South Australia Guidelines for Small Business
SafeWork South Australia has just released a new set of work health and safety best practice guidelines for small businesses.
The document, entitled Work Health and Safety – Seven Steps for Small Business, presents a series of easy and effective steps that SMEs can take in order to improve the safety of employees on the job.
According to SafeWork SA, the first step for small businesses looking to improve OHS is “setting up a safe workplace”.
This involves putting in place a simple and comprehensive written workplace safety policy that ensures all relevant stakeholders understand their obligations and responsibilities in upholding strong safety standards.
SafeWork SA offers an easy to understand sample OHS policy on its website that small businesses across Australia can use as a reference point for developing their own strategy.
Next, businesses should consult with workers about relevant OHS issues, before taking active steps to manage any potential hazards that may be putting employees in danger.
Step four in the document is “informing, training and supervising”. This step requires businesses to ensure employees are provided with thorough health and safety training, and are given adequate supervision while undertaking dangerous tasks.
SafeWork SA has also provided advice on what small businesses should do to “maintain a safe workplace” and keep adequate records of OHS activities and performance.
Finally, SafeWork SA recommends that small businesses continue monitoring, reviewing and improving their OHS initiatives in order to ensure they remain relevant to the needs of the organisation.
“Managing WHS is an ongoing process. Be aware that your safety processes, operations and workers may change over time and so can the risks,” explains SafeWork SA.
“After you have established your WHS management system you should regularly review and monitor how effective it is, and make any necessary adjustments to keep it up to date.”
