Introduction

Occupational health and safety (OHS) in the workplace requires an effective systematic approach with strategies to control and monitor OHS risks and which is consistent with relevant OHS legislative requirements.

The six point systematic approach to OHS

To implement effective occupational health and safety management, managers, supervising personnel and employees require a range of systematic OHS strategies based on clearly defined practices, procedures and systems.
The use of a six point systematic approach to OHS as outlined below will enable the organisation to achieve this.

1. Develop an OHS policy and related programs

2. Set up an effective consultation mechanism with stakeholders and key personnel …show more content…

The OHS committee reviews this register monthly. Each operational department is responsible for maintaining their own risk registers for departmental specific risks.

Areas for improvement and action plan

Once an area has been identified as requiring improvement a plan should be prepared to address the issues. The plan should include: 1. Goal, objective, target, measures or indicators to show whether objective and target are achieved and actions required to implement improvement.

2. Generation of risk control measures to ensure the activity identified as requiring improvement is made as safe as practicable

3. Apply the Hierarchy of Hazard Controls to categorise the proposed controls as either elimination, substitution, engineering, administration or PPE controls. The "hierarchy of control" will help the organisation decide the best way to control risks. The hierarchy of control ranks control strategies from the most effective to the least effective strategy. Not all types of strategies will be practicable and more than one type of strategy may be needed to achieve the best protection, for example less hazardous material (substitution) and gloves (PPE).

4. Identify the risk control options that are required by legislation

5. Ensure that any areas of the site that require any form of PPE are clearly signed to identify what PPE is mandatory in that