Mountaintop Consulting
Successful Project
Management
Project Management Methodology
Project OH&S Management
Tom Phillips, Chair of the new Safe Work Australia Council,
states, Directors are not fully committed to OH&S. He believes
OH&S should be treated as any other strategic issue.
Refer: The Company Directors Magazine, Vol 25 – 07-08-09
How is this relevant for Project
Directos/Managers?
Keep Reading!
What are some of the challenges?
1.
Increased Liability Risk for Project Directors due to
inconsistent and onerous OH&S Laws
2.
Added pressure of Project Directors due to added disclosure
requirements.
3. Project Directors/Responsble Persons can be jailed for breaches
in OH&S.
The national OH&S strategic review for 2002 to 2012 sets a target of 40% fewer workplace claims over that time. 2007 Figures show claims are down by 16% which translates into 14 claims per 1000 employees
Fears are growing that some projects, especially smaller ones
cut corners in OH&S when the project is in trouble.
Project Directors/Managers should demonstrate by their actions
they take OH&S seriously.
Why should a Project Director/Manager be concerned?
Extract from relevant sections of the OH&S Act
8.
Duties of employers
Others at
workplace: An employer must ensure that people (other than the employees
of the employer) are not exposed to risks to their health or safety
arising from the conduct of the employer’s undertaking while they are at
the employer’s place of work.
10.
Duties of controllers of work premises, plant or
substances
A person
who has control of premises used by people as a place of work
must ensure that the premises are safe and without risks to
health.
Section 26 OHS Act 2000 (NSW) reads:
Offences by corporations —liability of directors and managers
(1) If a corporation contravenes, whether by act or omission, any provision of this Act or the regulations, each director of the corporation,
and each person concerned in the management of the corporation, is taken to have contravened the same provision unless the director or person satisfies the court that:
(a) he or she was not in a position to influence the conduct of the corporation in relation to its contravention of the provision, or
(b) he or she, being in such a position, used all due diligence to prevent the contravention by the corporation.
Have Managers been convicted under this section of the OH&S Act?
Gretley litigation saw the conviction of 2 "mine managers" and a mine surveyor under this provision
Staunton J in the Gretley decision determined who is a "manager":
a person will be ‘concerned in management’ for the purposes of s 26 of the 2000 Act if they have:
(i) Decision-making power and authority
(ii) Going beyond the mere carrying out of directions as an employee
(iii) Such as to effect the whole or a substantial part of the corporation
(iv) And which powers relate to the matters which constituted the offence of the corporation under the legislation.
McMartinv Newcastle WallsendCoal Company Pty Ltd[2004] NSWIRComm202 at [885]
There is a risk a Project Director/Manager wil be seen by the court:
-
as a person with Decission-making power and authority
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going beyond the mere carrying out directions as an employee
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Such as to effect the whole or a substantial part of the corporation
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and which powers relate to the matters which constituted the offence of the corporation under the OH&S Legislation
How can Project Directors/Managers show that they exercised “due diligence” in respect of the OH&S Act?
Establishing systems to monitor safety, and reporting mechanisms to ensure systems are working and responding without delay to specific examples of risk or hazards.
Practical Tips how to demonstrate commitment and due dilligence to Project OH&S Management
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Conduct an OH&S Audit
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Ensure your Project OH&S Manual is covering all of your sites
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Have a Project OH&S Reporting and Monitoring System in place
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Ensure your Safe Work Procedures are specific for you project
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Inlude Project OH&S performance parameters with Project KPI's
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Include Proejct OH&S in Project Meeting Agenda
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Ensure the Project Director/Manager is involved in investigations into serious incidences
Want to read more?
Check out our Selection of OH&S Books and other relevant reading for Project Managers
We have developed guidelines to assist Project Directors/Managers in auditing Project OH&S Management.
The first step is to create a Project OH&S Audit Plan.
As
a minimum the Project OH&S Audit Plan should define and
outline:
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Project OH&S Resources
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Proejct OH&S Responsibilities
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Proejct OH&S Procedures and Forms
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Project OH&S required Training and Inductions
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Proejct OH&S Risk Management Processes
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Incident Management and Corrective Actions
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Proejct OH&S Review and Monitoring Schedule
We have standardised Project OH&S Plans and Safe Work Procedures which can be easily adapted for your project, a selection of our Safe Work Procedures is listed below:
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Biological - Policy ID: SAF-100
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Compressed Air - Policy ID: SAF-110
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Confined Space - Policy ID: SAF-120
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Design for Safety - Policy ID: SAF-130
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Electrical Safety - Policy ID: SAF-140
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Environmental Management - Policy ID: SAF-150
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Excavations - Policy ID: SAF-160
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Explosive Hand Tools - Policy ID: SAF-170
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Exposure to outside Elements - Policy ID: SAF-180
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Fall Protection - Policy ID: SAF-190
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Hand Tools - Policy ID: SAF-210
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Hazard Reporting - Policy ID: SAF-220
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Hot Work - Policy ID: SAF-230
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Inductions - Policy ID: SAF-240
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Isolations - Policy ID: SAF-250
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Manual Handling - Policy ID: SAF-260
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Motor Vehicle Safety - Policy ID: SAF-270
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Steel Erection - Policy ID: SAF-280
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Use of Cranes - Policy ID: SAF-290
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Use of Pesticide - Policy ID: SAF-300
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Use of Pesticide - Policy ID: SAF-300
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Working Near Conveyors - Policy ID: SAF-320
We at Mountaintop Consulting do not only know the theoretical approach to OH&S Management.
The largest single project we have completed had in excess of 250,000 working hours without major incident.
Please Contact us if you would like to receive more information
Mountaintop Consulting can assist you, to demonstrate your commitment to Project OH&S Management