The laws just keep getting tighter, directing us to provide a safer place of work or suffer the consequences. With the introduction of the new harmonisation laws there are more defined responsibilities for people in charge of a business unit, more defined requirements for the use of risk assessment activities and much higher levels of prosecution for those who get it wrong.

It is not as if these laws don’t already exist, harmonisation just sets out the requirements to provide and manage a safe workplace much more clearly. Hopefully one of the spin offs of the new laws will be that a large part of our safety legislation will be the same for every state and territory.

For many employers this whole area is one of misunderstanding and some ignorance regarding what the law states, that’s why it makes good sense to have someone you can call on for help.

Our recommendation for many employers is the use of Safety and Health Representatives (SHR’s). Having SHR’s makes understanding the safety process a whole lot easier. It means having someone who has basic knowledge of the legislation and risk assessment able to help identify the safe systems of work required, that so far as practicable, allow the business to meet legislative requirements.

Section 33 of the OSH Act and Section 53(1) of the MSI Act set out functions for safety and health representatives to carry out with respect to the safety and health for the workplace or group for which they are elected. The functions are:

• inspecting the workplace at appropriate times agreed with the employer or, where they have not inspected the workplace or part of it in the preceding 30 days, at any time after giving reasonable notice to the employer;
• investigating dangerous occurrences or risks of imminent and serious injury or harm to health;
• keeping informed on safety and health;
• reporting hazards to the employer;
• referring matters to the safety and health committee, where one exists;
• consulting and cooperating with the employer on safety and health matters; and
• liaising with employees and, for mines, with employers and employer’s inspectors on safety and health matters.
  
  

By having this type of support available it helps a busy manager see things from a different perspective. While we might have all the best intentions about what we would like to be done on the job, we can’t always be there to directly supervise the risk assessment process. SHR’s look after their workmates and normally have the best interests of the business at heart. So, if you do not have trained SHR’s in place, give it some thought – it might just save a life.

 Of course, we are always here to help as well, we can provide accredited training for SHR’s, provide nationally recognized training qualifications and conduct workplace safety audits and provide feedback on what needs to be done in order to meet the needs of legislation.

 Worksafe have provided a Guidance Note called Formal Consultative Processes at the Workplace – 2006

http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/worksafe/PDF/Guidance_note-process/Guidance_note-complete_process.pdf

 Give us a call to discuss your safety needs.

John Williams

Managing Director

Combined Team Services