Transitional arrangements have been put in place in NSW to support businesses, industry and workers move to a new system of work health and safety (WHS) laws.

These arrangements start on 1 January 2012.

The transitional arrangements have been based on national transitional principles agreed to by all jurisdictions.

In summary, these transitional arrangements provide for:

• recognition of existing information, records or other documentation that is substantially the same as WHS requirements
• transitional periods of 12 to 18 months where there is a change in training requirements
• only requiring retraining or reassessment if the requirements are substantially different
• transitional periods of 6 to 12 months (in most cases 12 months) where a duty or requirement is new
• up to 24 months for some new obligations where industry might have difficulty in complying for reasons beyond their control. 

Educational and advisory approach

WorkCover is committed to ensuring that the transition to the new WHS legislation is as seamless as possible for businesses, industry and workers. WorkCover staff are always on hand to provide advice and assistance and we strongly believe that the best outcomes for businesses and workers are achieved when we work hand in hand with industry. 

From 1 January 2012, new nationally harmonised work health and safety legislation commences in New South Wales.  The new legislation will replace the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 and Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001.

The principles of safety and consultation remain in the new legislation and people who comply with requirements as at 31 December 2011 will be well on their way to complying with the new legislation on 1 January 2012.

WorkCover will provide information, guidance, education and advice to assist customers to achieve compliance with new requirements contained in the work health and safety laws. 

A range of transitional measures have also been put in place to assist customers where there are new or significantly changed requirements.  

This does not mean that WorkCover will not take enforcement or other compliance action in the event of serious breaches of the legislation.  Currently, anyone who is an employer in NSW must, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all the employees of the employer and that duty will continue after 1 January 2012.

However WorkCover and its Inspectors will consider relevant circumstances before taking any compliance action. 

Codes of practice provide practical guidance on how to meet the standards set out in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011.  Inspectors will use the guidance provided in codes of practice to assist duty holders to achieve compliance with any new safety practices, processes and control measures recommended in approved codes of practice.

WorkCover understands that where new approved codes of practice are in place a period of adjustment is required for duty holders to gain an understanding of the detail in a code of practice and how it applies to activities at their workplaces.

 Codes of practice:

Some current NSW codes of practice will continue after 1 January 2012. This will be where there is no comparable national model code of practice available.  

All new and retained codes of practice are available on this website.

Call 13 10 50 for more information about transitional arrangements.

Many investigations find the injured worker did not follow procedures but I have never known a worker to deliberately harm themselves. Often the worker will be injured when attempting to keep production going (and their supervisor happy) by clearing a blocked or jammed machine that may involve disabling a safeguard or interlock. Production machinery is often powerful and when human flesh and bones come into contact with machinery parts, serious hand injuries or amputations can occur.

Where an employer uses guarding to reduce the risk of machine-related injuries, all machinery – even brand new machinery – must be guarded to a standard that prevents, so far as is reasonably practicable, access to hazardous moving parts

Our experience shows that the integrity of electronic safeguards represents about 10 per cent of incidents and accidents whereas physical access represents 70-90 per cent.

All gaps should be guarded to prevent access to hazardous parts.
For example:

• a finger can reach through a guard where all dangerous parts are further than a finger length (100mm) away
• gaps under safety barriers or enclosures may be up to 180mm but the gap must be reduced if dangerous parts are within arm’s reach (within 850mm)
• common access points to hazards are through product in-feed gaps.

A hazard warning sticker or sign will not prevent this risk and will not meet the employer’s legal obligations to provide safe plant and equipment.
Machine guards must be strong, tamper-proof and either interlocked or require a non standard tool to remove. Equipment should not be restarted without all safeguards in place (eg guards interlocked).

Once machinery has been assessed and upgraded to a ‘zero access’ standard, a robust machine isolation (or lock-out tag-out) program is required to protect machine maintenance workers.

Read the Guidance Note Guarding of machines

For more information on safety distances and gaps allowed in machine guards read Australian Standard 4024, Safety of Machinery Series.

All sorts of things came to mind… a helicopter pilot responsible for carrying logs up a mountain, mining engineers deep in the earth, pyrotechnics in the movie industry, coastal guards rushing out to save people in nasty weather conditions, an engineer climbing to the top of a wind turbine to check something…

The person then added the comment that ”showing people how to deal with those high risk jobs is probably more important than just say, an office junior”.

