Health & Safety Legislation made simple
When people hear "Legislation", "Safety Act", "Compliance"... the first reaction is usually to cringe followed by a knot in the stomach. This is because very few take the time to read and understand the legislation around health and safety compliance. It is much easier to hire a safety officer or a safety consultant who can "handle" the safety stuff.
For the most part compliance with health and safety legislation is common sense. If you, your employees or any other member of the public has the potential to be harmed from any of the direct or indirect activities of your business, it is your responsibility to take reasonable practical steps to eliminate those risks. Simple right?
The biggest deterrent from people reading these acts and regulations is the way they are made available to us. They are usually printed off of a government website and all 3000 pages with Arial font 7 are then stapled together and stuck in a file somewhere. If you're ever brave enough to attempt to read through one of these Acts, apart from requiring an endless amount of coffee to keep you awake, you also need to somehow not become overwhelmed by the fact that there are 145 sections to get through.
Luckily, it's a modern digital world and although our wonderful politicians and legislators take an age to catch up with technology and trends, there is an easier and honestly healthier way to access and consume these Acts. The team behind the OHS Assist application collects and deconstructs health and safety legislation into a format that is quick and easy to access. It is case of getting out the smart phone of your choice opening the app and clicking through or simply searching for a particular section or regulation- and as a bonus we've at least doubled the font size ;).
On a more serious note, understanding health and safety legislation is fundamental for any business in any industry, some more so than others. Accessing and understanding this legislation shouldn't be complicated. At the time of this post the OHS Assist mobile application has been loaded with the various health and safety acts and corresponding legislation for the following countries:
- Australia
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- Zambia
- Canada
And the team is working hard to load the legislation for many other locations over the coming weeks.