Analysis of Workplace Health and Safety in Australian Hardware

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HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK
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INTRODUCTION
The aim of this study is to understand the health and safety parameters at work and how to
maintain a safe environment for the workers. The special case of Geelong Store is considered to
see how they have implemented the necessary health and safety steps to ensure that the
workers are operating in a safe environment and are protected from any potential hazard. The
necessary legislation is also studied to analyse the laws and rules made for the workers and
employers. It gives an insight on how to manage workers and how to carry out the tasks at the
organization (Holt and Allen, 2015).
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ACTIVITY 1
Workplace Health and Safety Management System (WHSMS)
The WHSMS System is an organizational approach which aims to minimize the risk of injury or
harm caused by a hazard that results in injury or illness (Quinlan et al., 2010). This is in
compliance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 which identifies and assesses workplace
risks and defines ways to minimize it. It also considers if the existing procedures, structures,
policies and procedures are in place to tackle any serious occurrence. It focuses on providing
safety and protected performance by using a systematic approach using WHS planning,
implementation and review. It outlines the need for various safety aspects that are deemed
necessary by the organization. The documentation and analysis are required in an on-going and
continued way that reduces risk and improves the safety outcomes.
There are two Australian Standards that relate to the implementation and maintenance of
WHSMS policies-
 AS/NZS 4801:2001- Occupational Health and Safety Management System- Specification
with Guidelines
 AS/NZS 4804:2001- Occupational Health and Safety Management System- General
Guidelines (Hanna et al., 2011)
AS 4801:2001 defines OHSMS as a part of the overall management system which covers
organizational structure, responsibilities, planning and
co-ordination activities, current practices and procedures and processes and available resources
to carry out the OHSMS activities.
AS 4804:2001 gives more generalized guidelines that concern the principles, systems and
supporting methods that can aid the OHS services (Kenton, 2018).
HOW TO SET UP WHS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
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The following steps must be followed for creating a health and safety governance structure.
Step 1: Identify the people within the business that will be responsible and accountable for the
business operations and the adequacy of the safety management system. The business’ health
and safety structure can be accessed by setting the responsibilities to the workers who are in
the organization.
The senior management has the following responsibilities to execute-
 Publish the policies and procedures that explain the company’s approach to WHS and
monitor the employees to see how much do they follow the set rules
 To ensure that the mechanisms are given for effective WHS consultation and application
with the other workers (Schaufeli and Taris, 2014)
 To ensure that an effective plan is in place that covers the objectives and targets
 To ensure that appropriate budget is allocated for resolving the issues of that also
include providing training and equipment
 To continually monitor the performance including the compliance of the laws and
legislation and standards of internal policy.
 Maintain the latest updates about the WHS policies
 To act as a role model for other employees by following all regulations and
demonstrating safe working behaviour
The role of managers and supervisors of the organization are as follows-
 To ensure they adhere to the WHS policies and guidelines.
 Should consult on the WHS issues with workers and address their queries
 To ensure that the workers are equipped with the necessary tools, instructions, training
and knowledge that they need
 To identify any safety hazards and control within their area of responsibility
 To encourage reporting of any critical incident and forward the information to Return to
Work Co-ordinators immediately
 To assist in early returning to work after an incident has been reported
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 To access and interpret the resources of WHS information and to systematically
disseminate information to all workers.
 To ensure that the workers, employees and volunteers are aware of the rules of WHS
and abide by them
 To develop safe working procedures as required and ensure that the procedures are
followed (De Stefano, 2015)
 To provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as required to ensure adherence to the
said procedures and to ensure workers have the knowledge of storage requirements
 To ensure that all plant machinery and equipment is properly maintained and managed
 To remain updated about the relevant issues related to WHS
 To act as a role model by following safe working behaviour
The duties and responsibilities of the workers at the company are-
 To take reasonable care of their own health and to comply with the health standards set
for them. They should not place themselves at any kind of risk which might affect other
workers and the whole organization
 To take reasonable care of their own conduct which does not affect others
 To co-operate with Australian Hardware’s policies and procedures for the workers
 To participate and engage in the creation of a safe and healthy workplace
 To comply with the WHS safety instructions of Australian Hardware for their own safety
and for others regarding safe working procedures
 To report any injury or hazard at the workplace immediately to the senior officials
 To not recklessly interfere with any safety equipment provided by the Australian
Hardware if not trained to use so (Choi, 2011)
Step 2: Set up a cohesive mechanism to consult the workers and employees
The Geelong Store Manager of Australian Hardware has the following responsibilities that
ensure that the workers and employees of the organization are safe and act responsibly-
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 To prepare, update and implement Australian Hardware’s WHS Management System
and comply with the required norms
 To identify all legal requirements pertaining to WHS and ensure that all the tasks are
done without errors or are prone to risks in any way.
