How to create a healthy workplace
Did you know? Employees with poor overall health status are far more likely to be absent from work?
That's why creating and promoting a healthy workplace is beneficial for you.
Creating a healthy workplace requires the bringing together of the policies, practices and systems of human resources, organisational development, work health and safety and health promotion and ensuring an integrated approach to health, safety and wellbeing right across your business, regardless of industry or size.
Incorporating a mix of environmental, organisational and staff centred activities is critical to a creating a culture of care, and ultimately a healthy workplace.
- Individual behaviour and resources: focusses on the individual needs of workers such as improving access to services and information, and improving knowledge and skills of staff in the areas of physical and mental health and safety and wellbeing.
- Physical environment: addresses providing a workplace environment and facilities that support a safe and healthy workplace.
- Organisational policies, programs and practices: applies policies, programs and practices to encourage and support a positive healthy workplace culture.
To help you create a healthy workplace, download the Workplace Health and Wellbeing Toolkit, a step by step guide to developing a successful healthy workplace program.
Four steps to creating a healthy workplace program
Step 1 – Getting started
Good planning and preparation create the foundation of an effective and successful healthy workplace program. To get started you need to gain leadership support and engage workers.
Step 2 – Needs assessment
Do a stocktake. You could begin with a self-audit. What are you already doing? What is your workplace data telling you? Are there unique risks or challenges facing your business or industry? Are you addressing physical and mental health, safety and wellbeing?
Step 3 – Taking action
What actions do you want to take? Determine your priority areas and develop your action plan to set out some key actions you want to take over the coming year. Ensure that your plan will contribute to creating a workplace culture of care. Make sure that you communicate your plans to staff and involve them in the process.
Step 4 – Monitor and review
Think about how you can measure success and monitor and review to make sure your action plan is on track.
What does Safetyminder do for you?
Safety management is not a trending jargon nor is it particularly new; it is a remedy that has always been there. It refers to the management of business activities and the application of principles, processes, and framework that works towards the prevention of accidents, injuries and to lower other risks. With more and more organisations looking for ways to manage their safety responsibilities more effectively, this has led to the invention of a safety management software called Safetyminder.
Safetyminder is a suite of mobile-enabled applications and is user-friendly, which helps organizations improve the culture of safety and protect the workforce within the enterprise. In the current work environment, organizations must ensure the safety of workers and assets by working towards a reduced number of accidents, identification, and mitigation of safety risks, and agreeing with the occupational safety regulations, at the same time as controlling costs.
Safetyminder collects all the data on a centralized web platform, including real-time data collected by use of the mobile devices, to identify job-related hazards that are likely to create risks for illnesses and injuries. And so, a good Work, Health and Safety software program should be able to help in the transformation of the organization by directing it to a path that would lead to improved safety performance.
Why is Work, Health and Safety software important
If you are considering introducing new health and safety software to your company or enterprise, it is important to be informed about its related importance. They include;
Compliance Management
When it comes to safety and health, compliance is the main target, and making use of compliance software is the most effective way to maintain it. A compliance management platform will keep you updated on the risks of non-compliance in real-time and it can also help in keeping the stakeholders always informed and in control.
Reduction of Risk
When you maximize the use of Safetyminder to control risk, your employees, contractors, visitors and the general public will benefit. As a result, the financial and legal security of your business enterprise also benefits.
Effective and Efficient
Safetyminder software makes you aware of every incident if you’re attending an important meeting or you’re out of town. Utilisation of software that logs reports on various incident and safety policies will always provide you with the information you need to execute business decisions.
Simple Governance
Keeping track of dates, targets and the employee’s responsibilities could be a daunting task for managers. You need to allow health and safety software to help in governance issues. Therefore, lower managerial related stress by using the software to track all the details.
Protect your Assets
Since health and safety software can allow you to maintain, maximize and monitor your investments, you should ensure the protection of your assets from a centralized dashboard. You can easily streamline the protection of your asset rather than assigning individuals to micromanage different assets.
Management of People
It can be a hard task to keep track of all the details that are related to contractors, employees, and volunteers. You must monitor their certifications and training, illnesses, manage injuries, and rehabilitation. All these issues should be handled with empathy and grace.
With health and safety software, you can easily keep track of all these details. When all the information is converged in one place, it will be easier for you to monitor the information of every person. Therefore, Safetyminder will assure you such that you won’t feel neglected and you will not worry whether every person has been trained, because you will definitely know.
Therefore, if your organisation is looking to make your workplace a safer environment for everyone. Then Safetyminder will assist you to develop from a reactive position to a proactive position to improve safety within an organisation. To register your interest in Safetyminder go to www.safetyminder.com.au/register/interest
What does Safetyminder do for you?
Safety management is not a trending jargon nor is it particularly new; it is a remedy that has always been there. It refers to the management of business activities and the application of principles, processes, and framework that works towards the prevention of accidents, injuries and to lower other risks. With more and more organisations looking for ways to manage their safety responsibilities more effectively, this has led to the invention of a safety management software called Safetyminder.
