The Safety Institute of Australia (NT Branch) Conference Committee planning the 6th Annual Workplace Health and Safety SIA NT Conference scheduled for 7-8 October 2015.

We would like 2015 Safety Conference to be engaging and informative with topics that resonate with you.

To make this conference the best yet, we want to hear from you.

Thank you

Martyn Hill CFSIA RSP

Regional Representative – Northern Territory

QLD/NT Branch

PO Box 2078, Gladstone Park VIC 3043

M:: 0412 820 942

E: martyn.hill@outbacksafety.com.au

Website: www.sia.org.au

So according to legislation, PCBU will have to provide safety system of work for drivers in remote with effective communication system (max penalty $30,000).

Here is an important summary regarding remote driving:

PCBU’s must manage risks to the health and safety of a worker associated with remote or isolated work

• Remote or isolated work in relation to a worker means work that is isolated from the assistance of other persons because of location, time or the nature of work e.g. regional sales drivers

• Assistance includes rescue, medical assistance and the attendance of emergency service workers

PCBU’s must provide a system of work that includes effective communication with the worker. This could include:

• Personal security systems, radio or satellite communications, distress beacons

• Procedures for regular contact with the worker, emergency communication plan

Safety in Action Darwin was not as big as projected but was a good event nevertheless.

Martyn was busy representing the Safety Institute of Australia.

So, Local Government Safety has just enough time to catch a breath and prepare for LGMA Congress in April http://www.lgma.org.au/

This misconception is so wide-spread that it becomes dangerous for both local councils and their workers (including Councillors, volunteers, contractors and etc).

In fact, legislative compliance can only be achieved by an audit against the Act and Regulations and further implementation of the audit suggestions.

For example, quality audit can ensure the council has a system of work that is followed, improved and updated but quality audit has nothing to do with WHS compliance.

Legislative compliance gets the council out of gaol. It ensures council follows and obeys legislation to protect wellbeing of workers. Simple WHS audit might save you thousands in fines.

So, legislative compliance is not checked by a quality or any other type of audit. It can be checked only by a WHS compliance audit. If you wish to order free WHS compliance audit today, please contact us here.

Everyone has the right to work in a safe and healthy workplace. Both employers and employees have a role in preventing work related injury or illness. This is known as duty of care. Harmonised Work Health and Safety Acts have made the requirements even more stringent. The test in NT, NSW, SA and Qld is now “reasonable care” that is more onerous than “duty of care” in Vic and WA. However, both tests are quite stringent.

If you are worker:

As a worker, you must act responsibly, take care of yourself and others and cooperate with you’re the management team in matters of health and safety. This applies to all workers, whether they have a disability or not. If you don’t do these things, you could be disciplined or prosecuted under the work health and safety laws in your state or territory.

In addition, under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 your ability to work safely is an ‘inherent’ or essential requirement of any job. If your disability could reasonably be seen to cause a health and safety risk for other people at work, then failing to disclose that risk could be a breach of your obligations under work health and safety legislation.

If you are a member of management team:

Employers are required to provide a safe and healthy workplace to protect workers against potential health and safety risks. The employer has a responsibility to ensure that all workers are covered by workers compensation insurance and, in the event of a workplace injury they must assist an injured employee return to work safely.

And here is the answer to all three questions: wrong. Directors are responsible if they have failed to establish a proper reporting system, workers are responsible if they fail to report, and contractors now have the same status as staff.

By recognising, reporting and addressing potential hazards in the workplace, the council’s employees can assist the council in taking every reasonably practicable step to provide a safe environment. In support of this, the council’s management must give appropriate priority and practical support to eliminate or reduce the risk of hazards that pose a threat to health and safety of the community.

One of the most frequent questions asked from Councils in regards to safety is: “Where do we start?”

