Emergency Response Plan for a Residential Construction Site

An emergency response plan is the document a residential builder will reach for during the worst day of a project. A fall, a fire, an electrical contact, a heart attack in the site shed. Each demands an immediate, ordered response. The model WHS Regulations require every workplace, including a construction site of any size, to have a written plan in place. The plan does not have to be long, but it has to be specific to the site and known to every person on it.

What it is

An emergency response plan is the written set of procedures the workforce follows when something goes wrong. Regulation 43 of the model WHS Regulations sets the duty. The plan must cover effective response to an emergency, evacuation procedures, notification of emergency services at the earliest opportunity, medical treatment and assistance, effective communication between the person authorising the procedures and everyone on site, testing of the procedures at suitable intervals and information and training for all workers.

Site specific contents

For a residential build the plan should sit on one or two pages at the site office, with a shorter version at the site entry. Minimum content covers the site address with cross streets so an ambulance can find it at night. Contact numbers for the supervisor, the principal contractor and 000. The location of the muster point, usually a fixed point on the verge or the neighbouring footpath clear of the structure. The nearest emergency department with its street address and travel time. The location of the first aid kit, fire extinguishers and isolation points for power and gas.

First aid

The First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice sets the baseline. A construction workplace is treated as higher risk. The Code recommends one trained first aider for every 25 workers in a high risk workplace, with a fully stocked first aid kit at the site office and a portable kit travelling with mobile crews. Eye wash, burn dressings, trauma pads and a defibrillator should be on site for any project over a few weeks. The defibrillator is not mandatory but the cost is trivial against the survival rate from cardiac arrest with one within three minutes.

The first aider's name and contact number should appear on the site board and in the induction pack. On a residential site with five or fewer workers a single nominated person trained to HLTAID011 (Provide First Aid) usually meets the duty.

Evacuation and muster

The evacuation procedure should describe how the alarm is raised, the path to the muster point, the head count process and the handover to emergency services on arrival. On a small residential site the alarm is often an air horn or a shouted call. On a larger project a battery powered siren with a documented test cycle is the better choice. The muster point sits clear of the structure, clear of overhead powerlines and clear of vehicle traffic. The headcount uses the site sign in record, which is why a paper or electronic sign in that is current is critical to the plan working at all.

Nearest hospital and emergency contacts

The plan should list the nearest hospital with an emergency department by name, street address and approximate drive time, plus the nearest after hours general practice if the closest hospital is more than 30 minutes away. Emergency contacts cover police, fire and ambulance on 000, poison information on 13 11 26, the relevant state WHS regulator notification line for serious injuries and the principal contractor's nominated 24 hour contact. The local electricity distributor and gas network operator should appear on the same list because contact with services is one of the most common serious incidents on a residential site.

Test, train and review

Regulation 43 requires testing the plan at suitable intervals. A quarterly walk through of the evacuation route with the on site crew is enough for most residential projects. The plan should be reviewed when the structure changes significantly, when a new high risk activity starts and after any actual emergency or near miss.