Free hands on support fr om WorkSafe Victoria

Worksafe Victoria’s Manager – Earth Resources, ROB KELLY reports the free hands on safety support service.

IN the most recent editions of Sand & Stone WorkSafe Victoria identified areas of focus for the quarrying industry based on Improvement Notices issued and targeted campaigns. “While WorkSafe has identified these areas and inspectors will continue to visit quarry sites to ensure risks are controlled, we understand that there may be times when the day to day pressures of running a business and the thought of having systems in place to manage health and safety can seem overwhelming” Work Safe’s Manager – Earth Resources, Rob Kelly said. “The legislative requirements and the technical expertise required to understand what the legislation means can, at times, make it difficult to know where to start or how to go about it”.

WorkSafe Victoria offers free hands on safety support to eligible small businesses.

Managing health, safety and return to work doesn’t need to be difficult. Work Safe’s free safety consultancy service can help small businesses be safer and healthier, by providing practical services, information and tools. It can help the business quickly and easily get an understanding of what the legislation means and how to go about managing safety in a step by step way.

Who can apply for the consultancy?

Currently, Victorian businesses with up to20 full time employees can register for a free3 hour session with an independent OHS consultant. The consultant will come to your workplace, help identify safety issues relevant to your business and provide useful advice on how to go about addressing the issues. From 1 July 2013, the free consultancy will be extended to some eligible medium sized businesses.

What the consultancy involves?

Once your application has been accepted, an independent OHS consultant will visit your workplace. They will want to find out about the type of product you make or service you deliver, how you make or deliver what you do, the number of staff you have and what health and safety efforts have been done to date. They’ll then take a look around the workplace to identify any safety issues that may not have been addressed.

The OHS consultant will discuss with you how to manage safety, consult with your employees and what documentation you may need. The OHS consultant will leave you with a Safety Action Plan which prioritises a list of what issues they believe need to be addressed, and offer advice on how to go about addressing these issues.

For more information about Work Safe’s free safety consultancy, or to apply, please go to the ‘Employers & Supervisors’ tab on the WorkSafe website http://worksafe.vic.gov.au and click the ‘Small Business’ link.

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