Technical glossary
Definitions distinguish risk, authorisation, structural behaviour, plant, exposure, environmental processes and project responsibilities.
Risk and control language
Hazard means a source or situation with potential to cause harm. Naming the hazard begins the explanation; it does not yet describe who is exposed or how.
Exposure is the opportunity for a person or receptor to encounter a hazard. Duration, location and activity can change exposure even when the material or machine stays the same.
Consequence is the harm or loss that could result. Risk concerns the possibility of harm, considered with likelihood and consequence in the actual circumstances.
Control means a measure that eliminates or reduces risk. Remaining risk is considered after the specified controls are actually applied, not merely proposed in a document.
Elimination removes the hazard or hazardous activity. Substitution replaces it with a less hazardous alternative. The alternative still needs review for its own risks.
Isolation separates people from a hazard. In energy work, isolation also has a specific technical meaning within the relevant system; a general definition is not an isolation procedure.
Engineering control is a physical or designed measure acting on a hazard or exposure pathway. Administrative control organises work through arrangements such as instructions, scheduling or supervision.
Personal protective equipment, or PPE, protects the wearer within its limitations. Respiratory protective equipment, or RPE, is the respiratory-protection subset and needs appropriate selection and use.
Critical control is a management term for a measure especially important to preventing a serious event or limiting its consequences. Its required performance and ownership should be explicit.
Technical terms
Hazard — A source or situation with potential to cause harm.
Risk — The possibility of harm, considered with its likelihood and consequence in context.
Exposure — The opportunity for a person or receptor to come into contact with a hazard.
Consequence — The harm or loss that could result.
Control — A measure that eliminates or reduces risk.
Remaining risk — Risk considered after the specified controls have actually been applied.
Elimination — Removing the hazard or hazardous exposure from the work.
Substitution — Replacing a hazard with a less hazardous alternative.
Isolation — Separating people from a hazard.
Engineering control — A physical or designed measure that acts on a hazard or exposure pathway.
Administrative control — An arrangement such as procedures, scheduling, information or supervision.
PPE — Personal protective equipment.
RPE — Respiratory protective equipment.
SWMS — Safe work method statement; a document for relevant high-risk construction work.
DWP — Demolition work plan.
Permit — A bounded authorisation within a defined control system, not universal proof of safety.
Induction — Introduction to relevant site conditions, responsibilities and arrangements.
Pre-start — A check or briefing before work or equipment use; distinct from scheduled servicing.
Verification — Checking evidence that the required condition or control exists and works as intended.
Consultation — Sharing relevant information, hearing affected workers' views and considering them in decisions.
Load path — The connected route by which forces pass through a structure to its supports.
Compression — A pushing action within a material or member.
Tension — A pulling action within a material or member.
Bending — A response to loading that tends to curve a member.
Shear — Action tending to make parts move past one another.
Temporary works — Engineered or other temporary arrangements supporting construction or demolition needs; specialist design and control may be required.
Respirable dust — Particles small enough to reach deep into the lungs.
LEL — Lower explosive limit; the lowest flammable gas or vapour concentration in air at which flame can propagate under the relevant conditions. Percentage of LEL is not percentage gas concentration or a safe-breathing decision.
Receptor — The person, property or environmental feature potentially affected.
Change control — The process of recognising a change, reviewing affected assumptions and controls, and communicating the revised arrangement.
Air monitoring — Competently planned measurement of airborne contaminants to assess exposure and control effectiveness.
Health monitoring — Medical monitoring for health effects, carried out or supervised by an appropriately experienced doctor when required.
Hazard, exposure and harm
A source of potential harm reaches a person or environmental receptor through an exposure pathway. For example, moving material can strike a person who enters its path. The consequence depends on the material, movement and exposure involved.
Controls act on the source or interrupt the connection before harm occurs. The arrows below the main chain indicate these intervention points. A control must be in place and effective: assigning a risk score does not itself change the hazard or exposure.
Documents and authorisation language
The National Construction Code, or NCC, provides technical building and plumbing requirements through jurisdictional adoption. Its applicable edition and provisions for retained or altered work require project review.
The Building Code of Australia, or BCA, is the building component of the NCC. It is distinct from WHS codes and Australian Standard 2601; none replaces the others' applicable requirements.
A demolition work plan, or DWP, coordinates the project's intended scope, stages, resources, interfaces and controls. It needs current inputs and does not replace specialist design.
