SAFETY PLANNING
PLANNING FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY
The purpose of Safety Planning is to establish operational and strategic direction in respect of an organisation’s workplace health and safety effort. Safety planning enables the organisation to chart a course for the improvement or initiation of workplace health and safety. It is a critical element in the process of implementing an effective workplace health and safety system.
Safety Planning should be completed with and aligned to a business plan in order to achieve the most effective result. We know that effective workplace health and safety is an element of a business performance. It will normally form a component of an organisation’s overall risk mitigation strategy and therefore should not be considered isolated from other business processes. Notwithstanding that, it is important for several reasons to ensure a safety plan is in place, including:
- Moral/social practice norms;
- Compliance with statutory obligations;
- Risk mitigation.
Safety planning usually takes place after an audit of an organisation’s due diligence/statutory compliance and should become an important element of an organisation’s business plan.
The safety planning process may vary according to organisational “safety maturity" levels.
Small to medium (SME) business safety plans can be quite simple. Focusing on the who, what, why, where and how the business will achieve its’ safety objectives. While larger organisations will follow a similar safety planning approach, the level of complexity, resources and goals to implement the processes will be quite different.
Our approach at OHS Dilligenz is to firstly understand the needs of your business. Is it growing, contracting or restructuring? Is it re-deploying people to alternative processes? Is it purchasing new plant and equipment? When we understand the business priorities and activities, we tailor technical safety plan requirements for our customers.
Safety plans implemented in isolation of other business areas are seldom effective. Our safety planning approach utilises inputs from all organisational areas as well as quantifiable organisational data that can be used to drive safety decisions.
Through understanding and integrating business priorities into workplace health and safety plans, we allow the organisation to grow from not only a safety perspective but a performance and profit perspective.
CASE STUDY
OHS Dilligenz was engaged by the board of a leading organisation to review the plan for the safety department and overall safety strategy and framework. We gathered a range or data from the organisation including from individual staff interviews, staff surveys, and performance metrics. We examined the organisation’s business plan and identified gaps in the safety department to support the organisation. We examined international best practice approaches and then developed a matrix of influencing factors and a framework to inform what the organisation required within its safety strategy and OHS plan. These included competence, training, coaching and effective use of Positive Performance Indicators to achieve a “Positive Safety Culture”.
The outcome was a visible and achievable strategy and plan that progressed the organisation in measurable degrees along their safety excellence journey. The “Fit for Business” approach had tangible benefits, eg. reduced worker harm, workers compensation, insurance, reduced materiel losses and damage, increased productivity, worker engagement and client satisfaction.
Work safety planning is an important element of any organisation wanting to achieve better safety and health outcomes for its’ employees and mitigate risks at the same time. We’d be happy to discuss your needs and help you achieve great safety plans to help you navigate your safety journey. Safety Planning Sydney
