MPH5276 Safety Management Systems - Management Plan

An occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) is a management system using the aspects of quality management systems, which ensure the achievement of the occupational health and safety objectives of the organisation. It is a smart way to ensure that the Occupational Health and Safety issues in the organisation are managed in an efficient, effective and strategic way.

The elements which make up an OHSMS can be outlined in many different ways. These different ways merely reflect the organisation and/or the industry, or types of operations, which they aim to manage.

Conversely, an Occupational Health and Safety Plan is usually developed to support the organisations strategic directions in the management of Occupational Health and Safety. Such a ‘Plan’, utilizes and is complementary to the organisations Occupational Health and Safety System. The key result areas associated with such a ‘Plan’ are identified through a risk assessment approach in the areas of injury prevention, legislative compliance and a commitment to the quality “continuous improvement” cycle

A Safety Management Plan should be able to demonstrate that the Safety Management System in place is adequate to control the risks that the organisation faces, and to ensure compliance with legislation. A Safety Management System should therefore address the issues of:

• Policy;
• Organisation;
• Planning and Implementation;
• Evaluation; and
• Action for

This means that the effectiveness of an organisation depends on the management mechanisms through which the policies are put into action. These policies should coordinate the activities of employees in a way that creates administrative efficiency, while developing their full potential. The following text puts forward the view that organisations, through their Safety Management Plan, plays the main role in the provision of a safe and healthy environment.

Clearly, the protection of workers against work-related sickness, disease and injury forms part of the drive for organisations to establish a ‘Safety Management Plan’.

Disease and injury do not go with the job nor can poverty justify disregard for workers' safety and health. The primary goal is to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.

Today, technological progress and intense competitive pressures bring rapid change in working conditions, work processes and organisation. Legislation is essential, but insufficient on its own to address these changes or to keep pace with new hazards and risks. Organisations must also be able to tackle occupational safety and health challenges continuously and to build effective responses into dynamic management strategies.

Consequently, they provide a unique and powerful instrument for the development of a sustainable safety culture within enterprises and beyond.   Workers, organisations, safety and health systems and the environment all stand to benefit.

The positive impact of introducing occupational health and safety (OHS) management systems at the

organisation level, both on the reduction of hazards and risks and on productivity, is now recognized by governments, employers and workers.

This discussion covering Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems has been developed according to agreed principles listed in Australian Standard Publications¹. This approach provides the strength, flexibility and appropriate basis for the development of a sustainable safety culture in the organisation.

Safety Management Systems and Safety Management Plans are not legally binding and are not intended to replace national laws, regulations or accepted standards. Their application does not require certification, although some organisations can benefit from third party certification e.g being awarded the stratus of a ‘self insurer’.

The employer is accountable for and has a duty to organise occupational safety and health. The implementation of a Safety Management System is one useful approach to fulfilling this duty. These notes seek to provide a practical tool for assisting organisations and competent institutions as a means of achieving continual improvement in Occupational Health and Safety performance.

Occupational Health and Safety Management systems should establish general principles and procedures to:

• promote the implementation and integration of OHS management systems as part of the overall management of an organisation;
• facilitate and improve voluntary arrangements for the systematic identification, planning, implementation and improvement of OHS activities at national and organisation levels;
• promote the participation of workers and their representatives at organisation level;
• implement continual improvement while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy, administration and costs;
• promote collaborative and support arrangements for OHS management systems at the organisation level by labour inspectorates, occupational safety and health services and other services, and channel their activities into a consistent framework for OHS management;
• evaluate the effectiveness of the national policy and framework at appropriate intervals;
• evaluate and publicise the effectiveness of OHS management systems and practice by suitable means; and
• ensure that the same level of safety and health requirements applies to contractors and their workers as to the workers, including temporary workers, employed directly by the

With a view to ensuring the coherence of the national policy and of arrangements for its implementation, the competent institution should establish a national framework for OHS management systems to:

• identify and establish the respective functions and responsibilities of the various institutions called upon to implement the national policy, and make appropriate arrangements to ensure the necessary coordination between them;
• publish and periodically review national guidelines on the voluntary application and systematic implementation of OHS management systems in organisations;

 ¹ Australian Standard AS 4801-2000, Occupational health and safety management systems and the guide to small business, HB211-2001, both published by Standards Australia.

