The introduction in New South Wales of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Regulations has resulted in some important changes to the way health and safety at work is administered.
In order to prepare for these changes, and in keeping with the principal of continual improvement, Randwick City Council has undertaken a comprehensive review of its existing Work Health and Safety (WHS) management system, including looking at the available technologies that could be utilised to assist in the promotion of health and safety at work.
Over a period of several months, 47 policies and procedures were developed and sent to Council’s solicitors for approval. These new documents form the basis of Council’s new WHS management system. Part of this new system includes an innovative WHS communication and information dissemination strategy, expanding Council’s Intranet service to include a comprehensive WHS site.
While in the past, access to WHS information was fragmented and from a number of different sources, Randwick City Council’s website aims to be a one stop shop for accurate and up to date policies and procedures, forms, emergency management information and contact details for Health and Safety Committee members. Links to external sites such as WorkCover NSW and ChemCert are also provided. The latest safe work method statements (SWMS) can be found using the site’s easy to use ‘Search’ function.
Legislative change has provided Randwick City Council with a golden opportunity to review and totally rewrite its WHS management system. However, the website is not an end in itself, as it requires effective implementation to be more than a ‘virtual safety system’. As such, training in WHS at all levels of Randwick City Council has played a significant part in this major management overhaul.
