STRATEGIC ASPECTS

1. BEST PRACTICE

An increasing trend in Industry is the drive toward Best Practice from a safety management viewpoint, this is an ultimate objective but there are many steps that need to be taken to reach this phase of the journey.

At this stage of your companies development, awareness of this factor is the practical step.

2. CERTIFICATION

Many companies are now moving toward gaining certification in relation to their various management systems, ie. Environmental, Quality and Safety.

This certification being under SafetyMAP, AS 4804, ISO 9000, AS 14000 – to cover a few. These generally being raised by Principals.

The important factor here is that any initial steps taken must be compatible with those ultimate requirements to avoid reinventing the wheel later on.

3. STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

Tasmania now has a completely new statutory regime in terms of the Workplace Health & Safety Act 1995 and the regulations gazetted on 9^th December, 1998 – Workplace Health & Safety Act Regulations 1998.

The combined effect of these two items of legislation is to impose a considerable array of requirements on all Employers.

There are minimums that need to be complied with to avoid prosecution and I suggest this is the initial priority area to work on.

4. Workers Compensation

There have been problems in the workers compensation market with premium trending up in 1999 – this is likely to be an increasing problem for medium to large firms.

Self Insurance is becoming an increasingly attractive option but this decision needs to be made against a solid framework of good claims results and an effective S.M.S.

5. Training

This is needed to remedy gaps in terms of competencies and/or provide detail in relation to safety management system elements.

Training is not a magic wand solution and any delivery needs to be relevant to a framework where course outcomes can be applied.

By this I mean that you need to have an effective framework (ie. S.M.S.) in your workplaces for the Training skills to be applied.

PROPOSED APPROACH

To deal with all these issues at the same time will not be practical – nor is it cost effective.

SMALL STEPS à CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

For customers seeking to get their S.M.S. to "Best Practice" it will be essential to get the support of all employees and this will take time, it will leave exposures but long term results will be achieved.

SAFETY SYSTEM

THERE ARE NO SHORT CUTS !!

The creation of a safety system is a long term process based on the concept of continuous improvement - it will require a dual commitment from management, FINANCIAL and TIME allocation – the service we propose will balance these out over time.

There are now clearly defined obligations - statutory and common law on Employers DIRECTORS, MANAGERS & SUPERVISORS to have a safe system of work in place

Refer to Section 9 of the Workplace Health & Safety Act 1995.

It will not be enough to think that such a system exists in the workplace, the only defence available is referred to as the;

Translating this into plain language.

An inadequate approach to any of these elements will cause major problems in the event of an accident.

The maximum fines under the Workplace Health & Safety Act 1995 are:

$150,000 - Employers
$50,000 - Managers, etc
$25,000 - Responsible Officer

With the successful conviction for CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER in Victoria the liabilities for deficiencies in Safety systems has been increased considerably.

A Best Practice approach is the best means of controlling this exposure.

OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD MANAGEMENT

1. LEGISLATIVE COMPLIANCE

These legislative requirements are:

• WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY ACT 1995
• WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY REGULATIONS 1998

The provisions of these Acts are policed by the

This policing largely takes the form of Inspections by the staff of this Department.

Kirwan & Associates regard statutory compliance as a minimum objective.

The emphasis will be on the practical approach to these Regulations so our customers competitive position is not compromised.

Kirwan & Associates maintain regular contact with Workplace Standards Authority to ensure currency of developments and also to ensure they are aware of progress by our customer base.

2. Safety Advice

Kirwan & Associates have a wide spread of contacts that enable sourcing of information, U.S.A. and England being key providers.

The detail we obtain from these countries is then translated into workable packages.

In the event of any queries on disputes in relation to safety aspects, this Firm is able to provide direct assistance.

It is not practical to expect customers and their key On Site personnel to become experts in Workplace Safety - they do not to have the time, there are many other topics that would be a higher priority.

What is needed is an awareness of hazards and then if they are not sure, seek the necessary advice.

