WHS Winning Actions
As you know maintaining a safe and healthy workplace requires vigilant attention and action. And there are a number of pressing reasons to do so including the safety and health of all persons in your workplace and the productivity and viability of the PCBU (see our recent article Avoiding WHS Prosecution by SafeWork NSW)
The list of actions below can help all duty holders in your workplace to focus on what they need to do to play their part and satisfy their duty of care in establishing and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace.
Each duty holder in your workplace can contribute to or implement some part of each of these actions according to their level of authority and their duty of care.
List of Actions
1. Identify all the health and safety hazards in your workplace – find out what could cause fatality, injury or illness. ___
2. Assess the risks involved in these hazards – understand the harm that could be caused by each hazard, how serious the harm could be and the likelihood of it happening. ___
3. Eliminate or control the risks – implement the most effective control measures that are reasonably practicable. ___
4. Review the control measures – ensure they are working as planned and revise them if needed. ___
5. Consult with workers about health and safety issues – see our article Reduce Injuries and Improve Safety Culture. ___
6. Provide your workers with sufficient instruction, training, information and supervision to enable them to safely carry out their work. ___
7. All duty holders know what they must do to satisfy their duty of care and do that. ___
8. Comply with any safety standards, codes, guidelines and legislation that apply to your industry. ___
9. Have an effective health and safety management system in place that will ensure your workplace complies with the work health and safety laws and regulations that apply to your workplace. ___
10. Ensure all employees are sufficiently aware and trained to implement and contribute to the actions needed to maintain an effective health and safety management system. ___
11. Audit your health and safety management system regularly. ___
12. Your officers have the capability, and there is a reporting structure that provides them with the knowledge, to ensure compliance with the health and safety management system. ___
Is the List Useful to You?
Perhaps your Officers, Managers and Supervisors could use this list as a guide on where to focus their WHS attention in your workplace. For example:
a) Could numbers 1 to 10 in this list be a useful natural fit in a series of toolbox talks and practical exercises to a workgroup about the hazards in their area.
b) Perhaps your Managers could meet with the Supervisors they manage to see if any of the items on this list need attention and improvement in their area.
c) And individually, maybe your Managers and Supervisors could use this list to assist them to check how well they are doing in playing their part in creating a safe and healthy workplace and satisfying their own duty of care.
