SIMWEN Workplace Health & Safety Policy

For organizations and stakeholders involved in their activities, protection is important. In safer and healthier workplaces, workers increase their efficiency and improve the quality of the goods supplied. The study aims to investigate SIMWEN, an organisation based in Western Australia,' application of safety and health regulations. The report builds on the results of a business audit carried out in August 2017 The report bases its discussion on the findings of an audit conducted on the company operations in august 2017. The report ascertains the attitude of the company towards the issue of safety in the workplace and on the importance of adhering to safety provisions. The report goes ahead to examine the hazards and the risks that they can introduce. Notably, the findings reveal that the company is vulnerable to hazards, which centre on manual handling of machines and inadequate information. The report also provides solutions that can be used to address these hazards. Besides looking at the hazards evident in the company, the report also analyses the shortcomings of the risk controls instituted by SIMWEN. Thereafter the report assesses the training needs of employees working in the company and provides a method of ensuring that its contents receive optimum utility by the target recipients. Introduction Over the years, organizations have strived to ensure that workplaces are free from hazards and favor the productivity of employees and visitors. The global move to improve the working conditions by organizations is an outcome of civil rights movements and the reluctance demonstrated by employees towards unsafe companies. Occupational Safety and Health act enacted in 1984 and Occupational Safety and Health Regulations, which materialized in 1996, are some of the momentous laws that govern the operations of enterprises in Western Australia. Notably, SIMWEN is an organization that strives to ensure that it operates in a manner that does not expose its workforce and visitors to harm. In addition, SIMWEN is awake to the provisions outlined by the WHS regulations and aims at ensuring that organizations adhere to these provisions. To achieve the aforementioned objectives, SIMWEN’s management trains its workforce so that instances of and harm become minimal. The organization also gives insights to its employees on the ways that can be useful in scenarios where they become victims of an incident. It is within this backdrop that the report examines the implementation of safety and health regulations at SIMWEN Company.SIMWEN Working Environment and the Importance of Adhering to WHS Guidelines On august 2017, audit, which used a checklist and training and needs analysis, examined the workplace safety in SIMWEN. To amplify the quality of the findings and ascertain the real state of affairs in the company, the checklist was used together with Training Needs Analysis (TNA). According to the work health safety (WHS) acts in Western Australia, workplaces need to be free from hazards and scenarios that can trigger harm to employees as they undertake their duties. The acts also challenge organizations to make sure that their employees or visitors who sustain injuries in the course of duty receive fair and just treatment on time and as required. To ensure that companies adhere to the regulations and create workplaces that are safe, the law provides systems of redress in cases where the employers mistreated their suppliers, contractors, or workers. Therefore, SIMWEN has the mandate of following the provisions of the acts and undertaking initiatives that minimize harm and increase productivity. The management of SIMWEN plays an instrumental role in creation of a safe working environment for its employees. Besides listening to the advice presented by the organization, SIMWEN can also listen to the opinions of their employees and make amends on areas considered risky. On the other hand, safety in the workplace is momentous. When enterprises adhere to the safety provisions and works hard to create a safe and healthy working environment, employee productivity increases. Furthermore, the turnover, which in most cases leads to losses and poor quality, decreases. Court cases, strikes, and negative reputation become minimal and the subject organizations enjoy a higher market share in relation to their competitors. It is imperative to explain that several companies in various parts of the world including Western Australia have closed their operations because they refused to abide by the safety and health regulations. Therefore, it is evident that the regulations are beneficial to both the organizations and the stakeholders involved in the operations. Suppliers, employees, consumers, and contractors are some of the stakeholders who benefit from a safe and healthy working environment.Identified Hazards, Risks, and Procedures to Address the Hazards The audit conducted in august 2017, in SIMWEN Company identified two major hazardous situations. Inadequate knowledge on manual equipment handling and WHS officer are the identified situations that are likely to trigger hazards. Inadequate knowledge on issues of manual handling is a scenario that can lead to injuries among employees. Short and long-term injuries usually occur when employees do not know how to handle equipments and machines in workplaces. At times, an accident occurs because an employee used the equipment or a machine inappropriately. Consequently, insufficient information on the details of WHS officer is another hazard identified by the audit. While many scholars may downplay the importance of knowing the respective WHS officer, the officers play a momentous role in minimizing risks that occur in workplaces. Management, employees, clients, contractors, and suppliers of a particular organization may encounter a situation that requires advanced knowledge from a WHS officer. In the absence of the advice, a minor incident can balloon into a full-blown hazard. Moreover, the information exchanged between the stakeholders of an organization and the officers is crucial in improving the quality of workplace environment and augmenting the amount of knowledge held concerning workplace safety.The risks initiated by the identified hazards comprise cuts, burns, bruises, as