OSHMS Manual 2.03 of 9 : Planning for Safety

OSHMS Manual
previous : Part 2.02 - Safety Management Plan

2.03 Sample of XYZ SMP

The nature of the XYZ business does not demand a complicated safety plan. Using the flow-chart from part 2.02 as a reference, an initial safety management plan could include the following considerations (note a time scale is also given):

Year One

1 Senior management are briefed on OSH responsibilities under current legislation.

Action: ‘Inspiration plus information = achieve the goal’ BUT it must be that order! An external OSH specialist is brought in to give a 2 hour briefing on OSH responsibilities and potential prosecutions.

Note it would be possible for the internal OSH representatives to brief the managers once the reps do the consultation course, so point 3 re training the OSH reps could come in as the first point – after all, it saves on external providers.

Among other things, due consideration must be given as to ‘what would a prudent employer do in a similar situation?’ and would the process be considered as being ‘reasonably practicable’ with all steps considered under ‘reasonable control’ being carried out?

2 Senior management digest information from point 1, consider individual strengths and weaknesses.

Action: Senior managers meet to:

• Discuss broad objectives in OSH;
• Pool collected industry experience and knowledge;
• Carry-out preliminary analysis of needs, identifying shortfalls in information.

3 Senior management allocates resources for the timely training of the nominated OSH Representatives.

Action: (Note the choice of OSH representatives under the ‘Other Agreed Arrangements’ in consultation is quite acceptable for the business, given the type of operation, and once training is completed, will provide stakeholders a handy reference for information.) The resources allow the two representatives to attend the four-day training course, gaining an understanding of the basic principles involved in both legislative requirements and practical risk management. This step increases the ability of XYZ to address OSH issues using its own human resources.

4 In order to identify issues of immediate concern, including pertinent sections of legislative conformance vs non-conformance, senior management allocates resources (mainly time) for an internal audit of the current safety systems.

Action: All stakeholders are notified re the internal audit. The two OSH Representatives are acknowledged as the authority carrying out the audit, and stakeholders are instructed in their duty to cooperate. The OSH Reps carry out the audit - using the audit tools provided in the Auditing section that appears later in this chapter - and report back to senior management, highlighting:

• Relevant legislation applicable to XYZ workplaces and the output goods and services;
• Where XYZ currently conforms or is non-conforming.

5 The Audit Report is tabled to senior management, which carries out a risk analysis based on the report. Areas of responsibility for the various issues are identified, and the possible outcomes and likelihoods of negative occurrences considered. An appraisal as to how the corporate entity, XYZ, is likely to be affected by breaches of the Act and its supporting legislation is carried out, and resources may then be applied in the most efficient manner.

Action: Senior management meets to discuss:

• Safety issues considered relevant to their personal areas of responsibility;
• What legislation covers these areas;
• How these areas impact on each other;
• Do secondary issues arise when interacting with other stakeholders (whether internal or external)?
• What resources (capital, personnel, time) are available to address the various issues;
• Are there any other needs to be considered (eg training of staff in safety issues peculiar to their task/level of responsibility)?
• Issues from this meeting will allow a more concrete safety management plan to be developed, with key issues relevant to the business and performance indicators to be pin-pointed.

6 Senior management commits resources that allow XYZ to address the key issues arising from 5 above. Relevant management apply those resources to address the issues.

Action: Managers receive their budgetted allocation and apply it as appropriate. Again, give due consideration to the questions raised in point 3.

Many practical issues will arise regarding the issues of risk management, and this manual is a resource to assist in providing knowedge.

7 Senior management continues allocation of resources (mainly time) for review of safety systems – especially new and altered systems.

Action: The OSH Reps review the systems – especially new and altered systems – to ensure any previously noted breaches of the system have been rectified.

Once the initial period of establishing the safety system into the workplace is over, an annual review is recommended. This annual review need not be time consuming, since once systems are in place for the various aspects of safety (eg consultation statement; evacuation procedures, etc.) these may only take a five minute run-through to ensure their compliance and currency.

It will be from this type of review that the majority of improvements to the safety system will be made from time to time. In the event of a negative incident occurring, of course, there will also be a need for a review.

8 Running concurrent with all the above points, senior management should plan to:

• Include OSH as an item on every agenda of every meeting within the organisation. This is not a costly exercise, and ensures each and every stakeholder at a meeting is reminded of their OSH obligations, and has the opportunity to speak-up;
• Ensure those folk involved with finances cross-check budget submissions for OSH inclusions, and act as reminders should there be any apparent oversights. (Understanding, of course, that a manager might not have submitted anything in the budget touching on OSH simply because that manager has no OSH issues.)

Year Two

Apart from carry-over steps from Year One, the second year of the safety plan will include:

1 OSH performance reviews (should be linked with regular ‘performance review’ to ensure all persons accept OSH as part of the overall operations of the organisation, with both rights and responsibilities.)

Action: Within the three general levels in the XYZ organisational chart, performance reviews may take the following form:

• Tier One – Senior Management (including CEO) – peer review;
• Tier Two – Supervisors staff – reviewed by the Senior Manager considered having control over the work being supervised by the Supervisory staff;
• Tier Three – Employees – reviewed by their immediate Supervisor.

In these reviews, considerations will include the ability of the incumbent to understand core OSH responsibilities, as well as the way those responsibilities were fulfilled. Unfortunately, since safety is often something we only notice when it’s NOT there (that is: after a failure in the system), one of the key indicators for review that is often used – ‘no lost time injuries’ - does not necessarily provide a good indicator of safety. Some other indicators of good safety include:

• simple housekeeping observations (is the supervised area clean and tidy?);
• documents and their controls (are they available, understood by all and appropriately applied?);
• team-meetings recorded and safety issues noted;
• liaison with the OSH Representatives is regularly noted;
• participation in resolution of OSH matters with other stakeholders;
• attitudes – at all levels of the business - to safety are good;
• morale throughout the business is high.

next : Part 2.04 - Risk Management