Work Health and Safety

This document assesses the WHS issues facing Pitshop Pty Limited, a fuel pump and supermarket services offering private company in Australia. It proposes measures to minimize the issue of WHS and improve workplace safety.

Running head: WHS
Work Health and Safety
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Assessment 1:..................................................................................................................................1
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................1
Part 1. Review of the simulated workplace:....................................................................................1
Part 2. Initial review of the workplace:...........................................................................................2
Part 2a. Organisational requirements for WHS management:.....................................................2
Part 2b. Responsibilities and accountabilities for WHS:.............................................................2
Part 2c. WHS risk management and procedures:........................................................................2
Part 2d. Documentation and recordkeeping requirements for monitoring and review and
demonstration of compliance:......................................................................................................3
Part 2e. Employee capability and need for training.....................................................................3
Part 3. Summary of the consultation meetings with the organisational stakeholders:....................3
Part 4. Research to support proposal for the design of a WHSMS:................................................4
Part 4a. Victorian WHS legal framework:...................................................................................4
Part 4b. NSW or Qld WHS Act, to support your proposal for the design of a WHSMS:...........4
Part 4c. Relevant standards for WHS management systems, risk management and
recordkeeping..............................................................................................................................4
Part 5. Development of a draft WHS policy for Pit Shop Pty Limited:..........................................4
Part 6. Written outline of core elements of proposed WHS management system and response to
issue by Amanda Kaisig and Pat Lee:............................................................................................5

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Part 6a. Amanda Kaisig:..............................................................................................................5
Part 6b. Pat Lee:...........................................................................................................................5
Part 7. Propose design of WHS:......................................................................................................6
Part 8. Role Play:.............................................................................................................................7
Part a. Core elements of system and proposed changes or additions:.........................................7
Part b. Relevant standards:..........................................................................................................7
Part c. relevant legislative requirements for WHS management, including those related to
recordkeeping:.............................................................................................................................7
Part d. WHS policy requirements:...............................................................................................8
Part e. How policy will be communicated to employees:...........................................................8
Part f. how design of WHS management system and WHS policy meet internal and external
requirements:...............................................................................................................................8
Part g. Possible certification option and process of certification:...............................................9
Part 9. Incorporation of necessary changes into WHS:...................................................................9
Part 10. Submission of documents:.................................................................................................9
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................9
References:....................................................................................................................................10

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Assessment 1:
Introduction:
Workplace Health and Safety or WHS is one of the most crucial areas of concern in
Australia. WHS has great impact on the morale of the employees and their performance. The aim
of the paper is to assess the WHS issues facing Pitshop Pty Limited, a fuel pump and
supermarket services offering private company in Australia. The paper would then go on to
propose measures which can be taken by the company to minimise the issue of WHS.
Part 1. Review of the simulated workplace:
Pitshop Proprietary Limited was an Australian company which marketed fuel, oil, gas,
supermarket facilities and food products namely, hot pies to the people travelling on motorbikes
and in cars. Jim Murphy was the owner and the CEO of the company. A review of the case study
provided shows that the company financially strong and had been operating profitably for past 5
years. The financial strength of the company can be also be gauged from the fact that in order to
expand its business, the company often used buyout strategies to acquire existing fuel service
stations and even acquired the employees of its subsidiaries. The company held strong position
in Australia which was evident from three locations namely Victoria, New South Wales and
Queensland, all the three locations in Australia. The review of the documents of the company
shows it maintained WHS to an average level. The company did face accidents which led to staff
injuries and in fact injury to customers. Thus, it transpires from the review of the case study that
Pitshop Pty Limited would be required to take strategies to strengthen its WHS standards.