A safe work method statement, or SWMS, describes relevant high-risk construction work, its hazards and risk controls, including implementation, monitoring and review. It is not the whole project plan.
A standard operating procedure, or SOP, explains an established process or equipment-use arrangement within its stated application. It must still fit the task and conditions.
Permit to work is a bounded authorisation under a defined control system. Its conditions, scope, responsible people and status matter; it is not universal proof of safety.
Notification is information formally provided to an authority where required. Submitting it does not automatically grant approval, a licence or permission to ignore other controls.
Specification states requirements for matters such as scope, materials, performance, workmanship or finish. A drawing shows selected spatial information; both may need to be read together.
Revision identifies a changed document version. Issue purpose identifies its intended use, such as review or work instruction. A later date alone does not establish authorisation.
A request for information, or RFI, records a question about missing or conflicting information and seeks an authorised clarification. The response still needs the appropriate authority and, where it changes work, incorporation into the current project instructions. The request itself does not approve a variation.
Hold point is a defined boundary beyond which specified work does not proceed until the required review or release. Witness point provides for nominated observation under the actual project arrangements.
A safety data sheet, or SDS, describes a chemical product and relevant hazards, controls and emergency information. It does not replace a survey of unknown building materials.
Dilapidation report records observed condition at a time. It assists comparison but does not certify structural capacity or predict future movement.
Relationships between project documents
Drawings, site observations, engineering information and hazardous-material findings establish the information used for planning. The demolition work plan coordinates the project; task controls and relevant authorisations address the work being undertaken. Briefings communicate the current arrangements, while verification establishes whether those arrangements have been implemented and remain effective.
A change or inconsistency requires the affected information and decisions to be reviewed. Documents must remain consistent with both one another and the physical conditions on site. A repeated signature cannot resolve a conflict between the plan and the work.
Interpreting a control record
A control record for a material-transfer area needs to identify the activity, location, revision and intended use. These details establish whether the document applies to the work. Its supporting information and unresolved assumptions are equally important: changing a heading does not make an unrelated record applicable.
A hazard entry must explain the route to harm. Terms such as plant or debris identify a subject but not the exposure. The record needs to establish how movement or material could reach workers, visitors, neighbouring property or an environmental receptor. Deliveries and changing work areas can alter those pathways.
The control entry distinguishes measures that are proposed from those already implemented. It identifies how each measure reduces exposure, who establishes and maintains it, and what technical information it depends on. Exclusion distances and load limits require the relevant site-specific basis; they cannot be derived from a generic form.
Verification must address the condition being relied upon. A photograph may establish the location of a sign, but it cannot establish the capacity of a structural support. A signature may record acknowledgement without verifying the assumptions behind the arrangement.
If a delivery blocks the planned route, the review must address the changed movement and exposure. The revised arrangement must be communicated and obsolete instructions withdrawn from use. Traffic arrangements, the demolition work plan, relevant safe work method statements, emergency access and briefings must remain consistent. A permit authorises a defined activity under specified conditions; it does not replace unrelated technical confirmations.
Structural and drawing language
Load path is the connected route through which actions are transferred to supports and ultimately the ground. Actual paths depend on the structure, connections and condition.
Compression is a pushing action tending to shorten a member. Tension is a pulling action tending to lengthen it. Their effects depend on material and geometry.
Bending tends to curve a member under loading. Shear tends to make adjacent parts move past one another. Torsion is a twisting action. Several actions can occur together.
Stress describes internal force intensity, commonly expressed as force per area. Strain describes relative deformation, such as change in length compared with original length. They are not interchangeable.
Stiffness concerns resistance to deformation. Strength concerns resistance to failure under the relevant action. A stiff-looking element is not necessarily strong or stable in a changed arrangement.
Stability concerns whether a system maintains its intended equilibrium and form under the relevant conditions. Buckling is an instability mode that can occur in slender compressed members.
Beam commonly means a member spanning between supports. Column commonly means a member carrying loads through a mainly vertical arrangement. Names alone do not establish actual structural function.
Bracing provides restraint or a path for lateral actions within a designed system. Connections transfer forces between elements; removing one can affect much more than its immediate location.
Foundation transfers structural actions into the supporting ground. Temporary works are temporary arrangements needed for the work, which may require specialist design, inspection and controlled alteration.
