Responsibility within the workplace

Are you responsible? Health and safety in YOUR workplace is your responsibility, whether you provide work for a casual gardener or top management. All workplaces, from construction sites to a home or home office, are regulated by health and safety laws.

Occupational health and safety management is a cross-disciplinary industry concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of employees, family members, employers, customers as well as communities who are impacted by the workplace environment.

• Successful management of health and safety requires a well-supported organisation with clear health and safety responsibilities, and procedures for dealing with risks.

• Shared roles – worker, employer, government and society.

• Everyone has a role to play in making workplaces as safe and healthy as possible.

• Employers are required to ensure – so far as is reasonably practicable – workplaces, equipment and substances are safe and without risks to health.

Thus, all workplace risks – whether physical, chemical or biological in origin – should be properly managed. By law, all workers should be given the information and training they need.

In itself, the health and safety industry is one of the fastest growing businesses in the country.

With the growing awareness, which is long overdue in South Africa, companies must comply with the legislation – either willingly or by force. Naturally, the latter creates potentially uncomfortable circumstances, crisis management and, not forgetting, possible severe financial implications.

When the correct procedures are applied, the cost of being compliant within the regulations governing the requirements of your specific industry or business is actually very affordable.

Grudge buy, or investment?

Many aspects of your business are strictly regulated and subject to inspection without notice. Fail to meet the regulations, and you could be subject to fines or get shut down by the authorities.

Utilising the services of a registered and recognised health and safety company could save you money and unnecessary stress. Every rand saved is a rand made!

Who needs health and safety?

You do – whether you are an employer or self-employed, whether you employ the occasional casual worker or have a larger staff complement.

Furthermore, even if you have no staff, but you have members of the public sector coming to your premises, you have a public liability to them.

Are you aware of your responsibilities, and are you up to date with how to identify the hazards and control the risks from your work? Do you know how to get help – from your trade association, your local Chamber of Commerce, or your health and safety enforcing authority? Do you know what you have to do about consulting your employees, or their representatives, on health and safety issues? If not, you would benefit from the services of a company like Safe working practice.

Your staff, managers and supervisors need training. Even if you appoint a dedicated health and safety officer, he/she needs to be audited from time to time.

Your employees need to understand your health and safety policy, where they fit in, and how you want health and safety managed. They may require training in the specific hazards of your processes and how you expect the risks to be controlled.

Do not make the mistake of assuming this is only for construction industries. Under the legislation, irrespective of your chosen industry, everyone and every industry needs to comply accordingly, even for the domestic workplace. Everyone who works for you, including the self-employed, needs to know how to work safely and without risks. Health and safety policies must be implemented.

As long as there are no incidents, you may remain unseen under the radar, but perhaps not for long. Situations arise when least expected:

• An accidentally injured member of staff;

• A life lost at your premises;

• A disgruntled staff member reporting work conditions to the Department of Labour;

• A member of the public logging a complaint; or

• A regular swoop or “blitz” in your area by the authorities.

The calculated cost of taking a risk is not worth the penalties that are incurred through the negligence of not being compliant. This is not an expense, rather an investment that is part and parcel of your daily business.

A company such as Safe Working Practice (SWP) not only offers a cost-effective solution to ensuring you are fully compliant, but also offers a powerful business management tool to ensure controls in protecting your staff, members of the public and your investment.

You do not need to go the expense of employing a permanent Health and safety officer when the services of SWP are more than adequate, always up to date, tailored to your requirements and, most importantly, according the law.

Health and safety inspectors

The Occupational Health and Safety Act is administered by the chief directorate of Occupational Health and Safety of the Department of Labour (DoL). This, in itself, has become such a core focus that the DoL is implementing a dedicated division to enforce the law. This division acts and reacts very swiftly, and with a very heavy hand.

In order to ensure the health and safety of workers, provincial offices have been established in all the provinces. To this end, occupational health and safety inspectors from these provincial offices carry out strategic and regular inspections and investigations at all types of workplaces, enforcing the regulations.

Inspections

There can be focused, unannounced, planned inspections or unplanned, unannounced inspections.

Planned inspections are regularly carried out on the basis of accident statistics in any specific industry or workplace, and strategic zoning in on various industries and workplaces due to the presence of hazardous substances or the use of dangerous equipment.

Unplanned inspections, on the other hand, usually arise from requests or complaints by workers, employers or members of the public.

Often, the unplanned inspections are worse, as they invoke a fault-finding inspection. These are carried out when it suits the inspectors, not when it suits you. You could be in the middle of serving a very busy lunch trade at you restaurant when the inspectors arrive. You will have to accommodate them.

Powers of inspectors

If an inspector finds dangerous or adverse conditions in the slightest of ways at the workplace, he or she may set requirements to the employer in the following ways:

Prohibition notice

In the case of threatening danger, an inspector may prohibit a particular action, process or the use of a machine or equipment by means of a prohibition notice. No person may disregard the contents of such a notice and compliance must take place with immediate effect.

Contravention notice

If a provision of a regulation is contravened, the inspector may serve a contravention notice on the workers or the employer. A contravention of the Act can result in immediate prosecution; but in the case of a contravention of a regulation, the employer may be given the opportunity to correct the contravention within a time limit specified in the notice – which is usually 60 days, depending on the situation or nature of the industry or workplace.

Improvement notice

In cases when the health and safety measures instituted by the employer do not satisfactorily protect the health and safety of the workers or public, the inspector may require the employer to bring about more effective measures. An improvement notice, which prescribes the corrective measures, is then served on the employer.

Other powers

To enable the inspector to carry out his or her duties, he or she may enter any workplace or premises and question or serve a summons on persons to appear before him or her.

The inspector may request that any documents be submitted to him or her, investigate and make copies of the documents, and demand an explanation about any entries in such documents.

He/she may inspect any condition or article and take samples thereof, and seize any article that may serve as evidence.

Innovative services

SWP services all industries, with specialisation in the construction and agriculture sectors.

If you knew there were an affordable required service that offered you protection of loss of assets and investment – not to mention the emotional relief of preventing an accident – you would probably use the service in your company or organisation, wouldn’t you? Even more so if it were required by LAW and if it counted in your favour to do so.

SWP offers a superior quality, high-performance safety innovation to protecting you, your family, business and public in the unfortunate event of daily accidents or catastrophes.

It gives the owner or principal of the organisation or business the security and reassurance in knowing that it is completely compliant with the safety procedures and regulations as set out in the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Dynamic online support and training

SWP has invested heavily in unique software and online support infrastructures through years of research and development, as well as practical application.

It has become synonymous with software and online web development – setting it apart from any competition.

This not only keeps its growing franchise network up to date, but offers further assistance to all customers who have employee time restraints. Having identified this need and having looked at increasing productivity for clients and offering the latest services and technology, SWP developed this user-friendly system.

This is a business tool you cannot afford to be without.

Personal representation

SWP consultants will represent the employer in the event of legal proceedings as well as in the event of DoL enquiries or inspections.

The department often does “blitz” inspections, during which it will randomly target any industry and do spot checks. Should you not be compliant, your operation may be halted immediately until full compliance is met; you will also receive a hefty penalty of R100 000, or two years’ imprisonment.

SWP has built up firm credibility in the occupational health and safety industry, which has come from years of experience.

Over the years, it has developed and cemented sound, long-term national relationships and contracts within the industry and various state departments.

It has successfully created the award-winning SWP Total Package Compliance Solution and the unique integrated software and online systems to suit any industry that has to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This is the core of your business!

John Kilian

Tel: 021 979 2410

Mobile: 076 509 4590

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.safepractice.co.za