Not only is the World Day for WHS a day to recognise the importance of health and safety in workplaces, but it is also Workers’ Memorial Day.
In 2022, 195 workers in Australia didn’t go home to their families due to fatalities at work. A wholly unacceptable number of workers and their families and friends severely impacted by a workplace. The ripple effects of a workplace death are profound, devastating and lifelong – and I am talking from experience. This – and the overall health, safety and wellbeing of your workers – should be your main reason for implementing robust risk management and safety strategies into you workplace – not just the fact that you might be facing industrial manslaughter charges if a fatality did happen.
- Do you have a WHS system in place?
- Do you regularly inspect the workplace for hazards?
- Do you encourage your staff to report hazards?
- Is there a system of regular training and communications, plus opportunities for staff to provide feedback on WHS decision making
- Have you undertaken psychosocial hazard risk assessments to ensure your workplace is not mentally harming workers?
- Are you, as the leader of the company, setting and living a great example for your team?
The list goes on. So it’s timely to review your venue’s emergency and critical incident plans, resources, training and contingency plans for the next event. Some things you should consider in your organisation:
- Do you have an updated fire and emergency plan that covers not only fires, but also severe weather events?
- Have you undertaken a risk assessment on the potential impacts of severe weather events?
- What resources do you have in place to manage an event
- What are your strategies for ensuring your staff get home safely? Do you have shelter in place options
- Remember in any emergency situation, life safety is your number one priority.
Ensure your organisation is operating in a safe manner and considering the impact climate change could have on your occupational safety. To learn more or enquire about our WH&S Services, please contact DWS Work Health, Safety and Compliance Advisor, Michelle Bates, for more info.
