Everything You Need To Know About Your Ohs Manual

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Do you know where your OHS manual is? Do you know what it does? Do you know what happens if you dont have one? The chances are that if youre a safety manager, you may well be aware of all those things. The trouble is, does everyone else know the answer too?

Well, lets try to simplify the whole affair. In essence, every industry in Australia where people are employed to work needs to show some kind of duty of care toward its employees. This is most commonly, and effectively done in writing, and covers all aspects of health and safety legislation applicable to that industry. Office work will be a different animal to construction work, for example. Usually, this piece of writing will require a sign off of some kind from everyone expected to follow its procedures. This is your OHS Manual. If you work, and you havent seen one, or understand the requirements of occupational health and safety, then something, somewhere is going wrong, and you should inform your line manager.

So, what format should an OHS manual take? This is the variable part, and while the content shouldnt differ greatly from place to place, the format isnt specified. One of the most common ways of ensuring that your OHS manual is up to scratch is to purchase one which simply requires you to fill in gaps in the script with particulars of your business. This cut-and-paste approach has two main benefits over other methods. Firstly, youre saving time and energy, and secondly, you can be 100 per cent sure that whatever OHS manual you buy (as long as its applicable to your business), will be up-to-date and cover all the relevant points. These kind of universal formats have the added benefit of offering you more cover than a bespoke one.

So, what about content? An OHS manual is a shop environment is a different affair to, say, something for a university campus. In general, though, they should cover a few broad areas. It should start with a general piece on the management of health and safety in the workplace. This should include basic safety, policy and guidelines.

Consultation is a common factor in an OHS manual. What this does is cover the people concerned, as well as the types of responsibilities they have. Issue resolution and indemnity could very well be covered here.

The real meat of an OHS manual is in the hazard management and incident management. This are covers all the guidelines you need to work safely. This is the most important piece of information that you need to keep yourself safe. This can cover a multitude of aspects from office bullying to bushfires procedures and beyond.

Following that, some kind of form and record database should be present in any OHS manual. This will include reporting forms, first aid reports, and evacuation drill plans. Remember, an OHS manual is not just a piece of red tape, its there for your safety and the safety of those around you.

About the Author:
Ensafe Planning Solutions offers a downloadable OHS management plan for construction contractors who are unable to write their own due to lack of time, money or knowledge. The plan is compliant with current OHS legislation and can be easily and promptly customised to any type of non-construction work. Furthermore, Ensafe offers free guidelines for those wanting to write up their own OHS plans on the website.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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