Consultation and Communication

Purpose

RPD consults and communicates with workers, subcontractors, service providers, clients, residents and other duty holders so everyone understands the WHS information they need — both before work starts and as it proceeds.

Consultation happens through site inductions, daily sign-in questions, pre-starts, toolbox talks, SWMS briefings, hazard and incident reporting, worker feedback, service provider coordination and project communication. Breadcrumb holds the live consultation and site communication records. PIMS holds formal findings, non-conformances, trends and management review evidence.

Procedure

Field	Requirement
Applies when	RPD communicates WHS information, consults workers or service providers, coordinates with other PCBUs, responds to client/resident issues, or records site consultation.
Owner	Project Manager owns project communication and consultation arrangements. Site Supervisor runs day-to-day site communication. Workers and service providers must participate and report WHS issues.
Before work starts	Confirm site induction, SWMS briefing, daily sign-in questions, emergency arrangements, site rules, permits, reporting routes, resident/public controls and consultation arrangements are in place.
Minimum controls	Consult before work starts and when conditions change. Give workers a reasonable opportunity to raise WHS issues. Record inductions, sign-ins, toolbox talks, SWMS briefings, site alerts and agreed actions in Breadcrumb. The Project Manager may set up a project WhatsApp group for quick day-to-day communication, but required WHS records must still be kept in Breadcrumb, PIMS or the project file.
Hold point	Do not start work where the worker has not completed the required induction/sign-in, has not been briefed on the SWMS, or reports missing critical controls such as exclusion zones, edge protection or silica controls.
Breadcrumb function	Inductions, daily sign-in, worker attendance, toolbox talks, site alerts, SWMS briefings, hazard reports, incident reports, corrective-action task tracking and worker communication.
Stop / escalate	Stop or escalate work where a worker reports missing controls, changed conditions, unclear SWMS, unsafe service provider behaviour, resident/public risk, design risk, or a high-risk issue raised through daily sign-in.

Internal Communication

Before working on site, workers, subcontractors and relevant service providers must complete a site-specific induction. Visitors may receive a shortened induction covering the main site hazards, emergency arrangements and escort requirements.

RPD identifies worker and service provider WHS needs through site inductions, daily sign-in questions, pre-starts, toolbox talks, hazard and incident reports, worker feedback, consultation arrangements and daily supervisor contact. This information is used to update site controls, SWMS, communication methods and training needs.

The Project Manager may establish a WhatsApp group for each project to support quick project communication between RPD, supervisors and relevant workers or service providers. WhatsApp can be used for short coordination messages, site access updates, urgent reminders, photos of site conditions and prompts to check Breadcrumb. It must not replace formal WHS records. Any WHS decision, instruction, incident, hazard, corrective action, permit, SWMS change or client/design communication that must be retained as evidence is recorded in Breadcrumb, PIMS or the project file.

Daily pre-starts, toolbox talks and supervisor briefings are used to discuss:

changed hazards, access restrictions, weather, residents/public interface and work sequencing
current WHS risks and required controls
SWMS, permits, hold points and exclusion zones
incidents, hazards, audit findings and PIMS findings relevant to the work
corrective actions and non-conformances
worker and subcontractor feedback
performance against WHS objectives, targets and project requirements.

Toolbox talks and pre-starts are recorded in Breadcrumb, including attendance, topics, worker feedback and actions.

RPD uses daily worker sign-in questions in Breadcrumb to confirm key controls before work starts. The questions are split into primary questions asked of all workers and a conditional silica branch that appears only when the worker confirms silica-generating work for that day.

Primary Questions - All Workers

Question	Response options	Breadcrumb rule
Q1 - Exclusion Zone: Before I start work - is an exclusion zone established around my work area or below my work area?	Yes / No / N/A	A "No" response must trigger a Project Manager alert.
Q2 - Edge Protection: Before I start work - is edge protection in place at all exposed edges above 1.5m?	Yes / No / N/A	A "No" response must trigger a Project Manager alert.
Q3 - Silica Work Today: Will I be carrying out any silica-generating work today? cutting, grinding, core drilling, jackhammering	Yes / No	If "Yes", display Q3a, Q3b and Q3c. If "No", sign-in is complete.