"Best Practice" requires coaching and that requires specialised and up-to-date expertise - this combined with our experience in a wide spread of Industry Sectors all of which have their own unique characteristics will deliver to customers a cost effective service.

3. SITE/WORKPLACE VISITS/AUDITS

1.Frequency

This will depend upon a number of factors such as the Site Rating or a particular type of accident, poor audit results.

This type of detail will affect where we will attend.

2.Format

The Inspections will vary in style from a brief visit of 30 minutes or a visit that may last for 1 day or longer.

During the Inspection, contact may be made with the Manager and other Employees, Safety Reps, etc.

The aim of the Visits is to evaluate performance in terms of the Safety System and provide a method of monitoring performance improvements and also provide a feedback loop.

If it is considered appropriate then the necessary Audit Form will be completed to measure performance in the three sub programs.

ie.

• Job Safety
• Housekeeping
• Hazard Control

It is important to understand that the rationale behind this element of the Occupational Hazard Management Program is;

By verifying performance and then looking for constant improvement customers will move toward that ultimate objective of "Best Practice".

Kirwan & Associates will maintain a regular schedule of visits to the workplace to liase with Employer/Employees on Safety Issues.

4. INFORMATION SYSTEM

Information is a critical element of Occupational Hazard Management and the ability to make comparisons over periods is essential. The data will provide a basis for planning aspects over the next three years.

The data base to be created is drawn directly from the Workers’ Compensation Claims and also from the Site Audits, Visits and photos taken.

The aim of this Information System when it is configured to its ultimate design will enable customers to pin point critical areas from a Safety aspect.

Kirwan & Associates will develop an Information System to provide details on Performance Levels and Indicators.

5. Claims Management

This is what is referred to as the "post loss" aspect of Occupational Hazard Management and it is a vital element in the aim of the Safety Management System to control costs - in this case the actual claim cost.

This is an area of the service provided that passes unnoticed but requires large time allocations.

The benefits provided under the Tasmanian Rehabilitation & Compensation Act 1988 are generous, and more importantly, entitlement to benefit is only contingent on completion of a claim form accompanied by the prescribed medical certificates.

To ensure this claim process is controlled requires the application of expertise as well as time. Kirwan & Associates will provide assistance to customers in this regard.

Kirwan & Associates will provide assistance to ensure Workers Compensation claims are effectively managed.

6. TRAINING

Kirwan & Associates can provide Training Modules covering a wide variety of topics ranging from Manual Handling to Dangerous Goods and duration varies from 1 Day to 4 Days.

Training has a place in the Safety Management System but it must reflect a priority based on identified skill deficiencies.

It is also important to be aware of the different approaches to training, a two hour session may be held to improve skills versus a structured course that generally runs for a minimum of 8 hours.

Kirwan & Associates are an accredited Training provider under the ARF scheme.

7. Strategic Advice

Our approach is based on the proven principals of Total Quality Management and its concept of Continuous Improvement.

In this regard we have opted to follow the SafetyMAP concept from a systems aspect.

This is a model that has been adopted by Workplace Standards Tasmania to measure Safety Management Systems.

SafetyMAP is also compatible with the various standards that are relevant, eg. ISO 9000 series.

In measuring how well a company is performing in relation to its Workplace Safety Management System a standardised method has been adopted by the Workplace Standards Authority under the title SafetyMAP.

This enables an assessment to be made under the following headings:

These twelve sections have a number of items to be considered - 139 separate items covering various safety aspects are involved in the SafetyMAP criteria.

This is the method being used by Workplace Standards Authority and from an efficiency viewpoint any system being developed must be compatible.

The system Kirwan & Associates will utilise is compatible with SafetyMAP.

TWELVE ELEMENTS OF SAFETYMAP

1. Building and Sustaining Commitment
2. Documenting Strategy
3. Design and Contract Review
4. Document Control
5. Purchasing
6. Working Safely by System
7. Monitoring Standards
8. Reporting and Correcting Deficiencies
9. Managing Movement and Materials
10. Collecting and Using Data
11. Auditing of Management Systems
12. Developing Skills and Competencies