The start of October heralds the arrival of National Safe Work Month and perfect time to take stock of your safety practices.
For the team at Height Safety Engineers, every month is National Safe Work Month. But this becomes doubly so during October when Safe Work Australia runs their annual campaign to raise awareness of the workplace safety risks we all face every day.
What is Safe Work Australia?
Safe Work Australia is the national body that oversees the creation and adoption of workplace health and safety legislation and regulation. They provide a forum in which the states, territories and federal government coordinate to ensure uniformity across the entire country.
Safe Work Australia was created following the signing of the Inter-Governmental Agreement for Regulatory and Operation Reform in Occupational Health and Safety in 2008.
What is National Safe Work Month?
National Safe Work Month is campaign, led by Safe Work Australia, that encourages employers and workers to “prioritise WHS and take action to reduce the number of work-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities”.
Engagement with the campaign can provide workplaces and employers with the opportunity to take a beat to analyse and reassess their safety processes and procedures. Ideally, they will be able to improve how the need for safety is acted up and incorporated into their day-to-day activities.
Taking stock is important
One of the main causes of workplace accidents is that time is rarely taken to consider the risks associated with a particular work task and then act on implementing a suitable mitigation.
Just like doing an annual stocktake is important for making sure that that a business has good tracking of what products they have on hand, taking stock of how your workplace safety systems are functioning is also an important part of protecting your people.
Ongoing safety takes ongoing work
Keeping workers safe – protecting people – while they undertake tasks in high-risk environments requires active participation and advocacy in the entire process. From initial work planning through to accessing the work area and completing the necessary tasks, consideration of safety must be front of mind.
Safety processes should also be constantly reviewed in the context of the work being undertaken and the environment it is being undertaken in. Although some safety risks – for example, falls – can be considered common, how they present themselves and what an appropriate mitigation is will depend on the specific context at the time.
Addressing the challenges
To accomplish all this, however, teams and employers must engage with the aspects of work that directly and indirectly influence workplace safety.
This starts with analysing whether a safety system is centred around providing protection for workers or just making sure that compliance boxes are being ticked.
Understanding that safety systems and processes need to be developed to place the needs of those using them first and foremost is the first critical step in improving outcomes.
The other main issue to address when it comes to improving workplace safety outcomes is understanding that decisions made on-site by workers are very, very rarely made in a vacuum. That is, they are influenced by a vast number of things, many of which are outside of their direct control.
Partners in protecting people
The team at HSE are your partners in protecting people. From the design of systems for buildings still on the drawing board, to supplying equipment and training workers, we can assist in improving your safety outcomes no matter your project.
Get in touch with us today by calling 1300 884 978, emailing enquiries@heightsafety.net, or dropping us a line here.