 To communicate and consult with other workers to address their concerns
 To investigate and run checks to see any hazardous incidents (von Thiele Schwarz et al.,
2015)
These are the duties of the Geelong Store Manager and he has to undertake these duties to
create a safe working environment for the company.
Return to Work (RTW)
Co-ordinator responsibilities-
 To implement the RTW program for the organization
 To review the RTW program for updating the existing policies
 To negotiate and coordinate with staff to monitor the return to work if the injured is
critical
 To liaise with all the key players regarding the rehab of the injured worker which
includes the insurer, doctors, nurses, coordinators and the worker
 To provide education to the staff regarding the Return to Work program (von Thiele
Schwarz et al., 2015)
 To provide the information to the management of the company regarding the Return to
Work program and the compensation costs to the workers
Step 3: Develop the health and safety policies to comply with the existing norms of WHS at the
workplace
Some relevant legislation and regulations which are in place to address the work health and
safety standards at the organization are-
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1. Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004- The objective of this act is to make the
workplace a safer place and to make the act more accountable, transparent, effective
and regulatory in terms of legislation and administrative means so that occupational
health and safety is improved
2. Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007- The act says that the employer has
certain control over the risk and he must provide the employees about the risks
associated with each task. The employer has to instruct and train the employees who
are exposed to the risks as it is important to keep them safe and in good health while at
work. This includes depicting the nature of the hazard that gives rise to the risk and also
the need for proper use of measures that control the risk
3. Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013- The objectives of this act
are to reduce the incidents of workplace accidents
a. To provide acceptable rehab facility for injured workers and to bear the
expenses of their treatment so that early return to work can be made possible
b. To create a facility for substitute workers who can work in the absence of
injured workers
c. To manage the accident compensation by proving effective treatment to the
injured worker
d. To deter any fraudulent claims
4. Dangerous Goods Act 1985- The act was established to promote the safety of persons
and property while at work that relates to the manufacture, storage, transport,
transfer, purchase and sale and use of hazardous goods and also the import of
explosives to consolidate and amend other laws in place like the Liquid Fuel Act 1941,
the LPG Act 1958 and other such acts. The objective is to promote safe working
conditions, to ensure that adequate precautions are taken against any hazardous
equipment and accidents of fire, explosions, leakages and release of dangerous goods
(Martin and Sutton, 2015).
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ACTIVITY 2
The various objectives and principles of health and safety management system are-
 Establish a safe and healthy workplace for all so that no one is at risk of any harm or
hazard or any kind
 To ensure that compliance with the legislation is a place at all times
 To provide written procedures and manuals for the safe working of all and to provide
material safety and data sheets (MSDS) when required by the management
 To provide support to the employees regarding the training and supervision of
employees so that the best working practices are ensured at the workplace
 To consult the employees and the injured workers on the health and safety concerns
they have faced (Heyman et al., 2010)
 To set clear goals for monitoring of set goals and performance assessment so that the
illnesses can be lessened and the injuries can be minimized for employees, contractors
and visitors.
 To detect hazards that are capable of causing harm to the workers and employees so
that appropriate techniques and activities of risk management can be utilized
 To engage the other senior managers towards the same cause like the line managers,
supervisors and the staff.
 To impart training to the employees and provide them with relatable information which
can be utilized at a time of need
 To conduct internal/ external audits for committing to a health and safety management
system and for its review (Hanna et al., 2011)
These are some of the objectives of the health and safety management system which are to be
followed by the management team.
PRINCIPLES OF RISK MANAGEMENT
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Risk management is defined as the forecasting and evaluating techniques for the identification
of the procedures that minimize or avoid the risk consequences. It is the process of identifying
and assessing the organization’s capital and earnings to avoid them as they may negatively
affect the company.
