How and When to Review the Safety Controls

As a business owner, you must ensure that your workplace is as safe and secure as possible. Safety controls are one of the most important aspects to consider when managing safety in the workplace. It’s essential to review your safety processes regularly to make sure that everything is running correctly. This blog post will provide an overview of how you can ensure that the safety controls at your business are up-to-date and effective. From understanding why it’s important to learning which areas should be reviewed, this guide covers everything you need to know about reviewing the safety controls within your business’s environment. Let’s get started!

How to Review Health and Safety Controls At Work

Understand why safety controls are necessary: Safety controls are put in place to protect your employees, customers, and visitors from potential hazards or risks. Understanding the importance of these controls and what they mean for your business and its operations is essential.

• Review existing safety procedures: Take a look at the safety controls you already have and ensure they are up-to-date and effective. This includes regularly reviewing all safety policies, procedures, and training programs.
• Identify any risks or potential dangers: Hazards in the workplace can include anything from slips and trips to hazardous materials or machinery. It’s essential to identify any potential risks or dangers in the workplace and take action to minimize them.
• Review safety equipment: Take a look at any safety equipment you may have in your business, such as fire extinguishers, first aid kits, eyewash stations, etc., and ensure that they comply with industry standards.
• Establish regular safety monitoring: Establish a schedule for regular safety inspections, such as monthly or quarterly. These should be carried out by qualified personnel and documented appropriately.
• Invest in safety technology: There are many ways to use technology to improve workplace safety, including video surveillance systems, access control systems, and other types of automation. Investing in these types of systems can help improve your business’s safety.
• Monitor employee behavior: Implementing a culture of safety awareness is important in keeping everyone safe. Regularly monitoring the behavior of employees and addressing any potential issues quickly and effectively will help to maintain a safe workplace environment.
• Consider safety training: Safety training is a must and should be conducted regularly. Ensure you provide sufficient safety training to your employees and that they fully understand the importance of following all safety regulations.

Why is it important to review safety controls regularly?

It’s important to review safety controls regularly because the workplace can be a dangerous place. Safety hazards such as slips, trips, and falls are too common in many businesses, so it’s essential to ensure that the relevant safety processes and procedures are up-to-date and functioning correctly. Regular reviews of safety controls can help identify potential risks or hazards and ensure that employees are aware of the relevant safety protocols.

When Safety Review Is Required?

There are certain situations where you must review your control measures under the WHS Regulations and, if necessary, revise them. A review is required:

• When the control measure is not effective in controlling the risk
• Before a change in the workplace that is likely to give rise to a new or different health and safety risk that the control measure may not effectively control
• If a new hazard or risk is identified
• If the results of the consultation indicate that a review is necessary
• If a health and safety representative requests a

You may use the same methods as in the initial hazard identification step to check controls. Consult your workers and their health and safety representatives and consider the following questions:

• Are the control measures working effectively in both their design and operation?
• Have the control measures introduced new problems?
• Have all hazards been identified?
• Have new work methods, new equipment or chemicals made the job safer?
• Are safety procedures being followed?
• Has instruction and training provided to workers on how to work safely been successful?
• Are workers actively involved in identifying hazards and possible control measures? Are they openly raising health and safety concerns and reporting problems promptly?
• Is the frequency and severity of health and safety incidents reducing over time?
• If new legislation or new information becomes available, does it indicate current controls may no longer be the most effective?

If problems are found, go back through the risk management steps, review your information and make further decisions about risk control. Priority for review should be based on the seriousness of the risk. Control measures of severe risks should be reviewed more frequently.

Quality assurance processes may be used if you design, manufacture, or supply products used for work to check that the product effectively minimizes health and safety risks. Obtain feedback from product users to determine whether any improvements can be made to make it safer.

What areas should be reviewed?

Several areas should be reviewed regularly when assessing the effectiveness of workplace safety controls:

• Emergency Preparedness – It’s essential to be prepared in an emergency. This includes having a plan for evacuation and ensuring that all employees are aware of the relevant safety protocols.
• Hazard identification and assessment – Regularly assessing any potential hazards is essential, as it can help identify any risks that may be present in the workplace.
• Job hazard analysis – Analyzing the job requirements and tasks that employees are exposed to is essential, as it can help assess any potential hazards that could be present.
• Training – Regular training sessions for employees should be conducted to ensure everyone knows the relevant safety protocols.
• Equipment maintenance – Ensuring all equipment is properly maintained and functioning correctly can help minimize any potential hazards.
• Inspections – Regular inspections should be conducted to identify any potential safety issues.
• Documentation – All relevant documentation, such as safety manuals and checklists, should be reviewed regularly to ensure that they are up-to-date.

Conclusion

Regularly reviewing safety controls is essential to ensure that the workplace is as safe and secure as possible. From understanding why it’s essential to learning which areas should be reviewed, this guide covers everything you need to know about how to review the safety controls within your business environment. Following these steps can help ensure that all employees are aware of the relevant safety protocols and identify any potential risks or hazards.