– By Caroline Falls –
Some 45 Australians have been killed at work this year – that’s in the three months to March 30, according to data published by Safe Work Australia (see link here). Most of the deadly workplaces were in the transport and warehousing industry.
No wonder then that one of the bigger sections in the fleet manager’s bible – the IPWEA Plant and Vehicle Management Manual — is about providing a safe workplace. With loads of cars, trucks, machinery, drivers and operators within the purview of a fleet manager, understanding and complying with health and safety obligations is likely a top priority
The manual’s 10-page section titled “Occupational Health & Safety” is easy to use and provides concise information about key obligations and definitions that fleet and asset managers need to know about. The term duty of care which is a commonly used phrase today is explained as to how it affects business owners, managers and workers.
Essentially, business owners have the primary duty of care to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers; managers need to exercise due diligence to ensure the business owner meets their health and safety obligations and workers need to take reasonable care at work and to comply with workplace instruction and procedures.
Like all of the manual’s chapters there is a step-by-step guide. The four steps highlighted to best manage workplace health and safety comprise:
- Review national model laws – Acts, regulations and relevant codes of practice
- Consider duty-of-care obligations – including workers, customers and general public
- Consultation requirements – share relevant health and safety information with workers and provide opportunities for workers to express views and raise issues
- Conduct risk assessments – identify hazards, apply risk control measures.
IPWEA’s manual was published in 2013, in the midst of a national move to harmonise work health and safety laws in various state and territory jurisdictions. Safe Work Australia is the national policy body responsible for the development of so-called model work and health safety laws that all jurisdictions have committed to adopting. The Safe Work Australia website this month refers viewers to visit their own state or territory authority for the latest laws applying to them.
As described in the IPWEA’s manual the model laws include the following:
- A primary duty of care requiring persons conducting a business or undertaking (known by the clumsy acronym PCBU) or influencing the way work is carried out, to ensure the health and safety of workers and others who may be affected
- Reporting requirements for notifiable incidents, such as serious illness, injury or death arising out of the conduct of a business
- A framework to establish a scheme for authorisations such as licences and registrations, for example for operators of certain plant or substances.
Workplace health and safety is a serious business. If an officer of a business – this likely includes any senior manager in an organization — fails to exercise due diligence they may be penalized or imprisoned.
This article is part of an occasional-series based on the third edition of IPWEA’s Plant and Vehicle Management Manual. For more information about the manual click here or telephone 1300 416 745.
