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General Information

This Technical advice note is to advise of updates to NZ Transport Agency ConstructSafe Tier 1 accreditation requirements.

From 1 October 2017, all workers, without exception, are required to achieve ConstructSafe Tier 1 accreditation prior to undertaking construction work on Transport Agency networks or assets.

Requirements

All workers working in or on Transport Agency construction sites or the state highway corridor are required to have achieved a current ConstructSafe Tier 1 Accreditation. This could mean sites where construction is taking place and work is in the form of investigation, enabling, main construction or defects management, or where maintenance activities are being undertaken.

The requirement applies to:

• contractors and their sub-contractors undertaking construction or maintenance activities
• consultants and professional service providers undertaking work in or on construction or maintenance, such as:
• design construction verification 
• environmental monitoring
• management, surveillance and quality assurance review 
• geotechnical assessments.

Design activities conducted off site are not included, for example computer aided design work.
Visitors to physical work sites, or third parties undertaking delivery or collection in or on the site, are not required to have ConstructSafe Tier 1 accreditation. Such activities are subject to site visitor protocols which includes being escorted at all times by competent and authorised project representatives.

Workers from third party asset owners (for example, utilities) may be required to have ConstructSafe Tier 1 accreditation. This is dependent on the nature of the relationship and the work being undertaken.

• If the Transport Agency (directly, or via contractor or sub-contractor delivering physical works) engages utility or other companies to work on assets belonging to the utility or other companies, that are located on Transport Agency assets/road corridor, then the utility or other companies’ workers will be required to have ConstructSafe Tier 1 accreditation.
• This would apply, for example, when moving power lines as part of road construction.
• However, if a utility company (or its contractors) requires access only to its assets through Transport Agency assets/road corridor, for example when undertaking maintenance work on a power line, then the utility company’s (or its contractor’s) workers would not require ConstructSafe Tier 1 accreditation. 
• In this case, the third party asset owner’s workers would be treated as visitors – and the Transport Agency or contractor would be required to provide safe access and ensure transfer of information about adjacent work/risks.

Further information

Contact ZeroHarm@nzta.govt.nz for all NZ Transport Agency project health and safety requirement enquiries.

Contact all@constructionsafetycouncil.co.nz for all technical ConstructSafe information and testing requirements. 

Kevin Reid