What is a sure way that any business can learn how to improve workplace safety? Many business owners think improvement centres around updating out-of-date documents like safety policies or SWMS. Some feel that more training may improve things. All of these things are of course very important to ensure you are meeting your WHS obligations, but what we are talking about is larger and more holistic.
One of the most impactful things when making a decision on how to improve workplace safety is ensuring that your business reflects, reviews, and continually seeks to improve its safety practices.
All businesses across the country, including on the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers are obliged to reflect on how they can improve the WHS in their businesses. It’s a part of running a proper, efficient safety management system.
To help businesses understand how to improve workplace safety, Safe Work Australia created an initiative called ‘The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2023-2033’. This strategy aims to reduce the number of work-related fatalities and injuries and promote better work health and safety outcomes for all workers.
The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2023-2033 is a comprehensive and ambitious initiative that has the potential to make a significant impact on workplace safety across the country. It is essential that all stakeholders work together to implement the strategy and create a safer and healthier workplace for all Australians.
The strategy has five key priorities on how to improve workplace safety:
- Health and Safety through Leadership and Culture: This priority aims to promote a positive safety culture in workplaces by encouraging leaders to take ownership of their health and safety responsibilities and actively promote safe work practices.
- Eliminating Hazards and Risks: This priority focuses on identifying and eliminating hazards and risks in the workplace through risk management strategies, including risk assessments, hazard identification, and control measures.
- Recognizing and Supporting Health and Safety Representatives: This priority recognizes the important role of Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) in promoting health and safety in the workplace. It aims to provide support and training to HSRs to enable them to fulfill their role effectively.
- Achieving Safe and Healthy Work through Design: This priority aims to promote the design of safe and healthy workplaces by considering health and safety in the design process. It aims to encourage designers, architects, and engineers to prioritize health and safety in the design of buildings, structures, and equipment.
- Improving Work Health and Safety Information: This priority aims to improve the availability and accessibility of work health and safety information to all stakeholders. It aims to promote better communication, collaboration, and information sharing on how to improve workplace safety outcomes.
To achieve these priorities, the strategy promotes collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. It recognises that workplace safety is a shared responsibility and that everyone has a role to play in creating a safe and healthy workplace. This initiative aims to promote proactive measures, including education and training, to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses before they happen, with a strong focus on prevention and early intervention.
To avoid workplace safety incidents, steps need to be taken to improve WHS in your business. We understand this can be a daunting task and Big Yellow Safety can assist if you are seeking the services of an experienced safety specialist to show you how to improve workplace safety. Contact us to arrange a free 30-minute Introductory Call with our WHS Specialist team.
Learn more about safety services for small business and the top 5 reasons why you need a WHS specialist right now.
Phone 07 5655 4048. Servicing the Gold Coast, Northern Rivers and Regional areas.