Plan shows an arrangement in a horizontal view. Elevation shows a face or side. Section represents an imagined cut through the structure to reveal internal relationships.
Datum is a stated reference for measurement. A reduced level, or RL, is an elevation relative to a datum; it is not necessarily height above sea level.
Legend explains a drawing's symbols and conventions. Scale expresses the drawing-to-reality relationship at the intended reproduction size; resizing can invalidate measurements taken from the picture.
Technical terms
Hazard — A source or situation with potential to cause harm.
Risk — The possibility of harm, considered with its likelihood and consequence in context.
Exposure — The opportunity for a person or receptor to come into contact with a hazard.
Consequence — The harm or loss that could result.
Control — A measure that eliminates or reduces risk.
Remaining risk — Risk considered after the specified controls have actually been applied.
Elimination — Removing the hazard or hazardous exposure from the work.
Substitution — Replacing a hazard with a less hazardous alternative.
Isolation — Separating people from a hazard.
Engineering control — A physical or designed measure that acts on a hazard or exposure pathway.
Administrative control — An arrangement such as procedures, scheduling, information or supervision.
PPE — Personal protective equipment.
RPE — Respiratory protective equipment.
SWMS — Safe work method statement; a document for relevant high-risk construction work.
DWP — Demolition work plan.
Permit — A bounded authorisation within a defined control system, not universal proof of safety.
Induction — Introduction to relevant site conditions, responsibilities and arrangements.
Pre-start — A check or briefing before work or equipment use; distinct from scheduled servicing.
Verification — Checking evidence that the required condition or control exists and works as intended.
Consultation — Sharing relevant information, hearing affected workers' views and considering them in decisions.
Load path — The connected route by which forces pass through a structure to its supports.
Compression — A pushing action within a material or member.
Tension — A pulling action within a material or member.
Bending — A response to loading that tends to curve a member.
Shear — Action tending to make parts move past one another.
Temporary works — Engineered or other temporary arrangements supporting construction or demolition needs; specialist design and control may be required.
Respirable dust — Particles small enough to reach deep into the lungs.
LEL — Lower explosive limit; the lowest flammable gas or vapour concentration in air at which flame can propagate under the relevant conditions. Percentage of LEL is not percentage gas concentration or a safe-breathing decision.
Receptor — The person, property or environmental feature potentially affected.
Change control — The process of recognising a change, reviewing affected assumptions and controls, and communicating the revised arrangement.
Air monitoring — Competently planned measurement of airborne contaminants to assess exposure and control effectiveness.
Health monitoring — Medical monitoring for health effects, carried out or supervised by an appropriately experienced doctor when required.
Plant, energy and exposure language
Plant includes machinery, equipment and associated items within the applicable context. Mobile plant can move around the workplace; its movement and operating envelope create interfaces beyond the contact point.
Serviceability means condition suitable for the intended use under the relevant requirements. A pre-start check concerns readiness before use; maintenance preserves or restores condition through the appropriate programme.
Stored energy is energy retained in a system, such as pressure, electrical charge, tension or a raised load. Stopping normal operation does not prove all energy is controlled.
Hot work is work capable of providing an ignition source, such as certain cutting, grinding or welding activities. The relevant controls depend on the activity and surroundings.
The lower explosive limit, or LEL, is the lowest concentration of a flammable gas or vapour in air at which flame can propagate under the relevant conditions.
Percentage of LEL expresses a reading relative to that limit. It is not percentage gas by volume, and a reading below the LEL does not establish breathable air or permission for entry.
Respirable particles are small enough to reach deep into the lungs. Visible dust is not a reliable measure of the entire respirable exposure.
Crystalline silica is a mineral form present in many construction materials. Disturbance can create hazardous respirable dust; the material and activity require appropriate controls.
Asbestos refers to specified naturally occurring fibrous minerals. Appearance alone cannot reliably identify asbestos-containing material; suspect material needs the relevant controlled investigation.
Air monitoring is planned measurement of airborne contaminants to inform exposure and control questions. Health monitoring examines effects on a person's health through appropriate medical arrangements.
Occupational hygienist is a specialist in anticipating, recognising, evaluating and controlling workplace exposures. Their advice has a defined scope and does not replace every project approval.
Technical terms
Hazard — A source or situation with potential to cause harm.
Risk — The possibility of harm, considered with its likelihood and consequence in context.
Exposure — The opportunity for a person or receptor to come into contact with a hazard.
