What is a WHS Management Plan and which WHS consultants can do it?
Every business, no matter how big or small, should have a WHS management plan in place. An effective plan will allow you to identify hazards and risks from within your organization and take the appropriate actions. This can be developed by specialist WHS consultants such as us, who provide tailored safety solutions to an workplace. The plan should also include health and safety procedures for emergencies and crisis management, as well as training for employees. This blog post will provide you with more information about how to create a safety management plan of your own.
Why do we need SMP and how can WHS Consultants help?
No matter how many precautions are taken, accidents happen. A safety management plan allows a company to identify hazards and minimise risks before they occur. This would also allow SME to maintain WHS consultants on board for a shorter amount of time (1-2 days per week). In return, you will save money and be provided with peace of mind knowing you are compliant. Along with identifying hazards, the WHS plan should also include procedures for emergencies and crisis management, as well as training. The plan will include everything from who is responsible for what to how to handle third parties like contractors or other vendors.
What is a health and safety management plan and what does it include?
A safety management plan is a set of policies, procedures and guidelines that help an organization create a safe environment for both employees and customers. The plan should include WHS procedures in the event of an emergency or crisis, as well as guidelines for how to minimize risks and hazards.
A safety management plan can also provide health and safety training for employees in order to keep them aware of potential hazards within their work environment. It also helps in identifying safety risks from within the organization.
Another important component of a safety management plan is that it should be regularly reviewed by safety consulting specialists to ensure any changes that may need to be made are done to ensure you comply with the latest WHS legislation and regulations. The updated safety management plan should reflect changes in your operations, new legislation or other factors that may affect your risk assessment process.
As with any type of business planning, the effectiveness of your safety management plan will depend on the level at which you customise it to suit your particular needs. For example, if you are operating largely outdoors on construction sites where there is exposure to heights and UV, you will need more specific information than if you are operating largely indoors on manufacturing floors with minimal exposure to height risk factors. There is not a one sized fits all and if caught (especially with the new WHS Act 2020) penalties and prosecutions and closer in the picture than you think (this includes busines and individual prosecution).
Creating a safety management plan?
The first thing competent WHS consultants would need to do is identify the hazards and risks that are present within your organisation. By identifying these, you will be able to create a plan to address them. This doesn’t mean that you should take any possible hazard or risk lightly. You need to make sure that the risks and hazards are properly managed and dealt with. You will also need to ensure you have read all relevant legislation, codes of practice, Standard and more to comply with any health and safety requirements.
Secondly, you should develop procedures for emergencies and crisis management. This includes taking precautions in the event of an accident or other emergency situation, as well as creating an emergency response plan. It’s important to prepare for potential crises before they happen and have a plan in place in case they do happen. Lastly, it’s crucial that all employees are trained on safety management measures. You want your employees to know what needs to be done if there is an emergency or crisis situation inside the company.
Conclusion
A health and safety management plan is an invaluable resource, but it’s not complete without a strong commitment to your employees’ safety, procedures and continual improvement and health and safety maintenance. When you have a WHS management plan in place, you reduce the likelihood of workplace accidents and injuries, which will ultimately save your business time and money. So weather you are a small, medium or large business, Safetec Safety Solutions are able to develop and implement health and safety systems, emergency management, WHS risk assessments and much more to your workplace, providing peace of mind, valuable ROI safety and sustainability.
