Implement and Monitor Work Health and Safety Practices
Projects
Project 1
Project Instructions
-Scenario
Assume that you are the area manager of three hotels of Queensland Reef Hotels on the Sunshine Coast, QLD. Your responsibilities include the delivery of an exceptional service experience to all clients across the three hotels. The hotels are located in Coolum Beach, Mooloolaba and Maroochydore, and have a long-established reputation in the marketplace for quality and service.
Project 1 – Implement and monitor work, health and safety practices
Throughout Project 1, you are required to create a guide that can be implemented throughout Queensland Reef Hotels that:
a. Gives good practice advice on how to consult and involve your employees and their representatives on health and safety matters at work
b. Provides the opportunity for staff members to contribute their views on current and future WHS management practices, including views on how to eliminate or control risks
c. Enables consultation with the appropriate person when issues need to be actioned, resolved or referred to an appropriate employee within the organisation
In the creation of your guide, ensure that you include the following:
1. Getting started – Preparing to involve your workforce:
• Why you should talk to your employees about health and safety
• Legislation relevant to workplace health and safety
• How to gain commitment from the organisation and your employees
NB: Use industry examples to support organisational commitment
2. Getting organised – Planning effectively:
• What affects how you involve your workforce
• What you should consult your workforce about
• When you should consult so that you do it in good time
• Arrangements for training health and safety representatives
• Arrangements for signage
3. Getting it done – Providing practical advice on ways to consult and involve your employees or their representatives:
• What your duties are when consulting representatives
• Methods of involving your employees
• How to involve representatives in investigations and inspections
• How to set up a health and safety committee and make it work well
• How/when to provide feedback
4. Getting it right – Making sure your arrangements for workforce involvement are as effective as possible and cover how you can keep improving by:
• Monitoring performance
• Reviewing progress
• Knowing what to do when things become challenging
• Plans for referring and resolving any WHS issues that arise in consultation
• Actions that will be taken to deal with non-compliance
To help with this Project the following link will give an example of a completed guide
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg232.pdf
Along with the above link a Sample Case Study from the University of Leeds has been provided below to give you examples of outcomes that can be achieved at the successful implementation of a guide that involves employees in organisational health, safety and security issues.
Sample Case study: University of Leeds?
Please note this is an Example only and not some of this information will not be relevant to Australia.
The University of Leeds launched a revitalisation program in partnership with campus trade unions to bring about significant and lasting improvements to health and safety performance.
The Challenge:
Around one in ten university staff reported an accident at work, and the university had also received two improvement notices from Health and Safety Executive in the last three years. Managers and staff recognised that there was room for improvement.
With jobs ranging from laboratory experiments to office administration, and from fieldwork in the Arctic to serving lunch in the canteen, the university’s 8000 staff has a very diverse range of health and safety issues and are spread across 98 acres of campus. The key challenge was raisingawareness of health and safety issues and getting everyone involved.
Getting the workforce on board, the university launched a revitalisation program with the three campus trade unions where both unions and management are equal partners in achieving health and safety standards and resolving issues. A declaration that health and safety is one of the university’s top priorities is at the heart of the partnership.
‘The revitalising agreement allowed the university and the campus trade unions to start again and build from scratch a new working relationship and develop a refocused approach to health and safety. This will in time lead to a culture change across campus and has already led to an official partnership which is the first of its kind.’
Nick Creighton, Branch Health and Safety Officer, on behalf of the Unison University of Leeds Branch
Raising awareness:
‘It was essential to make sure that everyone understood their own health and safety responsibilities and knew what could happen if these weren’t taken seriously. This required a change in both attitudes and behavior.’
Gary Tideswell, Director of Wellbeing, Safety and Health
A DVD was made using contributions from staff across the university. It highlighted what can happen if health and safety is not taken seriously, and also gave examples of best practice. Every member of staff watched the film, was then encouraged to talk about local issues and priorities, and received information on individual health and safety responsibilities. ‘…the DVD and briefings created an opportunity for dialogue by using real case studies from our campus and giving people the chance to ask questions and discuss local issues.’
Gary Tideswell, Director of Wellbeing, Safety and Health
How is the workforce involved?
A health and safety committee was formed with representatives from all areas of the university, including health and safety representatives appointed by the trade unions. It works to clear terms of reference and monitors arrangements for managing health and safety, considers incident reports, and makes recommendations for improvements.?As part of the revitalisation agreement, a sub-group of the main committee was formed to include trade unions. If necessary, this sub-group meets between the main meetings at short notice to consider urgent health and safety matters. It also provides a sounding board for developing new or revised policies.
Benefits so far:
There has been a notable change in the awareness and attitudes of staff – they understand the issues more now and engage more readily.
The staff now has clearer, more accessible information and they are more aware of their own health and safety responsibilities.
Although it is too early to measure a reduction in accidents, the university is confident that their accident reporting system now provides a more accurate picture.
‘To keep improving?we need to bring about a permanent shift in health and safety culture. We should not underestimate the challenge of achieving this, but I am confident that by working together we will succeed. I look forward to the day when our university is a flagship for health and safety, with others looking to us to see how it should be done.’ Professor Michael Arthur, Vice-Chancellor
Project 2
Project Instructions
Accompanying thetechnological revolutionofthe1990stherearemanynewopportunitiesandchallenges for thetraveland tourismindustries. Sincetourism,global industryinformation is itslife-bloodand technologyhas becomefundamentalto theabilityofthe industrytooperateeffectivelyandcompetitively
ThroughoutProject2, youwill berequired tocompleteanaction plan discussing theimpact(positiveand negative)fromahealth, safetyand securityperspectivethat theapplicationof informationtechnologyand the useofthe internethas hadon thetravel/tourismindustry
Throughoutthe actionplan, eachof thefollowingpointswill need tobeincluded:
• Relevantdetailsof thepotential hazards/risksassociated with theuseof technology(ensurethat youconsiderhealth,safetyandsecurityrisks)
• Risk controlmethods required (and bywhom)
• Promptandappropriateaction takento addressnoncompliancewith procedures, safework practicesand non-adherencetosignage/training, etc
• Relevant legislation that employees are required to be aware of (refer to the guide created in Project 1)
• Timeframesfor completionof actions
• Training required
• Howyouwould monitor theeffectivenessofyour Action Plantoidentifyanyinadequacies? Reporting processes(and by whom)
• Theroles andexpectationsof staff requiredto beinvolved inworkplace monitoring
• IdentificationofOHSreportsand recordsthatwouldneed tobecompleted
