Operating a business comes with its fair share of challenges and opportunities. As we have been so tragically reminded in the past few years, bushfire risk is a very real threat to our homes and businesses. While most people prepare on making their household ready, it is likewise important to get your business prepared for

Having a work health and safety consultant can minimise hazards and assist with safety in the workplace. Consultants can review existing work and healthy business plans and policies. They can also create and implement new policies for the business to assist in meeting the standards required by law. Besides improving the safety standards in the

Improved employee retention, less downtime for workers, fewer occupational health costs, satisfaction and productivity of employees, and reductions of retraining time are only a few reasons why WHS is so important for businesses. As a business owner/operator, you should always keep the safety of your employees pretty close to the top of your priority list. 

As with all business operations, if you happen to have a warehouse, you must ensure you are aware of, and comply with your legal obligations.  The warehousing sector includes the operation of supply chain and storage facilities. Some examples are as follows: Wool storage service Refrigerated storage service Furniture storage service Free store operation Controlled

Keeping a workplace safe is a lofty goal that should be strived for by all enterprises. It doesn’t matter what size or what type of a business you have. Keeping your business compliant to all health and safety guidelines will go a long way in creating a better business. Making your business WHS compliant is

Introduction In South Australia, work health and safety (WHS) are a prime concern. While the common goal of businesses is profitability, the drive to make the workplace safe must never be neglected as manpower is a vital asset to your company. The government has its laws in place to enforce WHS in business premises. That

Introduction As a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), you have the responsibility to ensure that safety is at the forefront of your business. A well-established and implemented work safety practice will not only protect your workers but will help you save unnecessary costs associated with workplace injuries or illnesses. But what are the

7 Steps to Ensuring Your Business is OHS Compliant Safety at work should be the number one policy that business owners should impose. Regulation has been one of the things many business owners sigh over as they can increase costs and decrease efficiency, all the while being mandatory.  One of the many regulations that businesses

Covid-19 Business Safety Obligations In the past few months, businesses have gone from anxiety state to total lockdown as governments have been trying to contain the spread of coronavirus. New cases are reported daily globally as well as deaths from this epidemic. As much as the solution to this disease is social distancing and isolation,

There are legal requirements. If your forklift has a seatbelt – make sure you wear it..!

Fulfilling WHS / OHS policy, objectives and targets An organisation should plan to fulfill its WHS / OHS policy, objectives and targets. Like all good things, taking your time to properly plan out your policies and procedures will save you a great deal of stress down the road.  

When did you last review your WHS / OHS systems..? Every business should be reviewing their systems regularly. This allows you to see which policies and procedures that you have put into place are working, which need improvement and which need a complete overhaul.

Knowing your WHS / OHS Legal Responsibilities Every organisation and business is bound by legal responsibilities that they are obligated to follow. Neglecting these responsibilities could result in your business being shut down along with other legal consequences. Don’t trust just any company with something this serious. Trust the company that understands your legal responsibilities

Updated Codes of Practice…! Codes of Practice need to be followed      ~ unless you have an alternative policy or solution with the same or a better health and safety standard in your workplace. Are you aware of the updates to the Codes of Practice that were implemented in March (2019)…? The 9 that

With Australian summers being well known for having days of extreme heat, its imperetive that PCBU’s manage risks associated with heat stress and solar UV radiation in the workplace. Each workplace environment is different, and the employer must manage any risks, in consultation with their workers. Employers (duty holders) have a duty of care to

Work-related injury fatalities by state/territory, 2017 Sadly there was a total of 191 fatalities (1.6 per 100,000 workers) For further information, visit www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au Data sourced from – www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au    

Once you have Identified a Hazard / Risk, then you need to Assess it… Assessing the Risks Assessing risk involves considering what could happen if someone is exposed to a hazard and the likelihood of it happening. Carrying out a risk assessment can help you evaluate the potential risks that may be involved in an

Benefits of Risk Management Not only is managing risks a legal requirement but it also helps businesses to: prevent and reduce the number and severity of workplace injuries, illnesses and associated costs promote worker health, wellbeing and capacity to work foster innovation, quality and efficiency through continuous improvement.

Identify Hazards Identifying hazards in the workplace involves finding things and situations that could potentially cause harm to people. Hazards generally arise from the following aspects of work and their interaction, including: physical work environment equipment, materials and substances used work tasks and how they are performed work design and management. Some hazards are part

The hierarchy of risk control The ways of controlling risks are ranked from the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest. This ranking is known as the hierarchy of risk control. The WHS Regulations require duty holders to work through this hierarchy when managing health and safety risks.  

Forklifts and Your Legal Obligations Legal Obligations: If you have or operate forklifts at your workplace there are certain legal requirements you MUST adhere to. Requirements: All operators must hold a valid high risk license for forklift operation as well as required and timely maintenance, records kept, pre-start checks and operating procedures must be in

Agricultural Workplace Stats ????‍???? Interesting stats ????‍???? In SA 4.5% of the total workforce work in agriculture…. However almost 19% of workplace deaths occur on farms  (Source: SafeWork SA) Handy information ????  Farmers guidebook https://www.safework.sa.gov.au

Notifiable Incidents – The below outlines the requirements for statutory reporting of notifiable work-related injuries and dangerous occurrence, a mandatory requirement under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012  What is a Notifiable Incident..? A notifiable incident means: The death of a person; or A serious injury or illness of a person; or A dangerous incident.

Legal Obligations and Responsibilites – WHS / OHS Did you know, as a business owner you have legal responsibilities…? You need to implement health and safety practices in your workplace as soon as you start your business…? You also need to ensure that your business doesn’t create health and safety problems for: Your employees, contractors,

Statistics on workplace Disease and Injuries 107,355 serious claims lodged in the 2014-15 financial year 90% of serious claims were due to injuries and musculoskeletal disorders With the most common being traumatic joint / ligament and muscle / tendon injuries (almost 45%). 10% of serious claims were due to diseases with the most common mental

Who is an Officer…? An Officer is a person who makes, or helps make, decisions that affect the whole, or a substantial part, of a business or undertaking. A person is also an Officer if they have the capacity to significantly affect the financial standing of the organisation. Officers of a PCBU have a specific

PENALTIES AT A GLANCE – Prevention is better than cure There are 3 categories of criminal offence penalties, as per the WHS Act, which apply for breaches of work health and safety duties: Penalties – Category 1 Firstly, this category covers reckless conduct that exposes an individual to a risk of death, serious injury or illness

Who is a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU)…? A PCBU can be an employer, sole trader, corporation, association, partnership local government (council), state or commonwealth government, certain volunteer organisations, or the trustee of a trust. Also a self-employed person is a PCBU, and must ensure his or her own health and safety while at

Reasonably Practicable What is reasonably practicable in ensuring health and safety…? In the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA), ‘Reasonably Practicable’, in relation to a duty to ensure health and safety, means: That which is or was reasonably able to be done in relation to ensuring health and safety Accordingly, this must take into