Yearly Archives: 2015

Safer Drivers Program

Work-Related Fatalities

In the last 10 years of data, vehicle accidents accounted for over 65% of Australian workplace fatalities. Nearly 15% of these were light vehicles, such as company cars, utes and vans. 58 bystanders were killed when struck by company cars.

In the last 5 years of data, 10% of vehicle-related fatalities were single, light vehicle crashes. That is, the driver was solely responsible for their fatal accident.

Other Work-Related Incidents

In addition to the fatalities, there are more than 3,000 Workers Compensation claims made in Australia for serious vehicle-related incidents each year. On average, each incident results in the worker being off work for 5 weeks and a workers’ compensation bill exceeding $9,000.

Managing Risk

Is your organisation managing what is most likely its highest risk activity? Unfortunately, managing driver safety is not like other work health & safety risks in your business.

Drivers spend most of their days unsupervised and therefore don’t receive immediate managerial feedback on their decisions and actions.

In fact, in most cases, the only way to know if your drivers are safe is by monitoring the number of infringements they receive and accidents they are having and that’s no way to manage safety.

Safer Drivers Program

Your drivers know how to drive safe. They are licensed, experienced and, in some cases have already undergone a range of driver programs over the years. Your fleet is equipped with more safety technology than ever before. But none of these can improve the attitude, decision making and behaviours of your drivers.

The OSHEM Solutions “Safer Drivers Program” is designed to do this. Research shows that such a program is more successful at reducing both the number and severity of accidents than customised driver training programs, safety awareness campaigns and even paid incentives.

We are so confident in our Safer Drivers Program that we guarantee improvement.

Want to know more?

Contact us on 1300 657 279 to discuss your needs and find out more about our Safer Drivers Program guarantee. Or download our Safer Drivers Program Flyer.

3 Steps to Due Diligence

Under Work Health and Safety law, the officers of an organisation have a personal obligation to exercise “due diligence” to ensure health & safety compliance. This means that Owners, CEOs, Managing Directors, and/or other people who have the authority to make decisions that significantly affect the business, must actively seek out and act on information related to compliance.

In an article published in the Safety Institute of Australia’s “OHS Professional” (Dec 2013), well-known OHS Lawyer and member of the OHS Professional’s editorial board, Michael Tooma discussed the 3 steps an organisation should address to enable their officers to meet their legal duty.

Establishing a due diligence framework and Safety Management System

This is the processes and procedures that will not only define how the officers’ will meet their obligations but also how the organisation manages work health and safety. When discussing the management system requirements, Tooma stated it must be a “legally compliant documented safety management system”. He also recommends “saving time and money” through the use of integrated management systems, pointing out that environmental management systems are a natural fit with health and safety management systems.

Establish a safety performance reporting framework

As the legal obligation of due diligence includes officers considering incidents, hazards and risk, an organisation must include the recording, analysis and reporting of these in their management system. “Organisations also need to have an effective corporate governance structure and committees in place to enable a flow through of information so that it is considered at the right levels”, he wrote.

Conduct regular legal compliance audits

According to Tooma, “one of the most critical aspects of the due diligence obligation is the requirement for officers to ensure legal compliance”. He recommends a comprehensive safety audit program which includes compliance audits of the organisation’s health & safety management system annually. He also recommends the use of external audits every second year.

Need Assistance?

OSHEM Solutions have years of experience working with a range of clients in developing, implementing and auditing their health & safety, environmental or integrated management system, as well as conducting management system audits and legal compliance checks.

For an obligation free quote on how we can assist you in meeting your legal obligations, call us on 1300 657 279.