Every business has different health and safety risks. At BRAVEday we are currently working on upgrading our health and safety process to ensure we are doing everything we can (and should) be doing to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our team when they are at work.
A healthy and safe workplace starts with identifying and understanding what our work-related health and safety risks are and then doing what is reasonable and practical to eliminate or minimise those risks.
This is an ongoing process and the playing field (literally) will change for us when we make the move in September to our new building.
Some tips to help you ensure your business has health and safety covered:
- When managing risks, identify reasonably foreseeable hazards that could pose risks to the health and safety of workers
- Consider the different types of hazards. A hazard can be defined as a situation or thing that has the potential to harm a person and examples of hazards at work may include a loose piece of flooring, repetitive tasks, bullying and violence in the workplace
- Risks and hazards in the workplace must be recorded (eg. in a Monthly Hazard Identification Checklist, Accident and Incident Reports and ad hoc reporting directly onto a Hazards Register)
Worksafe NZ has suggested a four step framework that guides you through the process for identifying, assessing, managing and controlling risks:
- Identifying hazards and risks - finding out what could cause harm
- Assessing hazards and risks - understanding the nature of the harm that could be caused by the hazard, how serious the harm could be and the likelihood of it happening
- Controlling hazards and risks - implementing the most effective control measure that is reasonably practicable in the circumstances
- Reviewing control measures - ensuring they are working as planned, have you identified the risks and hazards that you may face and put in place processes to minimise or eliminate such risks?
Information and guidance can be found on the WorkSafe website, as well as great tools and resources. If you have any queries, try calling the WorkSafe helpline on 0800 030 040.