Get your site ready for Oma and severe weather

21 February 2019

With severe weather bearing down on South East Queensland, if you haven’t already started, it’s time to get your work sites in order.

Unattended sites can be a potential source of lethal flying debris and erosion and sediment control risks if appropriate precautions are not taken.

Your severe weather checklist:

1. Remove any loose material and rubbish
2. Perform a site clean-up and empty rubbish skips
3. Ensure your scaffold contractor secures and braces any on-site scaffolding. After the storm, have them inspect the scaffolding to confirm whether it’s safe to use
4. Securely fix down roofing materials, such as fascia, gutters and flashings, and lash them down if they’re not installed
5. Brace or core-fill block masonry walls
6. Add bracing to framed walls
7. Delay material deliveries until after storms have passed
8. Put site drainage in place to legal points of discharge to avoid flooding
9. Close all windows and doors to prevent any internal damage.

We’ve also developed some guidelines and recommendations on what you can do to prepare and secure scaffolding, formwork and roofing materials, as well as ensuring you’ve got erosion and sediment control in hand.

Insurance coverage

Check your building insurance cover and ensure you have the right cover for your sites for cyclonic and flooding events. We recommend you also check in with your clients, particularly for renovation projects, to ensure they have notified their insurer that renovations are taking place.

Keep the lines of communication open

If performing renovation work, ensure your client has up-to-date contact details so they can contact you in the event of a problem.

Keep yourself safe

Only perform the above actions when it’s safe to do so. If the severe weather has already arrived, the window of opportunity may be closed and you’ll need to wait.

Once the severe weather passes, it’s important to return to site and assess or repair any damage. Our post-disaster guidelines will guide you through repairing and rebuilding disaster-damaged buildings and cover off first priorities, key areas to inspect, what you must do before building work starts and repair work contracts.

For further information on how to make your sites safe or for assistance with repair and rebuild work, contact us.