HR management on: Occupational health and safety management

As quoted by Tepe, Haslett (2002), Occupational health and safety management

systems (OHSMS) standards prescribe requirements that enable an organization to

formulate a policy by taking into account legislative requirements and the projected

hazard and risks which an organization might face in order to protect the health of all

employees of the organization. The OHS risk management strategy must be implemented

by the senior management and must be done in the initial stages of business planning.The

human and financial resources must be made available for training and educating the staff

in risk management, allocating funds for purchase of safety equipment, and for making

any modifications in the workplace. OHS policies were implemented in he workplace

when permanent employment was a norm in most organizations. The growth of

employment has lead to a deterioration in OHS, an increase in he number of cases

reporting illness and injury and the significant externalization of associated costs. To

combat this problem, organizations can make use of restructuring, by downsizing and

outsourcing their employees. Large number of shareholders can benefit enomorously by

this, as they can get large earnings.

Health and safety management practices are auditor verification standards used by

health and safety officers in conducing workplace audits. As quoted by Johntone R, King

M (2008), that these standards are also aligned with the Australia/New Zealand standard

or occupational health and safety management system (AS/NZ 4801:2001).These

standards are affected by employment because these standards incorporate health and

safety practices in all areas of the workplace. This joint Australia/New Zealand standard

was prepared by the joint technical committee SF-00 Occupational health and safety

 

management. This standard specifies requirements for an OHS to enable an organization

to formulate policies and objectives taking into account the legal requirements and

information about hazards and risks. This standard is applicable to any organization who

wishes to implement, maintain and improve OHSMS, demonstrate conformance to the

standards of OHS, seek registration of OHS b an eternal organization and make a

declaration to conform with the standards.

Johnstone , Quinlan , (2006) said that the challenges faced by OHSMS in

implementing AS/NZS 4801:2001 are many as there are enomorous hazards included in

the workplace which are as follows:-

1.The situation or events or combination of events which may cause serious illness or

injury.

2. The nature of potential injury or illness that may be relevant to the product or service

Mark, Edwards, (2005) quoted that the model generates five principles for the generation

of OHS risk management systems in business processes:

• Senior management commitment and illness

• Active involvement of each individual in the workplace

• Effective communication through consultation

• Provision of appropriate information, education and training

• Hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control at workplace by the

Employees

Lin , Mills , (2001) said that all employees in an organization can ensure that

his/her working environment is conducive for good occupational health and safety by

following the below mentioned guidelines:-

• Complying with Occupational health and safety instructions

• Taking action to avoid, minimize and get rid of all hazards

• Reporting all accidents to the relevant manager, supervisor and service unit

• Making proper use of safety devices, and protective equipment for personal use

• Taking care not to put at risk the health, safety or well-being of others at the

workplace

• Seeking information or advice before starting any new or unfamiliar work

• Consuming or storing eatables and drinks only in areas which have been

designated for the purpose by the head of department

• Being familiar with the emergency and evacuation procedures and the use of all

emergency equipment.

• Co-operating with directions from the emergency wardens.

The OHS Workplace committee is a committee which comprises of the employers

representatives and the employees representatives. The role of this committee is to

engage in consultation, monitoring, and evaluating the OHS management systems and the

issues that affect the safety and welfare of the employees. The employer representatives

are elected by way of the voting system in which a number of people have a meeting. The

employee representatives are elected by the employer and they must include atleast one

member with the management authority to make the decisions on behalf of the employer

in matter which would be discussed in committee meetings. If such decisions fall outside

the reach of the employee representative the matter may be referred to a higher authority.

Frick K et al. (2011). Said that through consultation, employers can become more

aware of the challenges and hazards faced by employees and can provide suggestions on

how to improve these practices. Effective consultation results in the following:-

• More wider scope of ideas resulting in improved management decisions

• Greater employee commitment to OHS through a better understanding of OHS

decisions and employee responsibilities which come to  light as a result of OHS.

• Great trust and openness amongst the employers and the employees, by

development of an understanding between the employers and the employees of an

organization.

• The feeling amongst employees that their views are respected, contributing

towards greater employee morale and job satisfaction.

• Increased productivity because of healthier environments

• Opportunities for learning increase greatly as there are exchange of ideas and

newer and innovative concepts in the workplace.

• Reduced numbers of injury and illnesses resulting in consequent savings to the

community as a whole.

The challenges faced by OHSMS in implementing AS/NZS 4801:2001 are many as

there are enomorous hazards included in the workplace which are as follows:-

1. The situation or events or combination of events which may cause serious illness

or injury.

2. The nature of potential injury or illness that may be relevant to the product or

service

If the contractors are permanently on site, then it is necessary to involve them in the

same health and safety management practices as the employees of the organization. This

may include consultation, training, incident and hazard reporting, emergency

preparedness etc. These practices will include contractors, casual employees, part time

workers and contractors. The most significant problems faced in implementing OHSMS

are costs, followed by education, language problems and excessive competition which

may vary across different industry and trade practices. Since a large number of

compliance costs, are training related, initiatives are required to reduce the cost burden

and make the OHSMS most effective .In order to make the OHS more effective, the OHS

has to be made upto the level of green card certification. These green card certification

courses should be delivered in languages other than English.

The challenges in implementing OHSMS are the following:-

1. Failure to agree on what constitutes an OHSMS system

2. Lack of top management commitment

3. The cure of entitlements

4. Lack of rigour and lax implementations for workplace safety

Because of the shift towards part-time and casual employment , the growth of

contract employees and a increase in the numbers of labor fire arrangements, represent an

increase in the shift away from stable organizational and employment relations

A number of factors have affected the OHS system in small businesses These factors

include the following:-

• Lack of resources and an inability to spread costs and wider market environment.

