Company Risk Management Survey

Legal Requirement and Safety Management Systems (SMS)

SMS is a framework used to manage the implementation of health and safety systems, and includes policies, procedures, risk management tools, training, etc.

The business should have included within their documentation (eg. items such as a Procedure or Position Description) a nominated person or persons who develop the Safety Policy and those (which can be the same person) who assist in ensuring

Where a company has documented safe work policies, instructions and procedures, this provides the guidelines and procedures to be implemented within the business, which ensures the business practices conform to the requirements of the recognised safety standards and/or best practice, relevant legislation, specifications, codes, and customer requirements.

Consultation

N/A if a small site and there is no legal requirement to have a committee in place.

It is important to check your State requirements regarding Health and Safety Committees as each is slightly different with regards to when the business must legally have one in place.
See attached Australia Summary - Appendix 1

All contractors must be communicated to regarding safety hazards and risks involved in the work activities they may be conducting within your business.

Incident and Emergency Response

All incidents no matter how minor they seem (i.e. first aid only or near miss incidents) should be reported. Some incidents are also notifiable to the Regulator and there are penalties for when this does not occur in a timely manner.

By law each workplace must nominate and train First Aiders and Wardens. The number trained depends on the number of employees at the workplace, as well as considering the nature of the work being carried out, the level of risk and must also be relevant to the organisation’s emergency situations identified.

WHS Risk Management Systems

Is there a safe work practice (SWP) or standard operating procedure (SOP) that explains/shows employees how to safely use the equipment or tools, i.e. electric saw or forklift or photocopier?

Training

Identification of training, in consultation with employees, is important, especially from a safety aspect. It is also a legislated requirement to ensure workers can safely and competently carry out their work tasks. You need to ensure that people understand the do’s and don’ts of their role, so the know how to do it safely and without injury or illness

To prove that you are managing training requirements within your business you will need to ensure that you have documented the training requirements and outcomes. It also includes ensuring people’s training competencies are traceable and current.

Injury Management, Return To Work and Health Promotion

Lost Time injuries are defined as an occurrence that resulted in a fatality, permanent disability or time lost from work of one day/shift or more.

Regulators provide guidelines on Return to Work programs. Some states require your Return to Work Coordinators to be nominated and trained.

Where your business activities may have potential health impacts short or long term to employees, for example a noisy environment or activity, asbestos removal, or potential exposure to a Hazardous Substance, then testing for changes in health is mandatory.