Conditional Silica Branch - Display Only When Q3 = Yes

Question	Response options	Breadcrumb rule
Q3a - Task Type: What silica work am I planning to do?	Multi-select: Cutting / Grinding / Core drilling / Jackhammering / Other	Must allow multi-select.
Q3b - Engineering Controls: Before I start - is wet suppression or on-tool HEPA extraction fitted and ready on tools?	Yes / No	Must appear before Q3c because engineering controls come before PPE in the hierarchy of controls.
Q3c - Respiratory Protection: Before I start - do I have my P2 respirator mask and will I wear it in the dust zone?	Yes / No	Confirms respiratory protection after engineering controls are checked.

Where a response identifies missing exclusion zones, missing edge protection or missing silica controls, work must not start until the Site Supervisor or Project Manager confirms the control is in place.

External Communication

Project Managers manage external WHS communication with clients, principal contractors, building managers, strata managers, residents, consultants, designers, regulators and service providers.

External communication may include RFIs, client directions, resident or strata complaints, regulator contact, building manager instructions, design/practitioner advice, access restrictions, traffic or pedestrian controls, noisy works, special events and work that affects occupied buildings.

Where communication changes the work method, sequencing, design risk, access, public interface, permit, SWMS or emergency arrangement, the Project Manager must confirm the change is communicated to affected workers and recorded in the project file, Breadcrumb or PIMS as required.

Design and Building Practitioners Act Coordination

Where work is carried out on a regulated building or involves work to which the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) and related regulations apply, RPD must coordinate communication with the client, building practitioner, registered design practitioner, principal design practitioner, engineer, certifier or other relevant duty holder as applicable.

No work is to proceed on a regulated design, design variation, building element or performance solution until the required design information, compliance declarations, approvals or directions have been confirmed by the responsible party. Any uncertainty about DBP Act requirements must be escalated to the Project Manager before work continues.

Records and Evidence

Record	System / location	Evidence required
Site induction	Breadcrumb	Worker, subcontractor or visitor induction record, site rules, emergency information and acknowledgement.
Daily worker sign-in	Breadcrumb	Attendance, Q1/Q2/Q3 responses, silica branch responses where triggered, alerts and close-out evidence.
PM alert from sign-in	Breadcrumb / project file / PIMS where formal	Alert, response, control verification, work status and close-out.
SWMS briefing	Breadcrumb	Worker sign-on, task scope, controls, hold points and issues raised.
Toolbox talk / pre-start	Breadcrumb	Date, attendees, topics, worker feedback, agreed actions and close-out.
Site alerts and worker communication	Breadcrumb	Alert content, affected workers, issue date and acknowledgement where required.
Project WhatsApp group	WhatsApp for quick communication; Breadcrumb/PIMS/project file for evidence	Project group set-up, participants, key site communication and any follow-up record transferred to the correct evidence location where required.
External communication	Project file / email / external communication register	RFIs, client directions, resident complaints, regulator contact, design/practitioner advice and responses.
Formal finding or non-conformance	PIMS	Audit finding, root cause, corrective action, owner, due date, close-out and effectiveness check.
DBP Act communication	Project file / client-design record	Design information, declarations, directions, approvals and responsible party communication.

Quick Guide

Step	What RPD checks
1. Induct first	Workers and service providers understand site hazards, emergency arrangements, reporting routes and site rules.
2. Use daily sign-in	Workers answer the Breadcrumb daily sign-in questions before starting work.
3. Act on alerts	Q1 or Q2 "No" responses trigger a Project Manager alert and work does not start until controls are confirmed.
4. Keep silica branch clean	Q3a to Q3c only appear when Q3 is "Yes" for silica-generating work.
5. Keep engineering before PPE	Q3b stays before Q3c so wet suppression or HEPA extraction is checked before respirator use.
6. Consult during the work	Use pre-starts, toolbox talks, SWMS briefings, hazard reports, worker feedback and project WhatsApp messages to keep people informed.
7. Coordinate externally	Record client, resident, regulator and design/practitioner communication where it affects WHS.
8. Keep evidence out of WhatsApp	Transfer any WHS decision, hazard, incident, corrective action or SWMS change from WhatsApp into Breadcrumb, PIMS or the project file.
9. Escalate formal issues	Move repeat, high-risk, overdue or systemic issues from Breadcrumb into PIMS.