• Limited training or industry reference

• Pressure from large businesses in order to reduce the cost

• Influence of quality management systems ie:- the integration of OHS with quality

management systems.

• Relationship of small businesses with OHS regulatory agencies

• Lack of knowledge and expertise and a attitude pravelent amongst people  which

is not conducive to a health and safety management program.

• The presence of commercially available systems are regarded as too big and to

complicated for implementation in small scale businesses.

Part time and casual employees give less prority to safety management practices.

These workers have less knowledge about safety issues and have poor working

conditions. Field-term and short-term employees have been identified as having

significantly higher levels of workplace injury than permanent employees. On the whole,

part time and casual workers are excluded from OHSMS, an absence of on going

training, and less detailed knowledge about the workplace environment.

A significant number of problems have been raised related to OHS being

implemented in case of contractors or subcontractors. Concerns are there about

how contractors will incorporate subcontractor in OHSMS, whether contractors had

effective OHSMS, and the capacity of confusion OHSMS can create between contractors

and subcontractors. Problems arise because contractors impose OHSMS on

subcontractors without taking steps to explain them about it. They do not understand the

system, and have no training in it and give no importance to adhering to documents

listing requirements. A study conducted in Australia in four industries revealed pressures

associated with payment of results, workplace disorganization, ineffective regulation, and

lack of resources contributing to poor OHS results in organizations.

Labour hire companies face a lot of risks from OHS implementation because the

have a very Minimalist approach and would never reuse a client to carry out any

duty. These companies lower the standards of OHS and have intense competition

between other labour hire firms due to which they believe that OHS must be followed by

the client alone. Because of this attitude of companies, the client distances itself from the

companies and might shift their loyalties to another company. Also, there are many

problems of Disorganization related to work which man weaken the clients OHSMS.

Ronald et al. (2009), quoted that the support of the top management is necessary for

the effective implementation of an OHSMS management system. The top management

can define this policy and a framework must be established for identifying hazards, the

assessment of risks, and the implementation of neccessary control measures. Legal

obligations of this policy must be identified, and a management system for achieving

them must be implemented. This entire process must be documented.

A health and safety management system must be implemented which must include the

following:

• Establishing of roles and responsibilities

• Develop procedures for the consultation and communication of OHS information

to employees and interested parties

• Document your processes and develop a system of documentation

• Establish a system of operational control

• Establish plans and procedures for emergencies.

Checking of the management system must be done in order to take corrective action and

must include he following:

• Introducing performance, measuring and monitoring practices

• Establishing documentation for accidents, incidents, non-conformists and

• preventive action
• Establishing record management system

• Auditing and assessing the performance of management system

• Taking performance management reviews of the system at regular intervals.

• Registration must be gained for facilitating the development of the system.

• Continual assessment must be done of the OHS management system.

The occupational health and safety act(1991) is applicable in both large as well as

small organzations and are applicable in all work environments for any type of work

related illness or injury.

The model generates five principles for the generation of OHS risk management systems

in business processes:

• Senior management commitment and illness

• Active involvement of each individual in the workplace

• Effective communication through consultation

• Provision of appropriate information, education and training

• Hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control at workplace by the

employees

Subsection 16(2) of this act states that the employer must take reasonable and

practical steps to help in implementing the OHS policy by doing the following:-

• Provide and maintain a working environment that is safe for employees and

without a risk to their health.

• Ensure that workplaces under the control of employees are safe for their

functioning.

• Ensure the health and safety of workers in connection with the storage, handling,

or the transport of substances.

• Develop, in consultation with the involved unions, a policy related to health and

safety  that will promote cooperation between the employers and the employees,

to ensure the health and safety of employees and review the effectiveness of these

measures.

• Provide the employees in training in various languages about certain safety

measures to be adopted in the organization.

• Awareness campaign will involve workshops for directors/senior manager along

with a media campaign for the other staff

• The employers must provide and maintain protective equipment, devices and

clothing and ensure that they are used.

• Make a copy of worker’s compensation act and the Occupational health and

safety regulation for review by workers.

• Develop worker safety procedures

• Encourage workers to express their concerns and suggest improvements in health

and safety issues by carrying out meetings and consultations with workers.

The roles and responsibilities of the senior management are defined as follows:-

The director general/managing director will ensure that the OHS responsibilities are

clearly defined and the workplace managers must receive the training which is required

by them to carry out the objectives of OHS successfully. They will provide adequate

facilities for the employees.

The Occupational Health, safety and risk unit will ensure the selection of committee

members who ensure appropriate training requirements for committee members and

provide technical input and  assistance to the committee when required.

The OHS Workplace committee is a committee which comprises of the employers

representatives and the employees representatives. The role of this committee is to

engage in consultation, monitoring, and evaluating the OHS management systems and the

issues that affect the safety and welfare of the employees. The employer representatives

are elected by way of the voting system in which a number of people have a meeting. The

employee representatives are elected by the employer and they must include atleast one

member with the management authority to make the decisions on behalf of the employer

in matter which would be discussed in committee meetings. If such decisions fall outside

the reach of the employee representative the matter may be referred to a higher authority.

A Chairerson/Deputy secretary/Governor is selected by the popular vote of employer

representatives to fill the position of the chairperson of the committee. The employee

may ask any employer to fill the position of secretary. The chairperson takes care of

the following areas:-

• Address the agendas of the meetings

• Seek decision from the people who are the decision makers

• Ensure all the committee members participate in the meetings.

• Be familiar with the OHS policies and see that all rules are complied with.

• The Deputy chairperson is selected to carry out the duties of the Chairperson in

his absence.

• All managers and supervisors have a prime responsibility of providing a safe

learning

• environment having feasible working conditions for the employees.

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