At the recent AIHS ‘Visions’ Conference the Deputy Director General (DDG) of the Office of Industrial Relations (OIR), Craig Allen shared his concern regarding the comment made by Coroner McDougall within the Dreamworld Inquest Report, that “…there was an unjustified trust held by the Regulator as to the sufficiency of the safety and maintenance systems … Continued
Health and safety management systems emerged in the 1990s with WHS / OHS legislation, statutory, advisory and industry standards guiding what should be included. At that time it was perceived that the best way to meet the legislative and standard requirements was to develop an array of Management System procedures and documents. As one might … Continued
The assessment of risk is enshrined within an array of safety and environmental legislation. Risk assessment is based on a function of the consequence and likelihood of the risk and prefaced with a requirement that the process is undertaken consultatively. Interestingly, ISO 31000 (2018) defines likelihood as the chance that something might happen as defined, determined, … Continued
The auditing of safety-related competencies is relatively easy when we consider occupational licences and qualifications, making sure that those personnel that drive a forklift or enter a confined space have a licence or a qualification. All of this is relatively straightforward. However, assessing of the level of competency of the safety personnel within the organisation … Continued
As safety professionals, QRMC consultants have seen a lot of Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) in their time. It would be fair to say that the quality of these tends to fall into a typical bell curve: some are top notch, some are next to useless, and the majority are somewhere in the middle. But … Continued
Management Systems, at their best should be simple, structured, user-friendly enablers of efficient operational practice. However, all too often they become as unmanageable as long hair in August westerly winds. Over time, management systems tend to morph into unwieldy beasts, becoming overly complex, tedious to apply and even more burdensome to manage… and then the … Continued