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Part 2. Initial review of the workplace:
Part 2a. Organisational requirements for WHS management:
Pitshop Pty. Limited required to strengthen its WHS management to minimise the issues
of injuries which the employees were facing. This poor state of WHS at the stores owned Pitshop
Pty Limited was evident from the surging rate of employee injuries which resulted in stalling of
work. The lack security and safety in the offices operated by Pitshop Pty Limited resulted in
employees absenting on high rates since their motivation had waned. This hampered productivity
and ultimately, revenue generations of the company. Moreover, the increasing incidences of
employee accidents attracted further risks pertaining to legal risks and goodwill, both of which
had negative negative impacts on the business of the company. Thus, it can be inferred that the
organisation required to strengthen WHS management in order to manage not only WHS risks
but goodwill risks, revenue risks and legal risks as well.
Part 2b. Responsibilities and accountabilities for WHS:
The responsibilities and accountability of WHS lied with all the staff of Pitshop Pty
Limited. The management adopted the WHS policy of making all the staff aware of the risks
which the business could face in the course of operations. The management of the company also
made it mandatory for the senior managers to educate the newly hired employees of the risks.
Part 2c. WHS risk management and procedures:
The WHS risk management responsibilities lied with the management and the employees.
The risk management procedures of the company consisted on six steps. They were,
identification of the hazards, clearing the area of hazard of employees and customers and
separate the hazardous area from rest of the premises on temporary basis on prevent the hazards
like chemical from spreading. The next step was to clear the hazard and report to the manager

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present on the floor. The final step of the WHS risk management process was to complete all
documentations.
Part 2d. Documentation and recordkeeping requirements for monitoring and review and
demonstration of compliance:
The management of PitShop maintained stringent documents and records for all the risks
identified. The management monitored the risk management pertaining to particular risks. It also
take an account of the risk compliance which was followed in the company.
Part 2e. Employee capability and need for training.
The employees of PitShop Pty Limited lacked the level of capability which was required
to manage risks efficiently and required risk training. The managers did not emphasise on the
training of employees and were more concerned with the sales. The managers did not maintain
preparedness to tackle unexpected risks cropped up. The staff did not use the personal protection
equipment where was provided to them by the management.
Part 3. Summary of the consultation meetings with the organisational stakeholders:
The consultation meetings with the stakeholders of Pitshop Pty Limited namely Jim, the
CEO and Alan Harvey, an investor and the members on the administrative board could be
summarised in the finding that the employees lacked training. Jim reported that the company was
experiencing large scale employee injury which had eroded employee motivation which in turn
led to frequent absenting of employees. The investor pointed out to the increasing legal and
goodwill risks due to increasing WHS in the stores of Pitshop Pty Limited.

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Part 4. Research to support proposal for the design of a WHSMS:
Part 4a. Victorian WHS legal framework:
Victorian WHS legal framework mandated the employers to ensure that their workplaces
are free from hazards to the extent possible. The act also mandates the employers to provide
safety training to the employees. The employers should compensate the employees affected by
injuries and accidents (Worksafe.vic.gov.au, 2019).
Part 4b. NSW or Qld WHS Act, to support your proposal for the design of a WHSMS:
The company should follow both the NSW and the QLD WHS acts to design a WHS
management system. The management system should involve all the employees which would
participate in the risk management operations under the leadership of the apex management.
Part 4c. Relevant standards for WHS management systems, risk management and
recordkeeping.
The management of Pitshop Pty Limited should maintain relevant documents like risk
register. The management should maintain records pertaining to all the accidents and injuries of
employees to ensure that the managers are able to consult them to deal with similar nature of
risks.
Part 5. Development of a draft WHS policy for Pit Shop Pty Limited:
The draft WHS policy of the Pitshop Pty Limited should take into account the WHS risks
which the employees of the company would likely to face. The WHS policy would lay down the
steps which employees irrespective of deployment location and designation would be required to
follow strictly. The following are the components of the draft WHS policies:

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1. The staff upon detecting risks like fire or any other hazard should report the same to the
manager(s) on duty.
2. The managers should provide directions to manage the risks.
3. The staff should execute the risk management strategies as per direction of the manager(s).
4. The manager should communicate the risks to the apex management.
5. The head of the department in which the hazard had taken place as well as the management
should maintain complete records of the risks and how they have were dealt with or managed.
Part 6. Written outline of core elements of proposed WHS management system and
response to issue by Amanda Kaisig and Pat Lee:
Part 6a. Amanda Kaisig:
Amanda Kaisig, the store manager reported that the number of accidents and injuries of
employees had been rising owing to weak risk management policy execution which took place in
Pitshop as well its subsidiaries. She further reported that the company did not maintain proper
records of the accidents and the incidences of the burns have also increased. Amanda finally
raised the concerned that ISS, the firm which Pitshop was buying out was smaller in size and
may lack risk management training to employees. Further, she also pointed it out that Jim, the
owner and CEO of Pitshop was able to offer training to managers to optimum levels due to time
constraint.

