The Purpose of Workplace Health and Safety Compliance

The Purpose of OHS compliance in the workplace is that it equips employees with both the skill and ability to safeguard their own safety as well as those working around them.The most common definition of OHS compliance is that it means that one conforms to a rule. This can involve a specification, policy, a standard or a law.

Regulatory compliance describes the goals that businesses aspire to achieve to ensure that they are not only aware of, but take steps to comply with various relevant laws, policies, and regulations.

OHS compliance is an imperative and prevalent business concern. This is due to the number of regulations that require businesses to be vigilant in ensuring that a full understanding of regulatory compliance requirements is maintained.

The general misconception that businesses, and employers, have is that health and safety compliance does not apply to them, or only certain aspects apply. However, the Occupational Health and Safety Act applies to everyone, despite the industry, size, or nature of business of the company.

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Occupational Health and Safety strategies, however, differ across industries but it is still imperative for a legitimate business with employees to ensure that there is an adequate health and safety programme is in place.

The purpose of OHS compliance is to ensure that employees are provided with a workplace in which their health and safety is ensured. Health and Safety compliance involves the implementation of the highest level of physical, mental, and social well-being of employees.

Furthermore, it involves the prevention of adverse health issues, illnesses, and injuries from occurring as result of working conditions and the working environment. OHS compliance equips employees with both the skill and ability to safeguard their own safety as well as those working around them.

With the effective implementation of workplace health and safety, the reduction and prevention of incidents can be ensured as well as an increase in productivity, employee morale, and over-all job satisfaction.

Why Should you address OHS Compliance?

Health and Safety compliance benefits both the employer as well as the employee in a variety of ways. When a business is compliant with health and safety, the following benefits can be observed:

• Decreased employee turnover and absenteeism
• Improved employee morale
• Increased productivity and job satisfaction
• Fewer injuries and less compensation
• Reduce costs towards healthcare, insurance, fines, and litigation
• Improved corporate image, culture, and reputation.

Health and Safety Compliance and ROI

A lot of businesses will pose the question of how OHS compliance and associated OHS strategies can work to improve the bottom line of the business.

Along with realized savings as well as a substantial reduction in costs relating to Occupational Health and Safety failures, there are numerous positive impacts on both the productivity of employees and the corporate image.

These factors may not appear in the company’s ledger book, but it is a great benefit that can be observed. By ensuring that an adequate and effective OHS programme is in place, and there is health and safety compliance throughout the organisation, it can mean the difference between either winning or losing contract bids and even government contracts.

Health and safety compliance, and a subscription to SafetyWallet’s unique services and solutions has shown a substantial improvement in health and safety ROI of numerous companies.

For this reason, there is no excuse why businesses cannot address OHS best practices with significant investments such as the SafetyWallet subscription. Businesses have all the necessary tools and support that they could possibly need to improve and maintain their health and safety compliance.

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What are the must-haves in Health and Safety Compliance?

There are a lot of considerations, and quite a long list, of must-haves for a company but the health and safety of employees must always be at the forefront of any business decisions.

Compliance with safety, health, environmental, and quality management systems is one of the most crucial functions of both the employer as well as the employee.

It may not always be easy to implement such measures but despite this, employers must do whatever they can to ensure health and safety compliance. Some of the must-haves to ensure health and safety compliance in a business include, but is not limited to:

• Access to the OHS Act – employees must, by law, have access to a copy of the Act.
• Risk Assessments – a risk assessment identifies all potential hazards and then analysed to find out how they can be controlled and eliminated. It is the most important part of the health and safety programme.
• Health and Safety policies – This covers all the goals and principles of the business pertaining to health and safety. It is an integral part and formal statement of the business’ commitment to safeguard its employees. These policies must be available to employees at all times and they must be reviewed frequently.
• Proper PPE – by wearing the correct PPE, physical harm due to accidents and incidents can be greatly reduced.
• Maintenance of machinery – by ensuring frequent maintenance of machinery, incidents and accidents can be reduced.
• Access to machinery – there should be measures in place to prevent accidental and unauthorized access to machinery.
• Health and Safety training – there should be personnel who are trained in basics such as first aid and fire and safety procedures, amidst others.
• Health and safety officers – these should be appointed to ensure that health and safety compliance is observed and enforced in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
• Injury on Duty (IOD) reports – should an injury occur while an employee is on duty, an IOD form must be completed as soon as possible. These reports help to assess any risks in the workplace environment which may lead to similar accidents in future.

How can SafetyWallet help with OHS Compliance?

SafetyWallet offers employers across all industries with an all-encompassing solution towards ensuring complete health and safety compliance. Once a subscriber, the employer can book a OHS Compliance Grading Audit at an 80% discount.

The purpose of the Health and Safety Compliance Audit is to identify any deviations in the health and safety management system along with the level of compliance that the employer currently has in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and relevant requirements.

SafetyWallet, offers its subscribers an audit team which will help to navigate various health and safety risk principles in daily business operations. The audit team will also identify any strengths and pinpoint any weaknesses.

In addition, the audit will also offer numerous opportunities to improve health and safety risk management. Upon the successful completion of the OHS Compliance Audit, a SafetyWallet health and safety Certificate is awarded, which is valid for one year.

To ensure continued compliance, subscribers are required to ensure that a yearly audit is done as conditions within the workplace change, requiring that alternative or additional measures be implemented to ensure a work environment which is consistently safe and healthy for employees as well as visitors to the premises.

Through the assistance offered by SafetyWallet, subscribers have the support that they need in any aspect involving health and safety.