Consequence — The harm or loss that could result.
Control — A measure that eliminates or reduces risk.
Remaining risk — Risk considered after the specified controls have actually been applied.
Elimination — Removing the hazard or hazardous exposure from the work.
Substitution — Replacing a hazard with a less hazardous alternative.
Isolation — Separating people from a hazard.
Engineering control — A physical or designed measure that acts on a hazard or exposure pathway.
Administrative control — An arrangement such as procedures, scheduling, information or supervision.
PPE — Personal protective equipment.
RPE — Respiratory protective equipment.
SWMS — Safe work method statement; a document for relevant high-risk construction work.
DWP — Demolition work plan.
Permit — A bounded authorisation within a defined control system, not universal proof of safety.
Induction — Introduction to relevant site conditions, responsibilities and arrangements.
Pre-start — A check or briefing before work or equipment use; distinct from scheduled servicing.
Verification — Checking evidence that the required condition or control exists and works as intended.
Consultation — Sharing relevant information, hearing affected workers' views and considering them in decisions.
Load path — The connected route by which forces pass through a structure to its supports.
Compression — A pushing action within a material or member.
Tension — A pulling action within a material or member.
Bending — A response to loading that tends to curve a member.
Shear — Action tending to make parts move past one another.
Temporary works — Engineered or other temporary arrangements supporting construction or demolition needs; specialist design and control may be required.
Respirable dust — Particles small enough to reach deep into the lungs.
LEL — Lower explosive limit; the lowest flammable gas or vapour concentration in air at which flame can propagate under the relevant conditions. Percentage of LEL is not percentage gas concentration or a safe-breathing decision.
Receptor — The person, property or environmental feature potentially affected.
Change control — The process of recognising a change, reviewing affected assumptions and controls, and communicating the revised arrangement.
Air monitoring — Competently planned measurement of airborne contaminants to assess exposure and control effectiveness.
Health monitoring — Medical monitoring for health effects, carried out or supervised by an appropriately experienced doctor when required.
Management and review
Person conducting a business or undertaking is abbreviated to PCBU. It is a legal duty-holder concept, not simply another name for the supervisor.
Due diligence describes the proactive officer duty within the legal framework. It includes obtaining relevant knowledge, understanding risks, providing processes and resources, responding to information and verifying arrangements.
Consultation is a two-way exchange that informs health and safety decisions. A health and safety representative, or HSR, is an elected worker-representation role with its own functions.
HSEQ means health, safety, environment and quality. WHS means work health and safety.
Inspection examines conditions or activities at a time. Audit compares evidence with stated criteria within a scope. Investigation examines an event and its contributing circumstances.
Correction addresses an immediate problem. Corrective action addresses its cause and needs an effectiveness check. Completing an action and proving its effect are different propositions.
Change control identifies changed assumptions, obtains relevant review, updates the authorised arrangement and communicates it. A revised file alone does not establish implementation.
Authenticity concerns whether information is what it claims to be and is correctly attributed. A contemporaneous record is made at or near the event, unlike a later reconstruction.
Technical terms
Hazard — A source or situation with potential to cause harm.
Risk — The possibility of harm, considered with its likelihood and consequence in context.
Exposure — The opportunity for a person or receptor to come into contact with a hazard.
Consequence — The harm or loss that could result.
Control — A measure that eliminates or reduces risk.
Remaining risk — Risk considered after the specified controls have actually been applied.
Elimination — Removing the hazard or hazardous exposure from the work.
Substitution — Replacing a hazard with a less hazardous alternative.
Isolation — Separating people from a hazard.
Engineering control — A physical or designed measure that acts on a hazard or exposure pathway.
Administrative control — An arrangement such as procedures, scheduling, information or supervision.
PPE — Personal protective equipment.
RPE — Respiratory protective equipment.
SWMS — Safe work method statement; a document for relevant high-risk construction work.
DWP — Demolition work plan.
Permit — A bounded authorisation within a defined control system, not universal proof of safety.
Induction — Introduction to relevant site conditions, responsibilities and arrangements.
Pre-start — A check or briefing before work or equipment use; distinct from scheduled servicing.
Verification — Checking evidence that the required condition or control exists and works as intended.
Consultation — Sharing relevant information, hearing affected workers' views and considering them in decisions.
Load path — The connected route by which forces pass through a structure to its supports.
Compression — A pushing action within a material or member.
