Most organisations have some kind of Work Health and Safety program in place. However, what may look good on paper, does not necessarily translate to practice in the field. The Goondiwindi Regional Council (GRC) wanted to ensure that its commitment to the Work Health and Safety of its employees and the community it serves was being fulfilled. They, therefore, requested a report on the status of the delivery of Work Health and Safety within their organisation.
The Council has a Safety Management System (SMS) which was externally audited and certified in 2016. It also employs a qualified Work Health and Safety Officer and has established a Work Health and Safety Committee (WHSC); but the most recent audit for compliance was delayed due to the COVID pandemic.
Approach
GenEng conducted a health check of the WH&S program which involved a review of Council’s safety system and practices to assess Council’s overall organisational focus on work health and safety, identify the current safety culture of Council employees, assess the management and performance of current safety systems, and develop a suggested improvement plan.
Challenges
There is a danger after many years of implementation, for Work Health and Safety organisational practices to not be truly integrated within day-to-day work activities. Many integral systems such as Take 5’s can become repetitive and mundane, and implementation may plateau. When a WHS Officer is employed, there is also the danger of the responsibility for the WH&S program falling solely on the Officer rather than management and supervisors taking ownership of safety.
A Health Check can look to the organisational safety culture and identify opportunities to engage staff so that safety is recognised as part of everyone’s everyday duties.
Outcome
The Health Check identified the plateauing of the WHS implementation program and developed an action plan to link the strategic approach to integration of operational delivery. A refresh approach to WHS was recommended as well as a staged reinduction of staff into their safety roles and responsibilities.