Risk management

All employers, employees and self-employed persons have a duty of care towards their own, and others' safety and health at their workplace.

Compliance with legislative requirements may assist by providing either performance based or prescriptive criteria to achieve required results. Various legislative requirements may impact on activities within workplaces to ensure that workers are able to work in a safe environment.

Under general duty of care legislation, employers have a duty to ensure, as far as practicable, that employees are not exposed to hazards at the workplace. Under regulations and in accordance with codes of practice, employers also have an obligation to identify workplace hazards, to assess the associated risks and to make the necessary changes to minimize the risks. These three basic steps should be taken to ensure a safe and healthy workplace and prevent accidents. They are based on the concept that the workplace should be modified to suit people, not vice versa. The three steps are hazard identification, risk assessment, risk control.

Identifying the Hazard - involves recognizing things which may cause injury or harm to the health of a person, for instance, flammable material, ignition sources or unguarded machinery.

Assessing the Risk - involves looking at the possibility of injury or harm occurring to a person if exposed to a hazard.

Controlling the Risk - by introducing measures to eliminate or reduce the risk of a person being exposed to a hazard.

It is important to regularly review the steps, especially if there are changes in the working environment, new technology is introduced, or standards are changed.

Occupational Safety and Health legislation promotes cooperation and consultation between the employer and employees within the workplace to achieve a safe and healthy work environment. Employers should consult with safety and health representatives, if any, and employees during these steps. Involvement of elected safety and health representatives can provide an opportunity for problems to be resolved using knowledge within the immediate work area.