Category: How To Blogs

How to blog series

OHS Blogs & Briefs E-Booklet

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OHS Consultant, OHS Consultant Melbourne,

This e-booklet has OHS management tips I’ve handpicked from blogs and articles I have written.

Why read this e-booklet?

I’ve carefully selected these blogs and briefs because:

  • The individual blogs and briefs can be read in less than 5 minutes
  • The actionable blogs & briefs can solve OHS management issues your business may be having in a day or at least in the same week. You don’t have to wait.
  • I’ve proven the actionable blogs and briefs work with my existing clients and unfortunately many of them my clients and past employers have learned the hard way.

Who is this e-booklet for?

This e-booklet is for businesses whose employees are at an increased risk of injury due to the nature of the work tasks they must undertake as part of their employment.

Our clients currently work in commercial and civil construction, manufacturing, waste management, rail, retail, facilities management and heavy engineering.

Solving OHS issues can be a mind boggling labyrinth of out of date and non-compliant information. This e-booklet contains a few briefs that may help you out!

Download here: Blogs & Briefs e-booklet 2020

Feel free to share and I trust you will benefit. Enjoy!

Assessing Your COVID-19 Response

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OHS Consultant, OHS Consultant Melbourne, OHS, COVID-19, Coronavirus

Under the Australian OHS Acts, employers are required to take all reasonably practicable steps to protect the health and safety at work of their employees.

Employers must consult with their employees when assessing a risk to the health and safety of employees at any workplace under the employer’s control.

Consultation is also required in the selection and application of control measures. In assessing the risks posed by a pandemic, employers should consult widely using existing workplace arrangements ranging from committee or workgroup meetings down to tool box talks or daily pre-starts.

Employees also have duties under the OHS Acts. Employees must co-operate with their employer in implementing risk control measures. They should take practical steps to ensure they don’t do anything that creates or increases a risk to the health and safety of themselves or others.

In a pandemic situation it is reasonable to expect that these obligations placed on the employee and employer will include complying with public health advice such as the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Department of Health & Human Services website – https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus and any emergency measures such as the stage 3 restrictions introduced in Victoria (7th April until 11th May at the time of writing)

As part of planning and preparedness, risk management should be applied to pandemic health and safety risks. This involves identifying and assessing the likely risks at the workplace and those risks associated with the way work is performed. Risk control measures to eliminate or minimise risks need to be determined. Risk management should be done in consultation with employees and call on expert advice when needed.

What new have found during this crisis is that employers are finding the task of adequately identifying and addressing all workplace risks with practicable control measures a daunting task.

When we consider the literal overnight changes to the way we live our lives, the negative mental health effects that come with the mandatory social distancing and stay at home orders the government is currently enforcing it is easy to see why employers may struggle to comprehensively manage the risk control of the Coronavirus outbreak at their workplaces.

Through the provision of support services such as COVID-19 response audits we may be able to provide some relief and assistance to employers and provide assurance that they are doing the right things and complying with the aforementioned legal obligations. We may also be able to identify any areas of concern in an employer’s COVID-19 risk management and provide direct recommendations on how to adequately address these areas of concern.

Posted By: Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

Writing a SWMS

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swms, writing swms, ohsHere’s 6 steps we use when writing Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS).

1. Title Page

When preparing the title page of a SWMS it is important the following information is available to the reader.

  • Work Activity
  • Project Name
  • Project Address
  • Client
  • Persons involved in the development & Approval of the SWMS
  • Company Name
  • Company Address
  • Company ABN
  • Equipment Used
  • Training/Licensing
  • Hazardous Substances
  • Permits to Work
  • High Risk Work
  • PPE Required
  • Legislation/Standards Referenced when preparing document

2. Risk Matrix

A SWMS should contain a risk matrix that outlines how the hazards will be assessed and rated in terms of consequence and likelihood and what each rating corresponds to in a matric table.

  • Step 1. – Identify the credible consequence for each unwanted event
  • Step 2. – Determine the likelihood of the event occurring and it resulting in the consequence
  • Step 3. – Utilise the risk matrix to identify the risk and risk rating.

