When it comes to Safety and the law businesses often get confused on what their legal obligations are when running their own business. Most business owners know that they have to comply with taxation requirements and fair work laws, but are often confused or unaware of their obligations when it comes to the Work place health and safety ACT or OHS requirements.
Principally, businesses are required by law to have a health and safety management system in place, and to be able to show written evidence of it. An excellent way of trying to address this is by using some health and safety software like one that I stumbled across such as www.keepshift.com. A Health and System system works towards demonstrating you are taking all reasonable steps to manage the Health and Safety risks and hazards in the business and it needs to be document evidence NOT verbal. It confirms your commitment to Health and Safety and reiterates your obligations under the Health and Safety Act. There can be risks associated with noncompliance with the Health and Safety legislation which can include substantial fines and penalties and in some cases prosecution. A safety software system such as KeepShift is a platform that simplifies the manual process in managing safety and helps a business meet their requirements.
Often, I receive the same message from trades, hospitality and service industries that safety is so paper driven and takes so long. If you’re still using pen & paper, you’re wasting hours that a system like KeepShift can do. It would be one of the best safety software systems that simplifies the process and helps ensure businesses have the electronic trail of evidence to demonstrate that they have taken all reasonable steps to manage the Health and safety risks and hazards in the business.
All workers are protected by the WHS ACT including, employees, contractors, subcontractors, volunteers etc. Managing written evidence of risk through the risk cycle is important if you ever have to prove anything to the regulator or a court of law and evidence of consultation with workers is imperative to have. I often ask business owners one simple question: If an incident of any sort occurs and the regulator came knocking or you were in a court of law, would you have enough documented evidence to confirm the business has taken reasonable steps to manage all health and safety risks in the workplace.
Essentially having robust Health and Safety policies and procedures are an important safety measure and should include areas, like reportable incidents, incident and injury reporting, Return to work and injury management, Mental health, Stress management, Hazard Awareness, Physical Hazards, Manual handling, Biological Hazards, Threatening Situations, Emergency procedures, Psychosocial Hazards like bullying and harassment ,Chemical Hazards, Risk registers, Ergonomics, First aid, Working Alone, plus many others. Managing theses policies and procedures with the right health and safety software can make a business owners life much easier and be done at the push of a button.
The need for a safety system is important but it shouldn’t be something that hamstrings the business and takes too much time away from doing what you should be doing. It can seem overwhelming but utilising health and safety software can help you easily manage your compliance obligations. Keepshift.com would be one of the best safety software systems on the market and it is a smart and easy way to manage your people and meet your obligations. That’s why using one of the best safety software systems out there like www.keepshift.com. can help.