Safety starts from evaluation and assessment of the existing documents and practices. So, to begin the movement to safety culture, a Council has to assess the following:

1. Health and safety policy (Does a policy exist? Are employees aware of it? Is it explained at induction training?)
2. Health and safety representatives/committees (How much training do they receive? How active they are? How often do they meet with CEO and other management?)
3. Training (Is health and safety training provided as part of induction? Are all employees aware of the health and safety requirements of their position? Have all employees received sufficient training?)
4. Risk management (Have hazards been identified and risks assessed? Have risks been controlled in accordance with the hierarchy of risk control?)
5. First aid (What first aid facilities are available? Do they comply with legislative requirements?)
6. Incident investigation (What is the system for incident investigation? What follow-up action has resulted from incident investigation? Have unsafe situations been remedied to avoid recurrence?)
7. Incident records and statistics (Is there incident recording system? What trends do statistics demonstrate?)
8. Workplace inspections (How often are inspections conducted? How is information from inspections used?)
9. Housekeeping practices (Are there instances of rubbish being left at the workplace? Are slip and trip hazards present?)
10. Ergonomics and other hygiene factors (Are workstations designed in according with ergonomics principles? Is lighting suitable for the tasks performed? How often is air-conditioning equipment inspected and cleaned? What levels of noise exposure do employees experience?)
11. Protective equipment (What protective equipment is used? Is it possible to make use of solutions further up the hierarchy of risk controls to remove the need for the protective equipment?)
12. Fire safety (What fire fighting equipment is available? Is a fire fighting team trained?)
13. Emergency plans (Is a plan in existence? Have regular evacuation drills been held?)
14. Injury management program (Has the program reduced the costs of injuries? Are the injured employees satisfied with the services provided?)
15. Chemical safety (What chemicals are kept at the workplace? Are MSDSs readily available? Is labelling adequate?)
16. Manual handling (Have manual handling risks been assessed? What instances of back or other injuries occurred?)
17. Plant safety (Are proper maintenance routines in place? Are machine guards provided?)
18. Electrical safety (Does all electrical installation comply with the relevant Australian standards? Is equipment inspected or tested?)
19. Work Health and Safety Act (Are policies and procedures compliant with the Act? Are employees informed about their roles and responsibilities under the Act?)

Local council’s employees can use these questions to assess the safety level of their workplace.

However, if there are any questions or you wish to order free evaluation by Local Government Safety, please contact us.

References

The list is based on Audit checklist presented in Planning Occupational Health & Safety a Guide to OHS Risk Management (CCH Australia)

Your health and safety management system should be drafted, implemented and guided by someone who knows and understands legislative, regulative and industry requirements. as well as the way local government works.

Local Government Safety was established specifically to deal with these issues and  makes it a priority to ensure that you have the correct WHS policies and procedures in place to meet your obligations. While Local Government Safety is based in the Northern Territory, it services local councils throughout Australia. Our consultants and trainers have extensive experience in all areas of WHS.

Local Government Safety’s audits and evaluations are performed efficiently and quickly using legal and regulative requirements and if required AS/NZS4801 ensuring not only the health of your employees but the health of your council and that means the whole community. The extensive experience and knowledge of WHS in the Australian workplaces gives Local Government Safety’s the ability to provide training & services that are coherent, targeted and relevant to YOUR local council.

Contact us today for your free evaluation.

Sometimes safety is viewed as not affordable and excessive.

Can safety be affordable?

Here in Local Government Safety we understand your needs and we can pose this questions even more ambitiously: how can safety be used to actually cut costs of your Local Council? After all, Health and Safety is about saving lives, not stopping people living.

If safety is practical and smart, it must save your budget and will help you to:

• reduce insurance premiums
• reduce or eliminate the threat of litigation
• reduce or eliminate accidents
• identify and reduce wastage
• prevent injuries
• reduce downtime and loss of labour
• minimise stress of all employees
• improve structure and systematic approach to safety of employees and Local Council as a whole
• prevent incidents
• boost morale and retain employees

Are you looking for something affordable? As you know, here at Local Government Safety we understand your needs. Why should you go for affordable when you can get free? Request free evaluation.