AutoQ content pack
Construction Site Safety Review
This review assesses whether the controls that protect workers, visitors and the public from physical hazards on the construction site are designed well and operating as intended.
The pack is a complete control questionnaire, ready to run on AutoQ Standalone or Enterprise Version 3.1 alongside your other reviews, with its own installer. Your team answers each control and records the evidence it inspected, and AutoQ writes the statement of fact, risk, effect and recommendation for every answer, rates each domain and produces the reports.
High-risk controls are those where a failure could most directly cause a fatality or serious injury.
Who it's for
- Health and safety managers and site managers
- Internal audit and assurance teams
- Principal contractors checking their subcontractors
- Safety consultants
When to use it
- A site safety audit before or during a project
- A periodic review across several sites
- Preparation for a regulatory inspection or client audit
What it covers
Site Management and Planning
20 controls, 6 of them high risk
High-risk focus: a current site-specific safety plan, designated competent persons, risk assessment before each activity, site inductions, required training, and regular competent person inspections.
Examples of the controls:
- A site-specific safety plan is prepared before work starts, approved by the project manager and kept current as the work changes.
- Competent persons are designated in writing for each activity that requires one, including scaffolds, excavations, fall protection and cranes.
- A named site manager is accountable for safety on site, and safety responsibilities for supervisors and workers are documented and communicated.
Working at Height
20 controls, 12 of them high risk
High-risk focus: protection of edges of 6 feet or more, covered floor openings, inspected fall arrest equipment, rescue plans, scaffold design and inspection, aerial lift controls, and protection from falling objects.
Examples of the controls:
- A fall protection plan identifies every work at height activity and the means of protection, prioritizing collective protection over personal fall arrest.
- Workers exposed to falls of 6 feet (1.8 m) or more at unprotected sides, edges and leading edges are protected by guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems.
- Guardrail systems have a top rail at 42 inches (plus or minus 3 inches), midrails and the required strength, and are inspected after any alteration.
Plant, Equipment and Excavation
20 controls, 12 of them high risk
High-risk focus: lift plans, certified crane operators, crane inspections, power line clearances, swing radius control, traffic management, utility location, excavation protective systems and daily excavation inspections.
Examples of the controls:
- Every crane lift has a lift plan, and critical lifts (near capacity, tandem, over occupied areas or personnel) have an engineered plan approved by a qualified person.
- Crane operators are certified or qualified for the type and capacity of crane they operate, and evaluated by the employer.
- Riggers and signal persons are qualified, and signals are agreed before lifts.
Hazardous Work and Health
20 controls, 8 of them high risk
High-risk focus: a permit-to-work system, hot work and confined space controls, GFCI protection, lockout, live electrical work controls, and silica, asbestos and lead exposure controls.
Examples of the controls:
- High-risk activities (hot work, confined space entry, energized electrical work, excavation, critical lifts) are controlled by a permit-to-work system.
- Hot work has fire watch, combustibles removed or protected, and extinguishers at hand, and the area is checked after work finishes.
- Hazardous chemicals on site are inventoried with current safety data sheets, labeled, and workers are trained on their hazards.
Emergency Response and Site Security
20 controls, 4 of them high risk
High-risk focus: an emergency action plan, first aid cover on every shift, timely regulatory notification of serious injuries, and protection of the public.
Examples of the controls:
- An emergency action plan covers fire, medical emergencies, collapse, severe weather and spills, and names responsibilities and assembly points.
- Trained first aiders and stocked first aid kits are available on every shift, and an automated external defibrillator is accessible.
- Emergency drills are held at least every six months, and lessons learned are acted on.
Frameworks
Every control carries references to OSHA 29 CFR 1926 / 1904 and ISO 45001:2018, so findings can be tied to the criteria your audit uses.
Criteria references mapped from OSHA 29 CFR Part 1926 (Safety and Health Regulations for Construction) and Part 1904 (Recording and Reporting) and from ISO 45001:2018 clauses. Blank where no construction standard applies directly. Outside the United States, map to your local regulations. Verify against the editions your audit uses.
What's in the workbook
| Control Library | Every control with its domain and subdomain, the control assertion, type, nature, frequency and risk weight, the framework references, the suggested test procedure, the evidence to request, the statements of fact if true and if false, the effect if false and the recommendation. |
|---|---|
| Questionnaire | The working sheet the review team answers, control by control, with the evidence they inspected; AutoQ fills in the findings from the answers. |
| Domain Summary | The rating of each domain, weighted by risk, ready for the report. |
| Column Guide | What every column means and how it is used. |
| Sources | The framework editions the references were mapped from, with a column for the reviewer to record the date each reference was checked. |
Delivered with its own installer, which adds it to AutoQ as a new review (or as a .zip to add on the Admin tab). The questionnaire is an Excel workbook, so it can be adapted with your own controls and ratings.
The framework references were mapped from the published texts and should be checked by a qualified safety professional against the editions your audit uses. Outside the United States, map them to the regulations that apply locally. The pack supports a review; it does not replace professional judgement or the requirements of your regulator.