Master Builders Victoria has been working with stakeholders to review the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidelines for the Building and Construction Industry, particularly in relation to hoists and lifts. Revision 4 of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidelines dated 24 June 2020 has now been approved.
 
This revision contains an amendment to Clause 3.7 of the Guidelines with respect to occupancy of hoists and lifts and control measures. These amendments have been endorsed by DHHS and checked to ensure that they can be implemented in accordance with regulatory occupational health and obligations and guidance material from WorkSafe Victoria. They are also in line with the advice from the office of the Victorian Chief Health Officer.  
 
Essentially, Site Safety Committees are empowered to undertake a risk assessment of the control measures on their own sites to determine the appropriate occupancy for the particular size, configuration and use of the hoists and lifts. Specifically, in relation to the control measures for occupancy of hoists and lifts, Clause 3.7 of the Guidelines now provides a suite of measures which must be considered by the site safety committee (or HSRs) and applied on site where relevant. 

New to Version 4 of the Guidelines is the option to conduct temperature screening of workers and the provision to individuals of P2 face masks when travelling in hoists and lifts. WorkSafe Victoria has also produced a simple checklist of site-wide control measures which may be used as a broad site audit of compliance with recommended measures such as hygiene, workplace mapping, employee screening and physical distancing.
 
Note that not all sites will be able to adopt all available measures, therefore occupancy of hoists and lifts of a similar size may differ among sites.  The Industry Taskforce encourages the attendance on site by the Industry Liaison Officer, Michael Paynter, to assist the safety committee consideration with the risk assessment of their site and hoists/lifts. Michael can be contacted by phone on 0418 268 555 or email: [email protected]
 
For any further enquires please contact the MBV OHS team on (03) 9411 4555.
 
Click here for Version 4 of the Guidelines for the Building and Construction Industry.