And upon thinking about it I realised that while some job environments are definitely more hazardous (and life threatening) and teaching people in those industries ways to improve safety is very important, every occupation has its own uniqe set of risks:

Some involve falling from heights, whether it be the great, terrifying heights of a building construction or the height of the office step ladder.

Others involve the use of machinery whether it be heavy machinery like earth movers and compactors, or the simple photocopier (although there’s nothing simple about a photocopier when it senses you’re in a hurry to photocopy something urgent – damn things!).

There are potential driving challenges – whether you are in charge of a road train, a bus full of school children, or buzzing around the city in the company’s V-dub.

Some deal with emotional stress as they are bogged down with heavy workloads, others through constant demand from clients and the need to ‘perform’ as in the case of lawyers or teachers.

Some work long hours whether it be the business owner attempting to make ends meet, or the conscientious office worker doing their best to impress that boss.

Others spend their time at repetitive tasks that almost freeze the mind in a blur of boredom, and one slip up can mean a horrific burn, the terrible loss of a limb, or a simple but painful paper cut or jamming of a finger in a filing cabinet.

A keyboard operator may battle with aches and pains if not given access to stretching routines and appropriate breaks, while a construction worker deals with an ear infection due to unclean noise reduction equipment.

We all deal with safety issues on a regular basis – and we are all at risk. So, from the Pyrotechnic to the Office Junior, even though some occupations are definitely more hazardous, remember that each individual is as important as the next. We all need to make OHS a part of our daily ritual to achieve our goals of safety, health, productivity, and a sense of worth and quality of life.

A good thing to remember is that there are more people successfully ‘getting the job done’ in a healthy, happy and safe way than there are the other way around. These people are the ones with a positive and proactive approach to Health and Safety, have a supportive OHS team or rep. at their workplace, and take Duty of Care for themselves and their workmates seriously.

So remember the steps to controlling hazards in your workplace:

1. Assess the hazards in your workplace (and keep a record)
2. Find and implement solutions to those hazards (and keep a record)
   These solutions may be:
   * substituting the hazard with something posing a lower risk;
   * isolating the hazard (eg. enclose the hazard);
   * using machinery
   * training and implementing good work procedures 
   * using personal protective equipment
3. Assess whether the solutions have eliminated or reduced the hazard (and keep a record)
   If a risk to health and safety still remains, implement:
   * more sound work procedures,
   * more in depth training, 
   * further personal protective equipment to further reduce the hazard
4. Conduct regular inspections for other hazards and for further improving existing solutions (and keep records)

The truth is, daily trips, slips, falls, cuts, and grazes are often outcomes from poor House Keeping. And the scarey thing is the statistic that slips and falls rank as the second leading cause of accidental deaths of 45 to 75 year olds. Not only is House Keeping important to you and your workmates, but also to your family, friends, and clients who visit your workplace.

Recently in an email I received from one of the Safety Concepts Subscribers, Les Hunter put the role of House Keeping in relation to Safety in the most straightfoward fashion:

“House Keeping is the benchmark for Safety:
Poor Housekeeping = Poor Safety.
Moderate Housekeeping = Moderate Safety
Good Housekeeping = Good Safety.”

Thank you Les, you said it perfectly.

With all of the rain we’ve had in the South East recently (and we need more!) wet surfaces are a major House Keeping hazard, and need to be addressed immediately.

Let’s consider the scenario: After a particularly heavy downpour, water has leaked through the ceiling creating a miniature swimming pool in the foyer of the shop/factory/office where you work. You’ve arrived early at your work before too much ‘people traffic’ begins only to discover the mess.

Being a Safety Conscious Individual you remember the steps involved with dealing with a hazard:

1. Assess the hazard.
   Which you have; there is water on the floor in an area where people will walk and more than likely slip. There are lights in that part of the ceiling and therefore quite possibly wet wiring. 
2. Find and implement solutions to those hazards.
   You switch off the lights to avoid any possible electrical damage. With no one about to help you, but aware that someone may come in at any moment, you throw a towel down over the puddle to highlight it’s existance, while you go find a mop and bucket to clean up.

   As you mop up the water and dry the floor, other work colleagues begin to arrive. Thankfully, one offers to contact the appropriate person to deal with the possible damaged ceiling and wiring (whether that be the building supervisor, an electrician, maintenance person, etc.)

