Quality
Management
Development P/L
Business Management Consultants
QMD
Quality Assurance, Workplace Safety & Environmental Risk Management Systems
Workplace Safety
Workplace Safety Management Advantages
An effective workplace safety management system is of great importance to your business, providing the following advantages:
Provides a framework to manage health and safety effectively;
Adds' value to the business by providing standards to work towards;
Provides methods to identify hazards and establish controls that aim to reduce the risk of injury or health complications;
Help to deliver long term cost efficiencies to the business by reducing health and safety related incidents, workers compensation claims and subsequently increased premiums;
Minimize work stoppages due to safety disputes, investigation of incidents, etc;
Demonstrates that the business has the capacity to manage its workplace health and safety responsibilities and is doing so effectively (due diligence);
Provides the business with a mechanism to verify that health and safety is managed and effectively implemented;
Provides the business with public recognition of efforts made to improve workplace health and safety (due diligence);
Reduces the likelihood of prosecution for failing to meet legislative obligations.
The goal of any workplace safety strategy is to eliminate or control, as far as reasonably practicable, all workplace hazards to prevent injury or illness. It is cost effective and profitable to manage workplace safety by developing more efficient processes and reducing risk. It is not economically sustainable to have workplace injuries or illness.
Workplace Safety Management Benefits & Aims
An Australian occupational health & safety management standard has been established; the standard AS/NZS 4801 requires the companies workplace safety management system to address specific issues that effect operations and systems to control hazards, and protect workers and others from workplace injury or illness. Organizations that develop workplace safety management systems which comply with the standard AS/NZS 4801 will gain certification and recognition as preferred suppliers. There are three main reasons why the effective management of workplace safety is of great importance to your business:
Humanitarian Reasons:
Failure to manage health and safety is likely to result in: suffering to the injured individual; hardship to the injured person's family; low employee morale.
Economic Reasons:
Failure to prevent workplace injuries is likely to result in efficiency costs and financial compensation cost that subsequently affect profit margins. The actual cost of an accident can be calculated and involves the following areas: injury compensation and property damage; increased insurance premiums; legal expenses; recruiting and training temporary or permanent replacement employees; time lost by the injured employee; time spent investigating and reporting the incident; loss of production; eligibility to tender and win contracts.
Legal Reasons:
Legal liability is attached to workplace health and safety failure. Employers may be prosecuted for failure to provide a safe and healthy workplace and compliance with occupational health & safety laws, regulations and associated standards. Employers and employees may be charged and prosecuted for their gross negligent actions that have resulted in the death or injury to an employee under occupational health & safety criminal law and manslaughter under Crimes Acts. Civil liability may be applicable for monitory damages to the injured employee.
