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Health, Safety & Environmental Bulletin No 084
M Mott – 3 April 2008
Managing Change
A recent review by Bovis Lend Lease has identified “Change” as a key contributor to many of the
incidents reported to them.
“Change” can occur in a multitude of ways that can affect our health and safety; this can include a
change in the weather, an increase of traffic flow on the site, or a problem with the validation
documents requiring a design change. It is important whenever change occurs, to stop and re-evaluate
the risks of the work. Any additional risks must be identified on your clearance certificate and
appropriate control measures implemented to control the risks.
MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE
The site specific conditions change frequently on our projects and consequently, so do the hazards and
risks associated with the task. It is important that you assess the conditions and review/update the Job
Safety Analysis and Pre-Task Plan for the activity each time there is a change. It is particularly
important to be aware of the additional risks presented when a routine task changes due to a design,
schedule alteration, or coordination issue.
Often the task to be performed can be impacted through a design change, non typical work or site
specific conditions and subsequently the pre-task plan may not mitigate the associated risks. Before
performing the task where a design or site condition change has occurred the team should STOP, assess
the hazards, review the Pre-task plan and documentation, check that the risk has been eradicated or
managed effectively and then make certain the team members are aware of the revised plan. The
team’s review should include a Limits of Authority approach - ensuring that decisions are made with
input from the appropriate levels of management. A recent review has identified "change" as a key
contributor to many of the incidents reported. These basic steps are the framework for a Management
of Change process and should be followed to mitigate the chance of incurring an incident. Each
project/program should have a Management of Change Process in its Site Specific Safety Plan to
identify and manage areas where change has increased the level of risk.
Bovis Lend Lease Safety Spotlight 2008 Issue #02
http://careerfocus.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/333/7564/76.pdf
Being safe depends on the choices we make everyday. The right choices can save lives. We want to
share safety information and help to raise industry awareness. Safety is not about getting one over on
the competition. We need to talk openly, share what we know and make the right choices.
If you have any queries regarding the Safety Bulletin content or require further information please
contact any staff member of Xmo Strata Ltd.