• establish criteria, as appropriate, for the designation and respective duties of the institutions responsible for the preparation and promotion of tailored guidelines on OHS management systems; and
• ensure that guidance is available to employers, workers and their representatives to take advantage of the national

The competent institution should make arrangements and provide technically sound guidance to labour inspectorates, OHS services and other public or private services, agencies and institutions dealing with OHS, including health-care providers, to encourage and help organisations to implement OHS management systems.

Setting Objectives

Organisational occupational health and safety guidelines should contribute to the protection of workers from hazards and to the elimination of work-related injuries, ill health, diseases, incidents and deaths.

At the highest level, the guidelines should:

• be used to establish a overall framework for OHS management systems, preferably supported by laws and regulations;
• provide guidance for the development of voluntary arrangements to strengthen compliance with regulations and standards leading to continual improvement in OHS performance; and
• provide guidance on the development of both general and tailored guidelines on OHS management systems to respond appropriately to the real needs of organisations, according to their size and the nature of their

At the level of the organisation, the Australian Standard AS 4801-2000, Occupational Health and Safety and the Victorian SafetyMAP are intended to:

• provide guidance regarding the integration of OHS management system elements in the

organisation as a component of policy and management arrangements; and

• motivate all members of the organisation, particularly employers, owners, managerial staff, workers and their representatives, in applying appropriate OHS management principles and methods to continually improve OHS

Occupational safety and health management system in the organisation Occupational safety and health, including compliance with the OHS requirements pursuant to laws and regulations, are the responsibility and duty of the employer. The employer should show strong leadership and commitment to OHS activities in the organisation, and make appropriate arrangements for the establishment of an OHS management system. The system should contain the main elements of policy, organising, planning and implementation, evaluation and action for improvement, as shown in the figure below.

Main elements of the OHS Management System 

Commitment and Policy

Organisational Commitment

Organisational commitment means being able to demonstrate that you, or the Company you work for, is committed to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of its employees, and any other people who may be affected by Company operations. The Company is committed to maintaining a continual improvement process in the development and implementation of workplace health and safety and promises to pursue ‘best practice’ principles in the management of occupational health, safety and welfare, whilst fulfilling its statutory duties with regard to OHS at all times.

Resources

Resources in terms of personnel, time, effort and financial outlay commensurate with the priority which The Company places on occupational health, safety and welfare will be made available in order to:

• Comply with all relevant legislation, and
• Ensure the health and safety of employees and

Where necessary, external consultants will be engaged to ensure workplace health and safety is appropriately managed.

Organisational Planning

In accordance with the Company principles and objectives, which are fully elaborated within our Management Plan, safety will be ‘best practice’ in all work undertaken. This will be achieved through appropriate levels of safety induction training, competency training and ongoing safety awareness programs, and will be reflected by the development and maintenance of a positive safety culture within the workforce.

In addition, we are committed to meeting all legislative and regulatory requirements in respect to the following matters:²

1. The identification of workplace hazards and the elimination or control of risks associated with workplace
2. The establishment of occupational health and safety committees and the election of employee’s health and safety
3. The introduction of particular risk control measures where required, including provisions regarding lighting, noise, atmosphere and manual
4. The use of only safe plant at all places of
5. The safe use of hazardous substances used within the
6. The introduction and maintenance of safe control measures when using hazardous
7. The development of safe systems of work associated with all waste and resource recovery
8. The identification of all work that requires ‘certificates of competency’.
9. The investigation and notification of incidents and other matters such as a ‘dangerous occurrence’.

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this plan is to provide guidelines and direction to all levels of management and supervision for the effective implementation of occupational health, safety and rehabilitation management practices on every company site.

This is aimed at achieving the primary goal of providing a safe and healthy work environment for all employees, contractors, subcontractors and their employees and visitors by eliminating or minimising the risk to personnel and the environment.

The intent is to ensure that systems are implemented which:

• Comply, as a minimum standard, with all relevant statutory requirements
• Comply, as a minimum standard, with Company requirements as identified in the procedures
• Continuously improve health and safety performance
• Provide adequate resources to establish and maintain ‘safe systems of work’
• Should an incident occur, provide adequate injury management resources to ensure a timely and safe return to work

This plan is applicable to all levels of management, employees, sub-contractors and visitors under the control or supervision of the company.