Name - Fire warden1 - Mobile / Ext
- Name - Fire warden2 - Mobile / Ext
- Name - First Aider1 - Mobile / Ext
- Name - First Aider2 - Mobile / Ext
- Name - First Aider3 - Mobile / Ext
- Name - Safety Rep - Mobile / Ext
- Name - Union Rep - Mobile / Ext
- Name - General Manager - Mobile / Ext
- Fire - 000
- Police - 000
- Ambulance - 000
- Hospital – Phone #
- Poisons - 131126
- Health Direct - 1800 022 222
- WorkSafe – Phone #
Once created, place with every telephone. Also place a note in your diary to review the names and numbers in 6 to 12 months time.
Having identified all the crucial contacts and placed them next to the phones, a good extension of this is to add the numbers to speed dial on desk-phones and mobile phones. You may only save a few seconds, but sometimes that can count. Asking your staff to do this, also forces them to become a little more aware of, and familiar to the emergency contact numbers.
13. Create a list of qualified first aiders
Ensuring you have a good spread of first aid coverage in your work place is important for obvious reasons. To ensure you continue to do so, create a sheet of work areas or teams. Identify how many staff in that area/team should be first aid qualified. Then, put a qualified First Aider name there. If you don’t have sufficient names then you will need to get some staff trained.
On this sheet, also make a note of the first aid course expiry/refresher date, so you can manage this training need into the future. At this point, I would put a forward note in your OHS diary, to remind you when the time comes!
This is also a good time to audit the copies of first aid certificates that you keep on file, and be sure to capture them now and in the future!
The sheet should have the following columns on it:
- Team/Area (e.g. reception)
- First Aider Name (e.g. Mary Smith)
- Working Arrangements (e.g. M-Th 9-3.30)
- Date first qualified (e.g. 1/2/2009)
- Next refresher training deadline (e.g. 1/2/2012)
- Copy of FA Cert on file (e.g. Yes)
What to do right now: Create the template, update with your staff and their qualification expiry dates. As most will not know their expiry date, ask them to bring in the certificate, when they find it, so you can make a copy for their personnel records.
14. Create a floor-plan
Believe it or not, this simple activity is the centrepiece of your communications strategy. Though a simple document, an annotated floor plan conveys a vast amount of information. And quite often the process of creating the floor plan highlights areas for improvements; such as ease of egress, illumination of emergency exits, appropriateness of fire extinguisher type and placement to name but a few.
You probably have a dimensioned floor plan somewhere, but if you don’t you can quickly sketch one out and measure (or pace) its size. Then place into a scale drawing (maybe using MS Visio to do so).
What to do right now: Once you have the walls, windows and doors on paper, label the main areas. Now identify on the floor plan the location of:
- Fire Extinguishers
- First Aid Kits
- MSDS Folios
- Emergency exits
- Emergency evacuation muster points
- Areas of particular hazards (e.g. Flammables store)
- Location of Hydrants
Once complete, Print in A3 colour, laminate and place in prominent locations around the building. Then put a forward note in the OHS diary to review the plan for accuracy in 12 months time.
15. Elect an OHS rep
Conduct an OHS Rep election. Chances are no-one will really want to do this, so consider asking a suitable member of staff if they would be prepared to put themselves forward in this role. Consider how you might motivate and reward valuable volunteers. Many organisations contribute an extra 0.5% salary for OHS reps, Fire Wardens and First Aiders. It encourages people to do their job well, and demonstrates how valued these activities are.
The exact nature of the OHS rep role varies a little from State to State, but generally they exist to foster communication between employers and staff, encourage participation in OHS activities and to represent their colleagues in OHS matters to management.
The process of election varies a little between States, but generally consists of:
- Employers inviting nominations for OHS rep.
- Election taking place.
- Employee successfully voted in as OHS rep.
What to do right now: Check the legislation of your State for any subtle differences; discuss with some suitably qualified staff members to see if they might want to nominate, and then run an election (be aware that everyone is allowed to be nominated, so your preferred choice may not be the one elected).
16. Send the elected OHS rep on the appropriate WorkSafe course
The exact duration and content of each OHS Reps course may have minor differences, but they typically last five days full-time, are designed for a diverse attendance, and hence are not particularly academically taxing. They should cost up to $1000 for non-residential.
Each state has a list of accredited training providers:
WA: http://tinyurl.com/3prwsnl
SA: Phone 1300 365 255
VIC: http://tinyurl.com/63g4wdl
TAS: http://tinyurl.com/3jd8psv
QLD: http://tinyurl.com/qgu69p
NT: Phone 1800 019 115.
NSW: Phone 13 10 50
ACT: http://tinyurl.com/5rdxquq
On return,
