Recommendations on WHS management system
Recommendations on WHS management system
For Australian Hardware
CURRENT SITUATION
Australian Hardware has expanded rapidly to include 138 warehouse stores nationally. Unfortunately, one of the possible results of this rapid expansion is a lack of a national, consistent approach to WHS compliance.
The company does take seriously its legal and ethical obligations to provide a safe workplace; however, safety standards may be slipping. According to incomplete Australian Hardware records, last year, the Lost Time to Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) was 13.9.
Areas and types of injuries of particular concern include: manual lifting of outdoor furniture and hardware goods in warehouses and in customer service areas hazardous materials handling by forklift drivers, drivers and customer service staff.
In addition, a lack of systematic WHS recordkeeping has meant the organization cannot be entirely sure of health and safety performance, nor can it be sure of WHS compliance.
AMENDING OBJECTIVES
The main needs of Australian Hardware with respect to the proposed WHS management system are: legal compliance across jurisdictions the safest possible workplace conditions for workers (objective: bring LTIFR and Injury Rate (IR) to 10% below national averages) integration with all other Australian Hardware management systems, operations and corporate culture to advertise and demonstrate Australian Hardware’s commitment to WHS.
According to above, some specific activities should be outlined in detail to ensure an effective implementation of WHS Management System.
- Management commitment
- Developing policy
- Planning
- Implementation
- Measurement and evaluation
- Review and improvement
MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT
Management commitment is essential for the success of a health and safety management program. In practical terms this means that top management within Australian Hardware:
Determines the current status of WHS management within
For Australian Hardware
CURRENT SITUATION
Australian Hardware has expanded rapidly to include 138 warehouse stores nationally. Unfortunately, one of the possible results of this rapid expansion is a lack of a national, consistent approach to WHS compliance.
The company does take seriously its legal and ethical obligations to provide a safe workplace; however, safety standards may be slipping. According to incomplete Australian Hardware records, last year, the Lost Time to Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) was 13.9.
Areas and types of injuries of particular concern include: manual lifting of outdoor furniture and hardware goods in warehouses and in customer service areas hazardous materials handling by forklift drivers, drivers and customer service staff.
In addition, a lack of systematic WHS recordkeeping has meant the organization cannot be entirely sure of health and safety performance, nor can it be sure of WHS compliance.
AMENDING OBJECTIVES
The main needs of Australian Hardware with respect to the proposed WHS management system are: legal compliance across jurisdictions the safest possible workplace conditions for workers (objective: bring LTIFR and Injury Rate (IR) to 10% below national averages) integration with all other Australian Hardware management systems, operations and corporate culture to advertise and demonstrate Australian Hardware’s commitment to WHS.
According to above, some specific activities should be outlined in detail to ensure an effective implementation of WHS Management System.
- Management commitment
- Developing policy
- Planning
- Implementation
- Measurement and evaluation
- Review and improvement
MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT
Management commitment is essential for the success of a health and safety management program. In practical terms this means that top management within Australian Hardware:
Determines the current status of WHS management within
References: http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/Documents/230/NationalOHSStrategy_2002-2012.pdf, accessed on 15th Sep, 2014 http://mintrac-whs.com.au/wp-content/uploads/OHS-Reference-Guide-Part2.pdf, accessed on 15th Sep, 2014 http://www.business.gov.au/business-topics/employing-people/workplace-health-and-safety/Pages/whs-acts-regulations-and-codes-of-practice.aspx, accessed on 20th Aug, 2014 http://simulations.ibsa.org.au/australian_hardware, accessed on 20th Aug, 2014 http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/model-whs-laws/pages/jurisdictional-progress-whs-laws. 20th Aug, 2014. http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2011A00137/Html/Text#_Toc309986377, accessed on 15th Sep, 2014.