3. Assess whether the solutions have eliminated or reduced the hazard.
   You are happy that the floor is now dry and that someone who is qualified to deal with the ceiling and electrical wiring is on their way. However, you notice there is still a slow drip wetting the floor.
4. If a risk to health and safety still remains, implement sound work procedures, in depth training, and use personal protective equipment to further reduce the hazard.
   You put an appropriate sign up notifying everyone that the floor is wet and slippery, and even send a memo round to staff asking them to take care. A bucket with a towel underneath is set up to catch the drips.
5. Conduct regular inspections for other hazards and for further improving existing solutions.
   You keep a copy of the maintenance report after the ceiling has been fixed, and electrical wiring given the ok. You decide that a thick, course mat would be a great idea to put at that particular entrance, as it often becomes slippery when people enter from outside with wet shoes. You forward your suggestion onto management. You also keep a record of all the steps that were taken to fix the hazard and suggestions to reduce any future risk.

Pat yourself on the back – job well done, and hazard efficiently dealt with.

Bathrooms too are notorious places for slips. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of people who wash their hands, and then flick the water from their hands all over the basin, mirror… and floor. As this accumulates, you now have a hazard. Even worse is the need to walk two metres across from the basins to the hand-dryer or towel dispenser, dripping water all the way.

Make towels available closer to the sinks, and ask other staff to wipe up any spills or drips immediately.

Even a request printed up, laminated and stuck to the mirror is a great reminder. We are all responsible for House Keeping and maintaining a safe workspace. If staff leave a hazard for the ‘cleaner or janitor’ to fix, it could escalate to a situation that may just ruin someone’s life. If you are under strict rules not to deal with a particular hazard (whether due to hygiene or other safety issues) then report the hazard immediately. Don’t wait for someone else to report it.

For more weight behind hazard identification and getting it fixed, put the details in writing and hand it to the appropriate person. Don’t think you’re being a nuisance or whinger – you might just save the company a lot of money in the future, as well as someone’s life. And I can almost assure you that you’re not the only person who is aware of the risk.

One work place’s bathroom was an accident waiting to happen. The bathroom floor was constantly wet due to poor design, and staff often grumbled about how slippery it was. A couple of comments were made to management ‘on the fly’ but nothing was put in writing and the WHSO (who overlooked several different outlets of this nation-wide company) was not notified of the extent of the danger. When someone did eventually slip and break their arm – who could have helped to prevent it?

I’d like to finish with another comment Les made in his email:

“The Definition of an accident: an avoidable occurence.
It puts every one involved on the same level as far as what to keep an eye out for.”

Thanks Les, I couldn’t agree more.

No matter who we are: Management, Staff, or Junior…

No matter what our jobs are: IT Department, Janitor, Construction Engineer, Receptionist…

We are still responsible for a safe workplace, and House Keeping is a major part of that.

I recently had someone ask me about yoga at work.  She mentioned the potential for injuries on the job, asked about where the liability falls if an employee is injured and requested tips on how to ensure a safe workplace when offering an at work wellness program such as yoga.

Pro versus Con
Every physical activity poses some risk, to be sure; however, in a well implemented at work fitness or wellness program the potential benefit to employees and the employer (through increased productivity, heightened mood, less sick time and absenteeism) far outweigh the risks. A study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly half of large US employers (100+ lives) offer health promotion programs.  I like to point out that Recess has several large clients in traditionally risk averse industries (law and insurance) who contract with Recess to provide fitness classes, personal trainers and other fitness and wellness services onsite for their employees.  Given these industries’ first-hand knowledge of the potential for liability, their understanding of wellness’ upside speaks volumes about what a positive impact wellness programs can have on work culture and employees’ lives.

Limiting Risk
That being said, no employer should be sloppy or negligent when implementing workplace wellness programs that could impact worker safety.  Smart employers will:

1. Look under the hood.  Evaluate the credentials and check references of their wellness contractor. Check to ensure your teacher has had a minimum of 200 hours of hands on training and experience along with some modicum of education on anatomy, physiology and kinesiology.  All instructors should have a valid CPR certification.  At Recess, we also require that instructors pursue continuing education and have had at least three years of teaching experience in the field with a variety of different client populations.
2. Try before you buy.  Negotiate a free or discounted class or classes in order to evaluate the contractor’s customer service skills and attention to safety of instruction.  See if you can observe or try a class and invite a couple of people you trust.  Ask those who attend about their experience.  Are people hurting, sore or exhausted after the class?  Or do they feel relaxed?  Did the teacher respect their level by giving modifications or did the teacher just forge ahead?  Did anyone feel the teacher pushes students to do things that make them feel physically or emotionally unsafe?  Does the teacher seem like a quack or just plain old dippy?  Trust your gut.  Look around until you find someone who you can trust and you can relate to and who places her students’ safety and growth in a place of obvious and high esteem. 
3. Take precautions.  Ensure that students complete emergency medical information sheets and waivers before class (your contractor can provide these) and that completed forms are kept in a place that the instructor can reference easily in case of emergency.
4. Keep your eye on the road.  Be forthright with employees about the tremendous benefits of exercise and don’t overhype the risk.  That being said, while extolling the virtues of exercise, also help people prepare to be safe.  Good risk prevention includes: encouraging employees to wear appropriate footwear and attire; make water and good ventilation key to avoid overheating; select a contractor who can provide proper instruction with exercise equipment and instruction on safe, active recovery when employees with injuries or medical conditions wish to become more active.

