Worksafe corner
Spend a Buck to Save a Lot More By Clarke Martin WorkSafe Victoria
In hard economic times
businesses of all types are looking for opportunities to cut costs and improve productivity. Some believe that Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is 'a nice thing to do' but can be dropped or wound-back if other demands require. However nothing could be further from the truth. The last thing any business under commercial pressure needs is to have a workplace safety incident. In the construction industry, safety failings are often high profile, attracting media and industrial attention. The damage both to the individuals and the business can be significant and long-lasting. A recent Victorian prosecution earned two related companies fines totalling $45,000 (and one of them a conviction) when a man became a paraplegic after part of a structure being demolished fell from underneath two workers, causing them to fall. The man who became a paraplegic fell nearly four metres, while the other suffered lesser injuries because he managed to grab a rail. Even so, the second man was off work for nearly a month. Although the case was in a manufacturing environment, the company told the court it was acting outside its level of expertise when it instructed employees to do the demolition job. Imagine what your workplace would be like for months following an incident where a well-liked fellow employee has been severely hurt or has died. Having suitably qualified people involved in workplace health and safety is important, as this can help to minimise the occurrence of such incidents. WorkSafe research has found that many medium-sized businesses have staff allocated to juggle OHS and return-to-work duties on top of their full-time roles. The key findings are that these workers – WorkSafe calls them ‘jugglers’ - are often poorly trained, have limited (if any) authority to drive OHS within the workplace, do not feel supported in their work and are not happy. If this is the situation in your business it creates a number of risks. The people in those positions may be at risk of burnout themselves; while juggling different priorities they might miss something important in the OHS area,
and there might not be much attention paid to planning for the future. The big question is; “How do we get better value from current spending on OHS?” Start by looking at the amount of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) hours dedicated to OHS, your prevention program budget, and external OHS advice and auditing. You may be surprised by how few resources are actually going into safety, particularly if the person or people responsible have other, non-safety, responsibilities. Once you know what the figure is you can begin looking at ways to get the most value out of it. Just as many businesses have a bookkeeper, they also have a trusted, qualified accountant to audit the books and provide advice from time to time on how to get the most out of the business’ finances. OHS should be no different.
level. It will prevent the creation of lengthy and daunting ‘to do’ lists and help your ‘juggler’ to turn the current role into something more productive for the business. The OHS professional may not be able to deal with every situation you face – no one knows everything – but as with any good professional, they will bring-in the necessary expertise when it’s needed. There are many good operators who are not members of professional associations; these groups include the Safety Institute of Australia for generalist professionals and others that cover specialists such as hygienists, ergonomists, and occupational physicians. These organisations require candidates to complete a certification process and maintain their knowledge through proscribed professional development processes. One benefit of using Certified OHS Professionals is
A suitably qualified and experienced OHS adviser should not just have a brief to come in every six months and give your ‘juggler’ a list of things that need fixing. This type of service clearly does not add value to your business, but rather, creates more work and costs. Establishing a long-term relationship with a suitably qualified OHS professional who understands your business and industry, will get your OHS management plan operating at a higher
your right to raise issues with a third party if you have any problems. Ultimately, these methods should save you money by improving productivity, and reducing the need to constantly respond to new OHS issues. They can also help reduce costly incidents, lower premiums and boost morale because people know that their working environment is safe, and that the organisation’s expectations are known and enforced.
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