Occupational Health And Safety Management

The fundamental principle of effective Occupational Health Safety & Rehabilitation (OHS&R) management is that OHS&R issues must be identified, assessed and managed during ALL operations.

OHS&R Management Components: Corporate OHS&R Management System. This document should demonstrate the organisation's OHS&R structure, policies and resources.

It should also demonstrate the integration of OHS&R requirements with the normal procedures, practices and performance standards of the organisation, giving clear guidelines as to who has responsibility for OHS&R, and how these policies and procedures will be communicated.

The Management system must also demonstrate the methods used to ensure subcontractors and suppliers understand their OHS&R responsibilities.

Key Elements of a Safety Management System are:

1. OHS POLICY

This policy, which is endorsed by top management, provides the overall framework of the organisation's OHS objectives and demonstrated the commitment to improving OHS performance.

2. PLANNING

This element provides a plan as to how the organisation will fulfil its OHS policy, objectives and targets incorporating legislative requirements, and industry standards.

3. IMPLEMENTATION

The capabilities and support mechanisms necessary to achieve the OHS Policy, objectives and targets through defining company structure and responsibility, training needs, document control, risk assessment and emergency preparedness.

4. MEASUREMENT

Monitoring of any implementation and procedures is critical to ensure that the systems in place can be evaluated. Issues such as incident investigation, corrective action and injury management are investigated and documented.

5. MANAGEMENT REVIEW

This element uses results from monitoring and evaluation procedures to continuously improve performance through management reviews and audits.

A Safety Management System can also be implemented to the criteria required for Australian Standard 4801:2000 certification.

It can also be integrated with Environmental and / or Quality Management Systems to provide an integrated management framework.

Other levels of occupational health and safety management can be implemented such as:

Project OHS&R Management Plan

This document should set out the specific OHS&R resources, responsibilities and procedures or practices for a particular project.

and/combined with

Site-specific Safety Management Plan

This document defines the nominated person responsible for the specific OHS&R aspect of the work, and who will be available to deal with OHS&R incidents.

It identifies the hazards associated with the works, and details the control measures that need to be implemented to manage the identified hazards.

The Site-specific Safety Management Plan consists of a statement of responsibilities, incident management, Site Safety Rules and Safe Work Methods Statements, and OHS&R training including for construction work or induction training, task training and refresher training.

For many organisations the Project and Site Specific plans are rolled into one.

Safe Work Method Statements:

These documents should identify the safety controls that will be in place to minimise the hazards associated with the job.

DIRECTOR'S & MANAGER'S RESPONSIBILITIES

"Duty of Care"

What are your responsibilities under the OHS Act (2000) to ensure the health, safety and welfare of your employees at work?

As a company director and/or employer, you have a "duty of care" to all your employees. The fundamental principle of effective Occupational Health Safety & Rehabilitation (OHS&R) management is that OHS&R issues must be identified, assessed and managed. The law covers both statute and the general law.

You must demonstrate your diligence. To do this you need an adequate documented system which you follow to ensure that all personnel share a common understanding of the OHS&R issues involved throughout the duration of the project.

It also enables management team to identify key tasks, assign personnel to the work and have the practices documented for consistency.

Difficult and Complex?

Our approach:

While systems are tailored to meet each organisationÍs need they all have common elements and developing a system for a particular organisation need not be difficult or complex.

The aim is to provide a simple cost effective system that is easy to implement, not something to be left in the bookcase. It should work for the organisation to improve OHS & R and to reduce costs.

Replacing the ad hoc approach reduces management time and costs and reduces the number of incidents and accidents. It will make your business a more attractive place within which to work, lift productivity, and also reduce risk of litigation and insurance premiums.

State Government Contracts

An accredited OHS&R Management Systems needs to be in place, as per NSW Government guidelines and regulations to continuously improve OHS&R management performance if tendering for governmental projects. Specifically, this includes:

• all projects having a value of $3 million or more
• projects having a value of under $3 million where it is determined that the work has a high safety risk.

A Project OHS&R Management Plan is a condition of all government contracts awarded. This plan must also address the 11 key elements.

Additional elements are currently optional for the Management System and Project Management Plans, however it is the intention of the government to slowly implement these in the future.

HOW CAN NEW ENVIRONMENT HELP?

New Environment can provide full systems or assistance in specific areas, detailed advice, assessment, consultancy, monitoring, and audits.

New Environment can also provide advice on many OHS issues including ergonomics, chemical safety, occupational hygiene, noise, lighting and risk assessments.