265072

Your workers understand their role, and yours, in getting their work done safely.

Your responses indicate that safety roles, responsibilities and procedures have been defined.

Maintain commitment by:

• monitoring and reviewing your safety performance
• building safety into your future business plans
• promoting safety to your workers as a core business value
• providing feedback to your workers
• providing ongoing training so that everyone can enhance their skills
• making up to date information available to your workers so they improve their knowledge of safety issues and solutions.

Useful links

• Work health and safety policy template

Your consultation arrangements are effective and workers are involved in decisions regarding safety.

Your responses indicate that you have implemented effective consultation processes and that you actively encourage your worker’s participation and value their views.

What you can do to maintain this:

Review your consultation arrangements periodically with your workers and ensure the arrangements continue to work effectively

Ensure that all of your workers including young workers, workers from a non-English speaking background or workers with literacy difficulties are adequately represented in the consultation process and that their views are sought and valued.

Useful links

• Record of safety discussions template

You identify and control some or most of your hazards and risks but you may not have effective safe work procedures in place for all of them.

Your responses indicate that you have started to address the risks associated with work tasks but you may need to look more closely at the tasks, identify any hazards you may have overlooked, and ensure that your safe work procedures are appropriate and help your workers do their jobs safely.

What you can do to improve:

Review work tasks

Inspect the workplace and review all tasks. Check for risks including:

• using chemicals
• lifting and moving products
• working at heights
• slips, trips and falls
• electrical equipment
• housekeeping.

Make sure you talk with your workers and involve them in identifying hazards associated with their work. Develop and implement safe work procedures for those tasks that pose a risk.

Plan your approach

Sometimes, business pressures or uncertainty about what to do next may delay the development and implementation of safe work procedures.

Plan the process carefully so that you are able to develop safe work procedures gradually, within the constraints of your business demands. You should prioritise those tasks with the highest risk and involving the entire workforce in a structured way will help a lot with time. A good plan will help you overcome the limitations in time and resources and will let you track progress against targets.

Ensure procedures are up-to-date

If you find that your workers are not always following safe work procedures, review the procedures to ensure they are still relevant and are up to date. Sometimes procedures are not followed because they use old methods or talk about steps or machines that are no longer in use. If procedures are up to date, have your workers been trained in their use? Are your workers being properly supervised? Do your supervisors and managers make sure they always follow the procedures?

Useful links

• Hazard list and risk assessment template
• Action plan template

Your business views health and wellbeing of employees as a priority and plans and programmes are in place which address both physical and mental health issues.

Your responses indicate that you have a wellbeing program in place which actively encourages healthy lifestyle options, standard reporting systems include the reporting of workplaces issues that could contribute to work-related stress and measures are in place for the prevention of bullying and harassment.

What you can do to maintain this:

Put in place measures to review the effectiveness of your wellbeing program to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the workforce and any changing circumstances

Ensure leadership continues to take a visible and active involvement in the health and wellbeing program and staff are consulted so that the wellbeing program continues to address the needs of the workforce.

Monitor incident reporting systems to ensure work-related stressors are being reported and appropriate controls are put in place.

Continue to look for opportunities where health and wellbeing can be integrated and embedded into organisational systems and processes such as induction programs, WHS systems, education programs and overall business plans.

Consider how your business can evaluate the health and wellbeing program such as through changes in knowledge and attitudes of workers, records of participation, staff surveys, staff engagement levels and in the longer term, staff retention rates, absenteeism rates and workers compensation claims/premiums.

Your workers are adequately trained and supervised to be safe at work.

Your responses indicate that you have good processes in place for education and supervision of your workers.

What you can do to maintain this:

Continuously review your process of training, induction and supervision

Changes in the workplace including new equipment, new ways of doing things and even new workers can render old processes obsolete. Make sure you keep reviewing your hazards and risks to make sure your education and supervision remains effective.

Useful links

• Induction checklist template
• Training plan template
• Training record template

You are providing and maintaining a safe workplace for your workers.

Your responses indicate that you are regularly checking workplace work health and safety and identifying any changes or issues that may require you to reconsider existing procedures or processes.

You have a regular documented preventative maintenance programme in place and you ensure your plant and equipment is in safe working order.

You have an effective incident and injury reporting process in place. Your workers are trained in the process and all are notified of any outcome.

Your workplace has appropriate emergency procedures in place and these are tested regularly.

What you can do to maintain this:

Continuously review your process of training, induction and supervision

Changes in the workplace including new equipment, new ways of doing things and even new workers can render old processes obsolete. Make sure you keep reviewing your hazards and risks to make sure your education and supervision remains effective.

Useful links

• Hazardous and risk register template
• Incident hazard report template

Your workers are reporting all incidents, they are investigated and corrective actions put in place as needed.

Your responses indicate that you have an established incident reporting procedure and that you investigate incidents as they occur. You also put in place and monitor corrective actions.

What you can do to maintain this:

Monitor and analyse your incident reports to identify any trends and help you to improve your safety

Use your incident reports and investigations to monitor your workplace safety and identify any gaps in your system. These reports can be a valuable tool in prevention by allowing you to address any emerging issues before they become too big or cause major injury.

Useful links

• Health and safety checklist template