3. SWMS Body

The body of the SWMS should be tabular in form and contain the following headings

  • Activity Step – 1,2,3,4 etc.
  • Activity Process – Job Planning/Induction, Initial Site R.A, Delivery of Materials
  • Possible Activity Hazards – Crush injury from plant collisions, Impact injury from falling loads, Electrocution via Overhead Lines etc.
  • Initial Risk Score – The corresponding risk score for the hazard, before controls, from the matrix as calculated by the person preparing the SWMS
  • Control Measures – What measures are being taken to reduce both the consequence and likelihood of the risk. Control measures should be identified in line with the hierarchy of control. Elimination – Substitution – Engineering – Admin – PPE
  • Residual Risk Score – The corresponding risk score for the hazard, after controls, from the matrix as calculated by the person preparing the SWMS
  • Control Responsibility – Who has the responsibility of implementing the controls

4. SWMS Work Team Sign On

All employees involved in the works activities must sign onto the SWMS document to acknowledge:

  • They have been given the opportunity of SWMS input
  • Read and agree with the contents
  • Agree to use and work kin accordance with the SWMS
  • Will stop immediately if the SWMS cannot be followed

This section is usually tabular in form and with the following headings:

  • Employee Name
  • Employee Signature
  • Date

5. SWMS Amendments Page

A blank SWMS body page with the same headings as the SWMS body above should be available in the rear of the SWMS or at the end of the SWMS initial body to allow for additional/variation work activity SWMS input.

6. SWMS Amendments Work Team Sign On Page

All employees involved in the additional/variation works must review the amended SWMS section and sign on to the SWMS amendment sign on page.

Posted By: Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

OHS Management Plan

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Mnagement System

What is an OHS management Plan and what should it include?

An OHS management Plan is a combination of commitments from company management in the form of policies, organisation arrangement, assigning of responsibilities to internal company management and specific details and methods in the form of procedures and administrative documentation on how these commitments will be realised.

A typical contents page from an OHS Safety Management Plan can be seen below:

·         Document Control

·         Organisational Structure

·         Project Details and Introduction

·         Sub-Contractor Management

·         Company Policies

Health & Safety Policy

Environmental Policy

Industrial Relations Policy

Harassment Policy

Anti-Discrimination Policy

Rehabilitation Policy

Alcohol & Drugs Policy

·                                Roles & Responsibilities

            Managing Director

            Works Supervisor

·                                Risk Management

            Risk Rating

            Safe Work Method Statements

                         Hazard Reporting

·                               Safe Work Procedures

            Company Induction

            Incident & Accident

            First Aid

            Emergency Procedure

            Hazardous Substances

            Electrical Equipment

            Manual Handling

            Permits to Work

            Personal Protective Equipment

            Environmental Impacts

            Worker Health Issues

            Pre-Existing Medical Conditions

            Young Workers

·                               OHS Training

           Training & Toolbox Talks

           Employee Consultation

           Health and Safety Representatives

·                               Performance Monitoring

           Statistics

                        Performance Evaluation     

·                              Corrective & Preventive Actions

           Corrective action

                        Preventive Action

·                              Forms & Registers

           SWMS01 Template

           FOR-01 Worksite Accident/Incident Report Form

           REG-01 Incident/Accident Register of Injuries

           REG-02 Chemicals Register

           REG-03 Plant Register

           REG-04 Electrical Test & Tag Register

           REG-05 PPE Register

                       FOR-02 Toolbox Talk

 

An effectively implemented OHS management Plan will:

·         Identify and minimize hazards associated with your organisation’s business

·         Reducing incidents, accidents and injuries in the workplace

·         Reducing risks of legal action for worker’s compensation and liability claims

·         Providing due diligence evidence should an incident or accident occur

·         Boost Staff Morale

·         Allow staff to concentrate on basic business activities

·         Improve performance and productivity

We hope you found this blog enlightening. If so, please don’t be afraid to comment below. Thanks for reading.

Posted By: Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

Irish Chamber of Commerce