Occupational Health And Safety and the role of the Work Method Statement
A gung ho attitude has no place in any work site, as the well-being of employees is not a matter to be taken lightly. As a result, having a OHS policy template just isn’t enough. Every employer should set up a comprehensive document in which fulfills the legal requirements as well as guarantees the safety and health of everyone in the workplace.
A business entity has a lot of facets. It is a supplier of goods along with services for the neighborhood. It’s also an income generator for the owners. An equally important role of any business entity is that regarding an employer, with a responsibility to keep its workers safe and sound within the workplace.
The importance of occupational health and safety can’t be stressed enough. Any individual should not need to risk life and limb whilst at work. There are a lot of ways of making certain the well-being of workforce. Different safety programs may be introduced which include safety instruction, supervision and also frequent inspection.
Safe Work Method Statements could also help raise awareness among personnel, which often can minimize workplace injuries and deaths. Importance of Work Method Statements A Work Method Statement is a set of directions to help you prevent avoidable hazards for people within the place of work. Whether it’s laying down instructions on the usage of machines or presenting the correct procedure for a certain task, a Work Method Statement can significantly decrease incidents of injuries and deaths at work.
More often than not, gov departments working on occupational health and safety require business employers to create and implement a Work Method Statement. Having Work Method Statements in place is usually required before a business can operate.
The lack of the required ohs policies and procedures generally leads to fines. Occasionally, it can lead to suspensions or maybe cessation of business operations. The reason behind these sactions is clear: without these measures, the government may incur costs in the form of medical treatments or social security payments for injured personnel. Even with no government mandate, it can be incumbent on any boss to put together work method statements for every task carried out and equipment used at work.
Encouraging a safe work place impacts not only the employees and their families, but the company’s clients, suppliers, and neighboring communities too. Having a set of work method statements could also serve as a continual reminder to employers to make safety a priority. For employees, it may possibly affect behaviour on the job by making them much more conscious of their well-being. For the business in general, it might cultivate a culture that values safety above anything else. Crafting an Effective Work Method Statements It looks simple to create a work method statement.
However, it is not as simple as it looks. It involves dealing with important issues. Are the instructions specific enough to allow the safe performance of a task or use of a certain equipment? Does it include instructions on the steps to take just before and after operation? Does it go over the required personal protective equipment a member of staff has to use or have? Does it include specific directions on how the training and supervision of personnel are conducted? Is it regularly updated to satisfy the most recent regulatory or legislative requirements? Many of these questions must be considered to accomplish one goal: to ensure the worker’s safety constantly.
This entry was posted on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 5:49 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.