Managing construction impacts in your community

We’re committed to providing the best learning environments at public schools across NSW to give young people the skills and learning they need to succeed. We’re delivering a record investment in new and upgraded schools and we acknowledge this work can cause a range of impacts, such as:

• noise from tools and machines
• vibration from demolition, digging and drilling
• dust from demolition and digging
• traffic changes on local streets, to help trucks and other vehicles get to site safely.

We aim to reduce the impact of construction by:

• preparing for construction before work starts
• communicating with neighbours or others who may be impacted by the works
• managing the way the construction works are completed to reduce impacts, if possible. 

Preparing for construction before work starts

We prepare various plans including construction and environmental management plans. These plans outline how we will manage the construction impacts which are likely to happen on our site.

Each construction site is different and we use different construction approaches to suit each project. As a result, our plans to manage impacts for each project will vary. We also consider nearby residents and businesses when developing our plans.

Our planning approach includes:

• identifying all people who may hear or feel construction noise and vibration, or be impacted by the work
• adopting statutory and regulatory conditions and requirements for the project. These give us a set of rules to follow when running our site
• identifying ways to reduce the noise and vibration we will make on the site
• identifying the safest routes for construction traffic to enter and exit the site
• managing safe access for our neighbours to get to and from their own properties
• making plans for parking, both on the site and near it
• setting up measures to control dust on the site. 

Managing building site impacts during construction

Reducing our impact on the local community

Construction can be disruptive and we thank you for your patience while we complete this important school project.

There are many ways we can reduce noise and vibration impacts from construction. The measures we use are different for each project, but may include:

• positioning noisy equipment away from classrooms and homes
• maintaining equipment to keep it in good working order
• installing noise controls on very noisy equipment and tools
• timing noisy work for less sensitive periods
• timing very noisy construction outside school exams and other important school events
• including rest breaks from high-noise activities during construction hours.

We work with the construction contractors to manage impacts on the local community. We expect their support to reduce the impact of the work by:

• including conditions in our contracts that they must follow
• holding site talks with construction workers to remind them of the rules for the site
• putting signage around the site to remind workers about how they can reduce noise on site.

We are introducing modern methods of construction (MMC) that can help to reduce construction noise and disruption. We manufacture building parts in a factory, then transport them to the site to be assembled. On MMC projects, this means less noise, less dust, less traffic and less disruption.

Construction work hours

Standard construction working hours are:

• 7 am to 6 pm, Monday to Friday
• 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays
• no work on Sundays or public holidays.

Sometimes we need to work outside normal working hours. Out-of-hours work might include:

• road closures to allow oversize trucks to make large deliveries to site
• relocating pipes and cables for telephone, water, power or sewerage
• emergency works on site.

Letting you know about our construction work

During construction, we will notify our neighbours before disruptive work takes place. We will tell you about:

• when we expect to start and finish the work
• the types of work we will be doing on the site
• what type of disruption to expect from the work
• a phone number to contact us with your questions or complaints about the work.

If we need to perform unexpected out-of-hours work, we will explain the reasons why as soon as possible afterwards.

For more information about how we manage construction impacts, contact us:

• Email: schoolinfrastructure@det.nsw.edu.au
• Phone: 1300 482 651.

Translations

For a translation and interpreting service, call 131 450 and ask them to call the NSW Department of Education – School Infrastructure NSW on 1300 482 651.