Cladding Safety Victoria’s (CSV) team of independent inspectors are providing additional quality and safety assurances as part of its Clerk of Works initiative.
The Clerk of Works aims to ensure the program adheres to the contract schedule, quality and health and safety management requirements.
It is part of Victoria’s Cladding Rectification Program, which aims to remove potentially dangerous cladding from the highest risk residential buildings.
CSV’s Construction Quality and Safety Manager, Joanne Tyrrell, said a team of independent inspectors has been assembled to provide additional quality and safety assurance and oversight during the delivery of the $600 million program.
“The clerks are a direct link between CSV and the construction sites and by extension, to owners corporations,” Tyrrell said.
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“A clerk will be assigned to each individual project and attend site regularly throughout rectification.
“We want to support a strong culture of quality and safety and promote accountability on site.”
Cladding rectification on 200 buildings is now completed or are underway. Another 53 have funding agreements in place and will progress towards cladding removal during 2021.
CSV’s Chief Executive Dan O’Brien said the Clerk of Work program has attracted many high-calibre practitioners.
“The Clerk of Works program doesn’t replace the requirement of builders to meet all of the health, safety, quality and contractual obligations. It’s an added layer of quality control as we deliver the program,” O’Brien said.
The clerks conduct site inspections with a focus on safety, structural integrity, quality of workmanship, correct material use, and making sure that work is done in line with design and product installation manuals.
Anne-Laure Chappat, one of the clerks working in the program, said each inspection is specific to the individual project and has a different focus depending how far works have progressed.
“In terms of safety, we pay close attention to things such as scaffold installation, traffic management and safe work practice. On the quality side we help make sure the builder is installing the replacement cladding product correctly,” Chappat said.
“A report is produced for every site visit and any actions assigned to the project manager or builder can be recorded and followed up. The clerks follow all the relevant standards, codes and installation guidelines, so there should be no surprises.”