Risk management is a common practice in the business world. Risk management can be
achieved through the proactive management and assessment of risks at all levels of the
organization. Australian Hardware believes that chasing innovative ideas carry risks with them
but these are identifiable and can be minimized to a certain degree (Kenton, 2018).
The probable risk at any step of the organization can be identified and eradicated by using the
given steps-
1) Establish the Context- The first step involves accessing the environment where risk can
be. The environment is analysed with the stakeholders, goals and objectives of the
business and the scope of a risk mitigation process (Vinnem, 2010 )
2) Identify and Describe Risks- Risks can be identified through a collaborative approach.
This also covers a cross-section of Australian Hardware stakeholders who are involved in
the business. All probable risks surrounding the decision and the environment must be
considered, the uncertainties must be addressed and the solutions for the problems
must be chalked off
3) Conduct Current Risk Analysis- An analysis of the risks is done to see which ones are
more serious and require a quick solution. The causes of the risks have to be identified
to minimise them at the grass root level. This gives the company an overview of the
right risks and profitable ventures
4) Conduct Risk Evaluation- The risk priority step is taken to assign a priority to them for
solutions. This depends on the impact of each risk and the degree to which the company
is affected (Martin and Sutton, 2015)
5) Develop and implement Proposed Risk Treatments- The solutions to the risks are
determined and are applied to the risks to minimize their impact and consequence. The
risk reduction process has to be cost-effective and to control the risk. The formal risk
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management process is defined and documented. The risk likelihood and repeated
occurrence is also targeted
These are the risk assessment steps which identify and minimise the risks in Australian
Hardware.
ACTIVITY 3
It is required to establish, implement, maintain and evaluate the procedures that can identify
the hazards and assess their controlling measures using the hierarchy of risk control at
Australian Hardware in the new Tasmanian Store (Choi, 2011).
The elimination of the risk at source is important to minimise the harm it may cause to the
organization and workers. There are many ways to address the risks. Some ways are mentioned
below-
Elimination- This is the first step of eliminating the risk. This step includes totally
eradicating the risk which can be any toxic substance at the work or any process that
yields hazardous substance as a by-product
Substitution- This method involves substituting the hazardous substance with a less
hazardous one. This is the preferred choice as it not only minimizes the risk but is also
cost-friendly (De Stefano, 2015)
Isolation- By enclosing or isolating the hazardous substance so that it doesn’t affect the
majority and causes no threat to the life and property is also one way of minimizing the
risk
Engineering Controls- The engineering tools and techniques can be used to change the
processes, equipment and tools like machine guards, ventilation techniques, using
wetting down techniques to minimise dust levels and other such ways to minimize the
risk are also used
If a risk still cannot be minimised after applying these control measures then
administrative controls have to be called for. Personal protective clothing and
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equipment can be worn for self-protection as the cause of the risk is still not identified
(von Thiele Schwarz et al., 2015)
Administrative Controls- These controls are levied from the part of the administration
like changing the job timings, job rotation and limiting employee’s exposure to the risk
by limiting areas to hazardous areas
These are some control measures for preventing the adverse impact of the risk in the
organization.
AUSTRALIAN HARDWARE’S RISK MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
There are a number of frameworks that are in practice by the Australian Hardware for
minimising the risk and include an effective and efficient operation to tackle any issue (Glendon
and Clarke, 2015). The company is in a position to address a variety of operational, financial,
commercial and strategic risks. The Australian Hardware’s Risk management Framework
includes-
Policies and procedures- The policies of the company underpin the internal control
process. The policies include Human Resource Policies like staff travel policy,
harassment policy, return to work policy, parental leave policy, Equality/ Anti-
discrimination policy, Work/Life balance policy and others. The financial policies include
bad-debt policy, revenue/ expenditure recognition policy, cash reserving policy and
others (Heyman et al., 2010)
Monthly Reporting: The decisions that are taken to rectify the problem are submitted in
a monthly report and in the regular meeting of the partners of the business. The
comprehensive reporting of the staff members is done to monitor the risks and to
measure their controls.
Business Planning and Budgeting-This process requires the setting of budget plans,
action plans and allocate resources for the same. The progress towards the meeting and
achieving of goals is monitored regularly by the managers and the store partners
(Bennett et al., 2010).
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These are some of the Risk Management policies for Australian Hardware. These are used to
address the health and safety concerns of the organization by keeping a check on the health
concerns of the company.
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