An OHS or a safety policy is simply a method of stating how you, your employees, contractors and visitors are expected to behave when they are on company property or performing company related activities. A safety policy is a formal document that outlines an organisation’s commitment to maintaining a safe and healthy environment for its employees and the surrounding community. It is essential to incorporate the environment issues in the policy as it reduces the risk of accidents and illnesses, ensuring the well-being of employees. This includes managing air quality, noise levels, and exposure to hazardous substances.
A well written safety policy not only helps in preventing accidents and reducing risks, but also fosters a culture of safety within the organisation. The most effective means of demonstrating the management support and commitment is by issuing a safety policy statement that is signed and dated by the most senior member of the management team. This enabler will allow others lower in the hierarchy of the organisation to carry out the instructions reassuring that safety is everyone’s concern.
1. The safety policy
Section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work 1996 requires a written safety statement to be created in consultation with the workers .This is a centre piece of safety management that insist, persuade, explain the assigned responsibilities. It is an essential requirement for management involvement at all levels to define the health and responsibilities in detail within the written documentation, and then to check at regular intervals the effectiveness of the policy. This is a real time documentation and will reflect and capture changes as the nature of the organisation needs and change accordingly. The safety policy adapted by the organisation will also apply to anyone who enters the organisation’s jurisdiction and extended to any workers who may be working off sites. The safety policy contains three separate parts. The first is the statement of the employer’s policy, the details of the organisation set up to make it happen (responsibilities at each level within the operation) and the arrangement (how in detail health and safety will be managed). There is a distinguish between a safety policy and a standard operating procedure. The safety policy will refer to the manuals for technical points and explained in greater details. The safety policy will provide concise details of the organisation’s objective and the means of achieving it.
2. The employers statement
The worrying fact is that the safety policy is the most unread document in many organisations and the importance of such documentation is ignored. Even having one that it is not communicated and disseminated to the lower hierarchy of the organisation, I believer maybe the result of lack of training and awareness created. The safety policy must be displayed at prominent and accessible places at work and must become a common knowledge for all. Having the workers participation and involvement in creating this policy will ensure and improve the accountably and ownership of the documentation.
The safety policy must contain the following commitments :
• The identification of hazards with the view to eliminate or control it. This can be classified, and immediate action is required for the high-risk issues.
• Maintain health and safety working conditions, including the provision of safe plants and equipment.
• Continuous improvement is required in all the process to prevent accidents and work-related illness. The implementation of safe system of work maybe required to certain processes where the elimination of hazards is not possible.
• Appropriate and adequate training must be provided by the employer with a very high level of competency required for high-risk operation.
• To ensure the policy covers safe transport, storage and handling of hazardous substance.
• To establish a feedback loop with the employees on health and safety issues affecting their wellbeing. Providing the employees with necessary information, instruction and supervision.
• The safety policy must be reviewed at regular intervals if there is a change in the organisation structure or process. The safety policy must be endorsed by the most senior management and dated. This shows firm commitment by the management and maybe subject to the organisation’s disciplinary mechanism in case of any breach.
The safety statement is a commitment to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for all its employees, contractors and visitors. Considering that in the undertaking of anyones’ job the prevention of injury or ill-health to people in its workplace is of no less importance than any other elements of the job. Recognises that the managers and supervisors have primary responsibility for providing and maintaining a working environment that’s safe and without risks to health. The policy must be committed to support the roles of the OHS Committee chair and safety reps.
3. Hierarchy of controls and responsibilities
• The Head of the organisation
The Head of the organisation will be accountable for implementation of the policy.
• Senior management.
Each manager will be required to ensure that the policy and the OHS program is developed and effectively implemented in their areas of control, and to support supervisors and hold them accountable for their specific responsibilities.
• Management and supervisors
Each first-line supervisor will be responsible, and will be held accountable, within the scope of their authority for taking all practical measures to ensure that the tasks required for the successful implementation of the organisation’s OHS management programs are undertaken.
• Employees
Each employee will be responsible, and will be held accountable, within the scope of their authority for taking all practical measures to ensure a safe workplace. The safety scope becomes everyone’s responsibility.
• Contractors, visitors and non workers
All contractors engaged to perform work on any of the organisation’s sites must as part of their contract sign off on a check list regarding OHS safety policies, procedures and programs, before, at the start, during and after the contract. Failure to comply can be considered a breach of contract. All visitors , customers and non workers are expected to follow OHS policies and procedures whilst on the premises and not to adversely affect their own health and safety or that of others.
4. Organisation and
arrangement
The responsibilities of management and supervision at all levels amounts to the details of the organisation for health and safety required by the Health and Safety at Workplace Act 1996. At every level the managers and the workforce should set out for themselves a precise summary of their duties in ensuring the health and safety of everyone in the jurisdiction of the employer. For the managers and supervisors, the noncompliance with the employer’s own requirement maybe viewed as negligence by the courts. The duties of employees set out in the safety policy aligned to the legislation will define what amount of reasonable care for themselves and others.
5. Other considerations –
Revision, distribution and the function of the policies
Safety policies are written statement of management intent. It serves as a record of intended standard of care provided by the employer. The revision of the safety policies should be done at regular intervals to ensure that the organisation and arrangement are still applicable and appropriate to the needs. If there are any changes in the organisation structure ,senior personnel, work arrangement, processes or premise, the hazards and the risk may change also. If there is any accident or incident at the workplace, one of the objectives during the investigation is to determine that the arrangement in force had the ability to anticipate the circumstance and foreseen the cause of the mishap. If it did not than a change to the policy will be required. The revision mechanism must be included and documented in the policy. When drafting a safety OHS policy it is advisable to include everyone across the organisation hierarchy to create a sense of .ownership and the accountability.
The circulation and the distribution of the safety policy must be implemented and distributed in a way that everyone in the organisation must read and understand the contents and maybe it is advisable to have a vernacular version printed also. The safety policy statement is a bridge and linkage between the health and safety activities of the management and the legal system because a requirement exists in the statute law for a policy to be written that is captured in Section 9 of the Health and Safety at Workplace Act 1996. It states that a safety policy is to be developed in consultation with workers of the employer, and with such other persons as the employer considers appropriate .The policy should enable effective cooperation between the employers and the workers in promoting and developing measures to ensure the workers health and safety at work. It should provide an adequate mechanism for reviewing the effectiveness of the measures or the redesigning of the policy whenever appropriate. Any employers who contravene or fails to comply with any provision of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine of not more than $100,000 in the cases of corporation of $10,000 in any other case.
6. Conclusion
Occupational safety and health policy is a duel disciplinary area concerned with protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of people engaged in any mode of employment. The goal of all occupational safety and health programs is to foster a safe work environment. As a secondary effect, it may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities, and other members of the public who are impacted by the workplace environment.
The reasons for establishing good occupational safety and health standards are frequently identified as a moral obligation. An employee should not have to risk injury or the loss of life at work, nor should others associate with the work environment.
Economic benefits – many countries and governments realise that poor occupational safety and health performance results in cost to the State (e.g. through compensation payments to the incapacitated, costs for medical treatment, and the loss of the “of the ability of the worker to continue employment.
Employing organisations also sustain costs in the event of an incident at work (such as legal fees, fines, compensatory damages, investigation time, lost production, lost goodwill from the workforce, from customers and from the wider community).
Legal requirements – Occupational safety and health requirements may be reinforced in civil law or criminal law. It is accepted that without the extra “encouragement” of potential regulatory action or litigation, many organisations would not act upon their implied moral obligations.