well as falls. These risks occur when the people using the equipments use them in a manner that initiates the incidents. Importantly, while some injuries may be minor and call for minimal interventions, others may be serious leading to complex medical attention or even death. A number of employees who previously worked in various companies have been maimed, disabled, or paralyzed because of poor knowledge they used when handling equipments. Developing a good communication platform is one of the ways that is useful in controlling the risks and addressing the concerns holistically. Organizations such as SIMWEN need to make sure that their communication systems are efficient and swift so that exchange of information does not lead to delays. Moreover, management should build trust among its employees and themselves so that the subordinates and other stakeholders share their opinions openly without fear. In some case, a view shared by an employee may go a long way in mitigating an impending hazard.Besides good communication, the companies also need to educate its employees on various strategies that are useful when handling equipments. How to stand or sit during an operation, the right dressing code, and the correct reaction methods whenever there is an incident are vital in minimizing the challenges posed by hazards. In addition to the consultative role played by WHS officers, organizations need to conduct frequent seminars, conferences, and workshops that focus on training their employees on the ever-changing working environment and safety regulations. The training makes the employees move with the times and understand the ways that are useful in handling modern machines brought about by technological advancements.Shortcomings of the Existing Risk Controls at SIMWEN Upon completion of the audit on 15 august 2017, various flaws became evident. Some of the flaws include poor records of the risk and hazards. The audit realized that the company did not have records of hazards and risks that had occurred over the last five years. Failure to record any incidences that occurred during the period is a shortcoming that greatly affected the organization’s ability to address any challenge triggered by poor handling of equipments by employees or in its quest to ensure that the workplace safety resonates with contemporary requirements. The audit also discovered that the company does not have a good communication and training system used in educating its employees on ways that reduce injuries at the workplace. Hierarchic and bureaucratic manner in which communication progresses to and from the management leads to some kind of reluctance from the subordinates. Some of the activities that SIMWEN can undertake to remedy the situation include a development of department that deals with hazards that occur while employees engage in their duties. The department should be under a manager whose work is to regularly assess the frequency of the incidents and look for ways that can mitigate the risks. When developing the activity, SIMWEN has to work closely with the respective WHS officer who will guide them on the right course to follow in light of the prevailing regulations in Western Australia. Some of the main guidelines, which the organization has to consider when updating its hazard records, include:Prevailing hazardsExisting controlsThe frequency of assessing the risksConsultationsSolutionsPrevention of future occurrencesRecommendations Training RequirementsThe training requirements needed by SIMWEN can be from internal and external officers. Through minimal refreshment, some officers working in the company can be in a good position to provide training to other colleagues in the company. Besides the expertise of the internal officer, the company also needs an external officer who will work together with those in the company to educate the employees on the safety and health provisions as enshrined in the 1984 and 1966 occupational safety and health acts. Notably, to increase the quality of the training, the company can have some of its training outside the working environment or in places such as North Lake. Other systems that can increase the amount of information held by employees in SIMWEN concerning health comprise online platform such as IFAP. The scope of training will cover a range of issues on safety and health in the workplace that include:The hazardous scenarios witnessed during the auditManual handling of equipmentsSafety requirementsThe essence of knowing a WHS officer within one’s locationThe cost of training ranges from $200 to $160The pricing hinges on factors such as membership where non-members pay $200 whereas members pay $180 Follow UpAfter submitting the report, I will make sure that the management follows the provisions that it outlines. To attain the objective of execution, I will explain comprehensively the relevance of the report and why the company needs to adopt and use it in its operations. I will explain the importance of safe and healthy environment to the organization in a convincing and factual manner so that besides understanding the issues, the management will also be persuaded to give a second thought to the contents of the report. My choice of words, communication, and mode of presentation will also be important in convincing the management to use the report. Therefore, I will employ wise choice of words, right dressing code, and adopt a method of communication that will not offend any of the members listening to the presentation. ConclusionWorkplace safety and health is crucial to any organization. As such, companies need to follow guidelines that advance safety in the workplaces. To enjoy safe and healthy working environments, employees, contractors, employers, and suppliers should receive information concerning the issues of safety. Organizations like SIMWEN need to work closely with WHS officers so that they successfully execute the regulations espoused by occupational safety and health acts enacted in 1984 and 1966. The essence of following the acts emanate from the fact that they govern operations of companies based in Western Australia, which is where the company operates. The report has examined the various flaws in the company and provided ways that are useful in addressing the issues.