manual to follow in the first place. In addition to clearing up issues with safe operations, having a manual also minimizes worries about safety among workers, allowing
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them to focus on the task at hand. With less disorder and anxieties, individual employee performance is enhanced, and the company ultimately functions better as a whole. More financial returns: With OHS compliance and high productivity, a construction company can easily win bid contracts from clients, increasing the companys projects and thus, profits. In addition to earning more revenues, the company will save money on costly lawsuits and workers compensation, expenditures that the company will have to face if they do not use an up-to-date OHS management system.

A Quality Management System Can Save LongServing Workers

Because of the fickle economic climate, a lot of companies nowadays are forced to cut costs by laying off some of their employees. Most of the time, those workers that get the automatic cut are those who are already nearing the retirement age. Theres nothing worse for a loyal worker than to be dismissed just like that after years (or even decades) of dedicated service, but sometimes it just cannot be avoided desperate times call for desperate measures. A lot of business experts claim, however, that while its true that theres an on-going trend among business industries to scale down their operations, there are strategies that can be employed to save longserving workers from getting the axe. One of the most important strategies is by creating a quality management system (QMS). But isnt that just designed to protect clients interests? Well, a QMS does that, but it actually does so much more and that includes protecting workers rights as well. Great quality service and products cannot be created without dedicated and loyal employees; its important to remember that especially if youre inclined to focus more on reducing costs. A quality
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management system can help you gain a better understanding of the nature of your businesss expenses. Instead of directing your attention to the people you need to pay every month, shoot down the other areas that may not be contributing positively to the overall productivity of the company. One of the vital reasons why a QMS can save your long-serving workers is that it will reveal the experience that these workers have in ensuring the smooth operations of the business. Oftentimes, younger and newer employees just dont have common sense and experience in running your business operations or dealing with your clients in the most accommodating and effective manner. Your frequent clients may also not respond well to the change and may take time to develop the trust and rapport they had with your senior workers. The inclusion of this concern in your quality management system will allow you to take a step back and further weigh all the pros and cons, quality-wise, of keeping these workers. A QMS provides you with foresight about sustaining your business as it is first and foremost about pushing quality forward to ensure that your business will last for a very long time. With the current mind-set of most young workers focused on looking for greener pastures, your business will suffer from the effects of frequent worker turnovers. So before you decide to let go of your senior employees, study or recreate your quality management system manual; it will surely present you with the answer that youve been looking for.

ISO 9001 Quality Management System Paves The Right Path For The Business Industry
Starting a business is rarely easy. The financing aspect alone is enough to discourage a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs. The prospect of success can easily be tainted by the difficulty of creating a plan and submitting all the requirements to be granted fit or suitable to start a business by authorities. The whole process can be quite intimidating, especially if presented in the technical language of conventional systems, and this is one of the reasons why the ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS)
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has been deemed incredibly helpful and informative especially for business newbies. While there are still a lot of technical terminologies present in an ISO 9001 QMS, the explanations are quite easy to comprehend. All the standards and policies are laid down in an incredibly systematic manner that first-timers can determine if they are applicable to their industry or not. The even nicer thing is that the ISO 9001 quality management system also has templates or samples that people can pattern their work on. Taking advantage of this provision instantly provides business newbies with a less stressful process of turning their percolating business ideas into a fully compliant system thats also greatly productive and profitable. The ISO 9001 QMS was created to ensure that business operations only produce good quality service or products. In this time and age when quality is of utmost importance, a fixed set of guidelines, policies and standards make it easier for business industries to only produce good quality output and make sure as well that their operations determine this. All the controversy that may surround a questionable production process can be avoided once a company gains certification or becomes labeled compliant. Take the Kardashian sisters, for example; their clothing company (which supposedly outsourced labour to China) was targeted by militant groups because it was revealed in a video that the conditions at their production headquarters in China did not reflect compliance with the standards set by the ISO. The Hollywood socialites and business-savvy sisters, however, managed to defend their company effectively by stressing their compliance with the rules and policies set for the industry their business belongs to. The matter was eventually dismissed as purely a publicity stunt. A company that has certification or has been labeled compliant always has a big advantage, especially in attracting investors or other opportunities. A certification or the seal of compliance is an assurance that a company really upholds the right business path which is to ensure quality in all its efforts.
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Environmental Management System: EMS Advantages For Business Owners

