The Work Health & Safety Act and its Regulations are complex, but the basic principle of legal compliance is fairly simple.
Before we get into the technical side, I would like to share with you the one single, most effective action that you and your managers can take to improve health and safety. If you do this, you and your organisation will take a massive leap towards compliance and protection from fines and prosecution.
GET THIS ONE, SINGLE STEP RIGHT FIRST
The single most effective action that you and your managers can take to improve health and safety in your workplace is to lead by example.
Yes, that’s right, if senior management can demonstrate commitment and genuinely promote that health and safety is critical to the daily operation of the business, your workers will too. I have seen countless examples of how this one, single factor can largely affect the success OR failure of keeping a workplace safe and legally compliant.
WHERE TO START
As a starting point, you and your managers need to have a sound understanding of health and safety issues and the impact it has on your operation and the people involved.
GENERALLY, THIS MEANS:
- Seek to understand your and your team’s legal responsibility and how this may affect your operation.
- Have managers and supervisors accountable for WHS performance – Senior personnel must be involved and lead by example or failure is almost guaranteed.
- Involve Health and Safety in all operational decisions and relevant meetings
Once you get to this point, you will need to back this up with a systematic approach. This is often referred to as a “Work, Health & Safety Management System (WHSMS).
HOW TO GET CRITICAL INFORMATION
Whether you need a “out of the box” system or a formal accreditation to a national standard, we can help.
Contact us today for a free consultation.