Tension — A pulling action within a material or member.
Bending — A response to loading that tends to curve a member.
Shear — Action tending to make parts move past one another.
Temporary works — Engineered or other temporary arrangements supporting construction or demolition needs; specialist design and control may be required.
Respirable dust — Particles small enough to reach deep into the lungs.
LEL — Lower explosive limit; the lowest flammable gas or vapour concentration in air at which flame can propagate under the relevant conditions. Percentage of LEL is not percentage gas concentration or a safe-breathing decision.
Receptor — The person, property or environmental feature potentially affected.
Change control — The process of recognising a change, reviewing affected assumptions and controls, and communicating the revised arrangement.
Air monitoring — Competently planned measurement of airborne contaminants to assess exposure and control effectiveness.
Health monitoring — Medical monitoring for health effects, carried out or supervised by an appropriately experienced doctor when required.
Environmental and project language
Receptor means a person, property or environmental feature that may be affected. A pathway is how an effect can reach it, such as airborne movement or runoff.
Stormwater is rainfall runoff moving across surfaces or through drainage systems. Groundwater is water beneath the surface within soil or rock spaces; the two require different information.
Monitoring well is a purpose-built access point used to observe or sample groundwater conditions. Its protection and use require the relevant environmental arrangements, not casual opening or disturbance.
Waste characterisation establishes relevant material properties and composition. Waste classification applies the applicable classification framework; visual appearance or a convenient label is not enough.
Segregation keeps appropriate material streams separate. Traceability links material identity, movements and records so its route can be followed and discrepancies investigated.
Lawful receiving destination means a place legally able to accept the particular waste under applicable conditions. A receipt records a transaction, not every element of lawful disposal.
Interface is where people, activities or systems affect one another. Dependency is something that must be true or available for another activity to proceed as planned.
Variation is an authorised change under the actual contract arrangements. A request for extra work does not automatically settle scope, price, time or technical approval.
Bottleneck is the constraint limiting work flow. Rework is work repeated or corrected because the intended requirement was not achieved; visible activity can therefore conceal poor productivity.
Residual hazard is a hazard remaining after a stage or at handover. It needs explicit control and responsibility, not disappearance from the record because the main task ended.
Technical terms
Hazard — A source or situation with potential to cause harm.
Risk — The possibility of harm, considered with its likelihood and consequence in context.
Exposure — The opportunity for a person or receptor to come into contact with a hazard.
Consequence — The harm or loss that could result.
Control — A measure that eliminates or reduces risk.
Remaining risk — Risk considered after the specified controls have actually been applied.
Elimination — Removing the hazard or hazardous exposure from the work.
Substitution — Replacing a hazard with a less hazardous alternative.
Isolation — Separating people from a hazard.
Engineering control — A physical or designed measure that acts on a hazard or exposure pathway.
Administrative control — An arrangement such as procedures, scheduling, information or supervision.
PPE — Personal protective equipment.
RPE — Respiratory protective equipment.
SWMS — Safe work method statement; a document for relevant high-risk construction work.
DWP — Demolition work plan.
Permit — A bounded authorisation within a defined control system, not universal proof of safety.
Induction — Introduction to relevant site conditions, responsibilities and arrangements.
Pre-start — A check or briefing before work or equipment use; distinct from scheduled servicing.
Verification — Checking evidence that the required condition or control exists and works as intended.
Consultation — Sharing relevant information, hearing affected workers' views and considering them in decisions.
Load path — The connected route by which forces pass through a structure to its supports.
Compression — A pushing action within a material or member.
Tension — A pulling action within a material or member.
Bending — A response to loading that tends to curve a member.
Shear — Action tending to make parts move past one another.
Temporary works — Engineered or other temporary arrangements supporting construction or demolition needs; specialist design and control may be required.
Respirable dust — Particles small enough to reach deep into the lungs.
LEL — Lower explosive limit; the lowest flammable gas or vapour concentration in air at which flame can propagate under the relevant conditions. Percentage of LEL is not percentage gas concentration or a safe-breathing decision.
Receptor — The person, property or environmental feature potentially affected.
Change control — The process of recognising a change, reviewing affected assumptions and controls, and communicating the revised arrangement.
Air monitoring — Competently planned measurement of airborne contaminants to assess exposure and control effectiveness.
Health monitoring — Medical monitoring for health effects, carried out or supervised by an appropriately experienced doctor when required.