Health and Safety
Health and safety management is about organised efforts and procedures for identifying workplace hazards and reducing accidents and exposure to harmful situations and substances. It includes training personnel in accident prevention, accident response, emergency preparedness, and use of protective clothing and equipment.
Health and Safety Management
Legal Risk Management
Integrated OHSACT Baseline Risk Assessment
Five Primary Elements
An effective safety and health management system has five primary elements:
This systematic approach integrates occupational safety and health objectives into the company’s organisational structure.
The results of a system approach include:
- An effective system supports the organisation’s philosophy.
- Accountability for implementing the system is understood and accepted.
- Long-term solutions are implemented rather than one-time fixes.
- Evaluation of results over time promotes continual improvement.
- An effective system positively impacts the company’s bottom line.
Elements of a Health and Safety Management System
Compliance with the OHS Act can be onerous, with many companies realising they need a specialist company to manage their Health and Safety regulations. EMPOWERisk, acting as your Agent, specialises in the execution of the health and safety act and its regulations.
Management commitment and planning
Employee involvement
Health and safety training
Worksite analysis
Hazard prevention and control
6 Steps to Legal Risk Management
The objective of the 6 Steps to Legal Risk management is to gain an understanding of the legal and administrative environment in which a company is conducting its business and to be in a position to identify areas that may require further attention. It is covered in six parts:
Evaluation of Health and Safety Policy
A formal evaluation of the existence and implementation of a health and safety policy and confirmation that it still meets best practice is carried out.
Evaluate health and safety structure
An evaluation of the health and safety structure applicable to the workplace with a specific focus on the following legally required appointments is conducted:
- Designated person/s
- Responsible person/s
- Health and safety representative/s
- Health and safety committee members
Confirm the training of employees appointed
A confirmation of the training of employees appointed in the firm to be responsible persons is conducted and cover positions such as:
- Health and safety representatives
- Health and safety committee members
- First-aiders
- Fire marshals
- Emergency management officers
- Electrical inspectors
- Mechanical inspectors
- Working in confined areas
- Working at heights
Confirmation of various health and safety reporting
EMPOWERisk confirms aspects such as :
- Monthly health and safety inspections by the appointed health and safety representatives; and inspection reports, where suitable and applicable
- Response to health and safety inspection reports
- Health and safety committee meetings, value, content, response and whether formal minutes of these meetings are readily available
- Record keeping in terms of the requirements of the OHSACT
Confirmation of other health and safety training requirements
As part of EMPOWERISK Agent services, they confirm aspects such as:
- Business specific health and safety training for all applicable levels
- Operational applicable health and safety training for specialised areas
- First aid and firefighting training
- Induction training of employees, learners as well as other persons
Additional health and safety requirement confirmation
EMPOWERisk’s experience covers additional areas, not usually covered by other risk managers, as a rule. This includes aspects such as:
- Applicable work permit requirements
- Development and implementation of safe working procedures; as well as ensuring operational compliance
- Development and implementation of standard operational procedures; as well as ensuring operational compliance
- Accident/incident/near miss investigation, reporting as well as ensuring operational compliance and corrective actions
OHSACT Baseline
EMPOWERisk Management proposes that the golden thread of enterprise-wide risk management be followed throughout the project and also thereafter.
The inter-relationship between occupational health and safety, environmental, risk, exposure to management and business implications risks not managed purposefully and proactively, are depicted in the following illustration of a typical iceberg.
The conclusion of the above illustration is that for every R1 of direct costs, hidden costs, service interruptions, environmental impairment, reputation implications of up to R50 could be experienced in a case of an injury or incident or accident or public liability claim or i.e. an occupational injury or environmental incident or fatality or reputation implications or liability claims.
Integrated Occupational Health, Safety and Physical Baseline Risk Assessment
What you need to know
Integration
It is therefore crucial that the disciplines of occupational health and safety management, environmental as well as related activities such as fire and enterprise-wide risk management be integrated in a holistic manner. This is to ensure that the investment and operational implications are actively and pro-actively managed and not just “what is reportable or must be documented”.
It will also result in the achievement of the objectives including optimal return on the investment to the benefit of the Company and its stakeholders.
This proposed methodology and solutions would, therefore, focus and support the long-term sustainability of occupational health and safety compliance, incident prevention, reduce exposures to management as well as promote good governance, legal compliance, best practice and risk management within the Company; long after the successful completion of the project including expected savings on reduced incidents and exposures.
Identify, evaluate and risk mitigation measures proposed for the Company’s consideration
Aspects such as:
a. current or actual risks,
b. unacknowledged risks and exposures,
c. emerging risks and exposures.
d. reputation risks and exposures,
e. potential injuries and exposures,
would also be purposefully identified, evaluated and risk mitigation measures proposed for the Company’s consideration.