When running a construction company, its very important for business owners to make sure that every single thing that they use or do adds value to the companys operations. Getting the best equipment, hiring the most skilled labourers, and brainstorming for effective marketing strategies are some tasks deemed essential by those in the construction business. Of course, ensuring the safety of employees should also be at the top of the list of priorities for a business owner; however, some construction companies tend to argue that using the latest and most comprehensive environmental management system isnt really all that important, especially since the environment appears to have very little impact on the jobs and finances related to construction. This belief, however, is not entirely correct. Whether a construction project is set to be built on protected land or an assignment calls for the use of timber, the environment has massive effects on the business and viceversa. Business owners who are still uncertain as to the value of using an environmental management system are advised to consider the following advantages that using an EMS offers: Better compliance with legislation: Every construction project is required to submit an EMS detailing how the company will handle issues with the environment. Without such a document, a company risks illegal operations, which can result in heavy penalties. This will have negative effects not only on the companys state of finances, but on the establishments reputation in the industry as well. Improved use of resources: Building a structure requires enormous use of resources, whether its natural materials like wood or processed supplies like cement. In addition, construction projects yield great amounts of waste. With an environmental management system, companies can ensure that every project uses resources wisely and that wastes generated are dealt with accordingly. Such policies can help take care of the health of the environment while ensuring cost-efficient use of materials, and thus, maximized savings for the company.
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More marketing and finance opportunities: Using an EMS isnt strictly for the benefit of the environment; the practices that come with its use can be used to boost the company image as well. A regulationcompliant environmental management system can be used by the companys marketers to show that the company promotes responsible resource use and demonstrates environmental awareness, which is a quality that both clients and financing institutions hold in high esteem. Increased potential to win contracts: Most large clients and government agencies choose to deal only with companies that show support for the environment. With an EMS included in the bid proposal, a company increases the likelihood of working with these elusive clients. And by making it possible to have bigger projects to work on, being environment-friendly can guarantee the companys growth and success in the future.

Prove Your Workplace Is Toxin-free By Using An Environmental Management Plan Template

There are times when business operations cause a disturbance in nature. For example, in the Philippines, the building of a malls parking space has caused quite a stir because it required the uprooting of centuries-old pine trees. Environmental groups condemned the effort because the city was already suffering from the effects of the increased real estate development within the area, which included flooding and frequent landslides. The mall, however, still got the parking lot despite the demonstrations all over the country. Want to know how? The mall had presented an environmental management plan (EMP) which was
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approved by the countrys Department of Environment and Natural Resources. In other countries, the environmental impact of certain industries are just as controversial nobody can forget how Erin Brockovich drew attention to the improper waste disposal of a particular chemical plant which had badly contaminated not only the water but also the soil of a small American town. Proving the workplace of your business is toxin-free is immensely important nowadays. No business wants negative publicity because it can lead to several rounds of inspections that may eventually lead to the closing down of the business. This can easily be avoided with a carefully drawn-up EMP. There are so many policies and standards to follow and its a momentous task to address all of them, especially when youre in experiencing time constraints. Creating an EMP does not need to take long, especially with the help of an environmental management plan template. If youre still at a loss as to how to provide all the vital information to prove that your work-place is toxin-free, the environmental management plan template will surely be a great help to you. Its very easy to customize that. All you really need to do is supply your methods or strategies to appropriately address all the policies included in a standard EMP. With this template, you can organize all your data in a systematic manner so you can finish this requirement for complete compliance or certification faster. An environmental management plan template can easily transform the usual tedious process of creating an EMP into a painless experience that involves gathering data that you already have and presenting effective strategies. From reinforcing your claim that your business operations will inflict no unregulated impact on the environment and the members of the community, to utilizing an innovative method in ensuring the safety of the operationsin the end, all of these are achievable by using an EMP template.
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Go Solo And Create Your Businesss Quality Management Plan Yourself

A small business has its advantages. Firstly, you reduce costs by doing things yourself; secondly, you get to create your own unique approach in achieving your business objectives; and thirdly, you get to follow your instincts and pay close attention to the quality of your service or products according to your personal standards. Naturally, because of the size of your business, its also easier to create a quality management plan (QMP) you can do it yourself and in a matter of hours. There are lots of downloadable quality management plan templates available online for those who may not have a clear idea on how to create one. The templates are customizable and users will surely have an easy time determining which policies apply (or do not apply) to their operations. If youre a one-woman business, you are likely to have a firm grasp of the workings of your business so supplying the appropriate information and answers will be an easy thing to do you wont need to refer to other people. Another advantage of creating a QMP yourself is that you can direct most attention to the areas that you feel will really determine the path of your business you have all that control. Since you are in charge of all the operations, you can focus most of your efforts on catering to the needs of your customers or clients. A business expert even shared that if you focus on the interests of your community and not just your own products, you are likely to end up with loyal customers. By following this strategy and incorporating it in your QMP, you not only enhance the quality of your products but you create the quality that will impact the sustainability of your business and the great thing is, you did it all on your own and with no extra costs! Eventually, however, as your business expands, bigger and more demands will pour in; naturally you will need to expand your QMP and
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along with it you will definitely need to hire extra hands to accommodate the growth of your business. No fear, however, because your initial quality management plan will provide the foundation for your new QMP. Instead of handling all the responsibilities that your QMP dictates, you will already have the confidence and level of authority to just oversee your operation and learn the new dynamics of a bigger operational procedure. You may have people in your employ but you will remain to be the one who knows best about your business.

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