Managing construction health risks: Assess

You cannot properly control construction health risks without first having clear plans. This page gives an overview of what you need to do and how you need to do it.

What and how

Think about the health risks you create and the steps you need to take to manage them before you start work. This means:

The extent and detail of this plan depends very much upon the work you do and the number of people you employ. Detailed or complex planning is not needed for a small company but may be more appropriate for a larger organisation.

Common health hazards affecting construction workers include asbestos, construction dust overview, lifting and carrying, noise, vibration, cement and lead. Other health risks can be found in the A – Z topic list.

Information on assessing specific hazards can be found in the key topic areas; Cancer in Construction, Controlling Hazardous Substances overview and Controlling Physical Risks.There is more general information in Health and safety basics for your business .

A Leadership and Worker Involvement Toolkit has been developed by the construction industry to help contractors and managers in these areas. More general information about involving workers on health issues is also available.

Updated 2022-11-01