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Part 6b. Pat Lee:
The meeting with the former worker representative at the ISS store namely, Pat Lee
revealed that the manager of the firm had raised concerns about safety issues. The stores
managers had inadequate safety training and legal knowledge. The workers lack confidence in
the management and did not raise safety issues before the management. The discussion also
brought to light that most of the employees lacked safety training.
Part 7. Propose design of WHS:
The following is the design which could be proposed for PitShop to manage its WHS
issues:
Figure 1. WHS risk management design of Pitshop
(Source: Author)
Mnagement
monitors the
risk
managenent
strategies
Staff recognise
risks
Report to
managers
Managers
report risks to
management
Manegement
takes decisions
Managers and
subordinate
execute risk
management
strategies

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Part 8. Role Play:
Part a. Core elements of system and proposed changes or additions:
The following are the core elements of the system and proposed changes to the WHS risk
management strategies at PitShop:
1. Keeping of training records of accidents and injuries both with the management as well as
with the concerned department.
2. Formation of the rehabilitation policies.
3. Employees would be provided with training.
4. Staff notice board showing safety information to be installed.
5. Adoption of the practice of safety audits.
Part b. Relevant standards:
The risk management system of Pitshop Pty Limited should follow the relevant safety
standards. The apex management must ensure that the employees comply with the relevant acts
laid down by the governments
Part c. relevant legislative requirements for WHS management, including those related to
recordkeeping:
The company must maintain the legislative requirements mandated by the Safe Work Act
2008 both at the central level as well as the state levels. The company should maintain records of
all the accidents and hazardous incidences as per the act (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au, 2019).

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Part d. WHS policy requirements:
The company should comply with the WHS policies and the Model WHS Laws. The
WHS laws cover various areas of employee risks right from physical hazards, sexual
discrimination and bullying. The management should ensure that its employees are not subjected
to any sort of unethical and illegal treatments. The management of the company should take
steps against employees who are found guilty on the grounds of breaching WHS risks.
Part e. How policy will be communicated to employees:
The WHS policies should be communicated to employees in written forms like emails on
their official email ids. The departmental heads may also hold meetings with the employees to
educate them on the WHS laws.
Part f. how design of WHS management system and WHS policy meet internal and
external requirements:
The management body of Pitshop Pty Limited should design a strict WHS management
systems and WHS policy on the basis of the external and internal requirements. The external
factors which the management of the company requires to consider while making WHS policies
are macroeconomic factors like the laws laid down by the government of Australia and the state
governments. The internal factors which the management should take into consider the WHS
policies would be the financial strengths of the company as well as present skills or
competencies of employees.

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Part g. Possible certification option and process of certification:
The managers of the company should gain certificates from the bodies like St. John’s
Ambulance. These certificates would enable the management to take more prudent risk
management decisions.
Part 9. Incorporation of necessary changes into WHS:
The management of Pitshop should incorporate the necessary changes into its present
WHS. The necessary changes would consist of steps like providing trainings to employees and
mandate using safety tools in order to minimise the scopes of hazards.
Part 10. Submission of documents:
The WHS documents should be submitted to the apex management body of Pitshop Pty
Limited. The departmental heads should also maintain copies of the documents for future
references.
Conclusion:
It can be pointed out that the risk management policies of Pitshop Pty Limited were
insufficient to meet the operational needs. The slackness occurred both due to negligence from
the side of the management as well as from the side of the employees. This means that the new
proposed WHS should take into account how both the management and the employees could be
integrated to minimise risks. The company should train its employees and adopt the WHS laws
more stringently to strengthen its risk management policies.

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References:
Safeworkaustralia.gov.au. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/law-
and-regulation
Worksafe.vic.gov.au. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/all-acts-and-
regulations