Education Key To Workplace Health And Safety Success

While some businesses are concerned about costs, many employers are welcoming the clarity the Health and Safety Reform Bill brings and the focus on education key to Workplace Health and Safety

There will be a greater requirement for businesses to proactively identify and minimise risks and hazards, and more weight put on ensuring that health and safety systems are understood and applied correctly within the workplace.

Education is key to Workplace Health and Safety success and we can expect to see regular public information and education campaigns emerge in future. What we really want is to start meaningful conversations about health and safety in workplaces around New Zealand.

The Bill introduces a new term – a PCBU, which means a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking. PCBU's include the governance and management levels of businesses, but you don't have to be the owner or manager to be a PCBU. An individual can be a PCBU within their own particular area. And it's not enough to leave it to the Health and Safety department or H&S committee; there has to be an awareness of health and safety across an organisation, and the responsibility for that will lie with the PCBU.

For businesses uncertain how to manage the increased employer responsibility, a good starting point is to take a step back and look at the entire operation in a helicopter view. Put yourself in the position of your workers. Go out with your staff and observe what's happening. Focus on workplace health and safety, check simple things like putting on seatbelts and making sure there are no unsecured tools in the back of the van. Take a look at the condition of your vehicles and machines – are you keeping track of maintenance? Do you know how safely your staff are driving?

It is critical to begin now to record and document everything your business does in relation to health and safety. It's not going to be enough to say that you told staff at a meeting. You will need to be able to prove you have completed education and training and that staff understand safety procedures. You need to be able to provide documentation, such as minutes of meetings.

We are waiting for the government to define high and low risk activities among businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Clearly there is a difference between someone who works at a desk and someone who climbs a tree to operate a chainsaw, but there are a lot of business sectors in between where some jobs might be considered relatively higher or lower risk. They're a bit grey, so regulatory clarification is important. In the meantime, it would be sensible to assume any business with the potential for staff to get hurt might end up in the high-risk category.

The government is likely to place tighter restrictions and closer reporting requirements on high risk work types.

The key action for businesses is to be proactive. The workplace health and safety regulator, WorkSafe NZ, is responsible for helping businesses implement health and safety training and can be approached for help. Then you can show that you are genuinely trying to comply with the new legislation.