Liability- The Contractor’s Perspective
Reputable contractors can easily obtain general liability insurance and there are many such carriers who specialize in insuring contractors and studios in the fitness and wellness industry.  The policies cover suits brought by you or your employees (any students of the contractor) for any number of reasons including injury and sexual harassment. 

It is completely acceptable for you to ask a contractor to provide proof of such insurance including policy limits and expiration dates and for you to require in your contract that the contractor maintains and submits to you current insurance at specified levels of coverage.  You may also wish to specify that the contractor provide proof of workers compensation insurance in case one of their employees or subcontractors is injured while teaching the class.  Additionally adding a clause that requires the contractor to maintain appropriate levels of certification or training (such as teacher certification or CPR) would be a good idea.

Liability- The Employer’s Perspective
If the contractor is performing the services on your premises it is also your responsibility to maintain a clean and safe environment free from harassment in which the contractor can provide the services. 

Do you plan on providing equipment or will the contractor?  Most employers provide the exercise equipment used in classes (though this can be minimal for most at work programs).  Create a check list and periodically ensure that the equipment is clean, structurally sound and not in a place where it poses a tripping hazard.  Keep hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes in an obvious place to prevent the spread of germs. 

Take note of any non-complete clauses in your contract.  While not related to employee safety, soliciting a contractor’s employees or subcontractors is an area of potential liability.

The Bottom Line
This list should not instill fear in anyone looking to implement a wellness or fitness program on-site.  Such programs can be easily managed by reputable contractors or in-house staff given proper planning and attention prior to actually starting the program.  Most people spend the majority of their waking hours at work.  Offering means for employees to engage in healthy behavior and manage stress at work is a meaningful and practical way for people to enrich their lives.  When something as simple as walking three hours a week cuts the risk of dying from breast cancer in half, how can you not choose to help employees get serious about transforming their health?

Sometimes these hazard checks aren’t as efficient as they could be, as many people are so accustomed to seeing the same thing day after day, they don’t recognize potential threats. They just blend in with the rest of the workplace. 

So, how can you see things differently? Put some time aside to go into the office or workshop when no one else is around, so you are not distracted, and…

Look Down:

There are likely some things you automatically step over or weave around every day as you make your way through the office or shop. While you may reflexively step over them, that doesn’t mean they should be there. If you have to make an effort to step over or around something, that means it is a hazard that someone who is not as used to the environment may trip over.

Look Up:

If you are like many businesses, you use every available space for storage and the items you need for your daily operations.  If your office has an abundance of shelves and other items stacked high, it’s time to give them a closer look. Check how sturdy shelves are. You should be able to bump into those shelves or stacks of items without them moving too much and definitely without them tumbling over. If your shelves are not bracketed to the wall, they should be.

Check light fittings. One office that specialised in glamour photography had an array of photographs spread over a work table under one of the overhead lights that was covered by a large plastic light shade. When the shade melted through and fell on the table, dribbling melted plastic over prints and a store of negatives, there was silence of regret in the office. Why regret? Because no one had bothered to investigate where that burning smell was coming from over the previous few hours, and then address the hazard.

Look Around:

Other work cubicles may pose risks, but the worker within them just ‘grins and bears’. It could be anything from sharp edges on furniture, a ‘trumpety chair’, a rip in the floor covering, cleaning chemicals and photocopy toners stored nearby, and so on. Just because the other worker is prepared to put up with the hazard, as perhaps they don’t want to ’cause waves’, that doesn’t mean that potential accident or health risk won’t ever take place.

Get Fresh Eyes:

If you are having a tough time seeing all the threats in your own workspace simply because you are so accustomed to your surroundings, perhaps a fresh pair of eyes could help. Maybe someone who doesn’t work with you could accompany you and point out anything they think could be a workplace hazard.