Safetyminder is a suite of mobile-enabled applications and is user-friendly, which helps organizations improve the culture of safety and protect the workforce within the enterprise. In the current work environment, organizations must ensure the safety of workers and assets by working towards a reduced number of accidents, identification, and mitigation of safety risks, and agreeing with the occupational safety regulations, at the same time as controlling costs.
Safetyminder collects all the data on a centralized web platform, including real-time data collected by use of the mobile devices, to identify job-related hazards that are likely to create risks for illnesses and injuries. And so, a good Work, Health and Safety software program should be able to help in the transformation of the organization by directing it to a path that would lead to improved safety performance.
Why is Work, Health and Safety software important
If you are considering introducing new health and safety software to your company or enterprise, it is important to be informed about its related importance. They include;
Compliance Management
When it comes to safety and health, compliance is the main target, and making use of compliance software is the most effective way to maintain it. A compliance management platform will keep you updated on the risks of non-compliance in real-time and it can also help in keeping the stakeholders always informed and in control.
Reduction of Risk
When you maximize the use of Safetyminder to control risk, your employees, contractors, visitors and the general public will benefit. As a result, the financial and legal security of your business enterprise also benefits.
Effective and Efficient
Safetyminder software makes you aware of every incident if you’re attending an important meeting or you’re out of town. Utilisation of software that logs reports on various incident and safety policies will always provide you with the information you need to execute business decisions.
Simple Governance
Keeping track of dates, targets and the employee’s responsibilities could be a daunting task for managers. You need to allow health and safety software to help in governance issues. Therefore, lower managerial related stress by using the software to track all the details.
Protect your Assets
Since health and safety software can allow you to maintain, maximize and monitor your investments, you should ensure the protection of your assets from a centralized dashboard. You can easily streamline the protection of your asset rather than assigning individuals to micromanage different assets.
Management of People
It can be a hard task to keep track of all the details that are related to contractors, employees, and volunteers. You must monitor their certifications and training, illnesses, manage injuries, and rehabilitation. All these issues should be handled with empathy and grace.
With health and safety software, you can easily keep track of all these details. When all the information is converged in one place, it will be easier for you to monitor the information of every person. Therefore, Safetyminder will assure you such that you won’t feel neglected and you will not worry whether every person has been trained, because you will definitely know.
Therefore, if your organisation is looking to make your workplace a safer environment for everyone. Then Safetyminder will assist you to develop from a reactive position to a proactive position to improve safety within an organisation. To register your interest in Safetyminder go to www.safetyminder.com.au/register/interest
Frequently Asked Questions part two
This is a continuation of a series of blog posts aims to address some of the commonly asked questions around Safetyminder. If you want more clarity in regards to any of the questions and answers here, or if there is a question in that you have we’d be happy to help so feel free to contact us
We already have an existing system for managing for Health and Safety. Can the data be transferred across?
Whether it is another software or a hardcopy based system, as long as what you have in place is in electronic format or can be electronically copied, it is very easy to upload existing documents or to copy and paste across the information that you already have onto Safetyminder.
What equipment do I need to start using Safetyminder?
As long as you have a computer, tablet or mobile phone and an internet connection you can start using our program. As the Safetyminder Health and Safety software is stored and maintained on our servers, there is nothing else you need to worry about.
Do I need someone to come out and install Safetyminder for us?
We believe that our application is very easy to get started with, and we expect customers to be able to do the majority of the set-up work themselves by following our simple instructions. That said, we realise many customers prefer to have assistance with this process to ensure the set-up is done correctly and quickly, we offer this service at a set fee.
Frequently Asked Questions part one
This series of blog posts aims to address some of the commonly asked questions around Safetyminder. If you want more clarity in regards to any of the questions and answers here, or if there is a question in that you have we'd be happy to help so feel free to contact us
Do I have to sign a long-term contract or something similar with Safetyminder?
No, there is no required long term contract with us. We are very confident in the product and service provided will meet and exceed your expectations.
Do I need to pay an upfront fee or deposit to get started with Safetyminder?
Yes, you will be required to payment for the Deployment & Training charges in advance when we initially implement and setup Safetyminder for your business.
How will I be charged for Safetyminder?
As our client, you will be charged monthly in advance based on the number of "Users" you have on Safetyminder. Customers can pay yearly upfront or monthly. Monthly payments must go for a minimum of 12 months and are by direct debit.
Guide to Workplace Safety Signs
Learn the safety signs you need to meet WHS requirements and keep people safe in your workplace.
Australian safety signs have been categorised into 6 main types in order to apply a consistent design across similar functions. By understanding the types of signs and their purpose, you can determine what you need in your workplace and where to display them.
 |
1. Prohibition Signs – CAN’T DOWhen you need to tell people that they can’t do something, you’ll need a Prohibition Sign – you know, the one with the universally recognisable red circle with a diagonal line through it. Keep people from entering private property with a NO ENTRY sign or signal that people aren’t allowed to smoke in an area with a NO SMOKING sign. |
 |
2. Mandatory Signs – MUST DOA Mandatory Sign is a must when you have an instruction that has to be followed. You’ll recognise these by a white symbol or pictogram within a blue circle on a white background. If your workplace requires protective clothing or equipment, for instance, you’ll have seen signs like: Foot Protection Must Be Worn In This Area or Hearing and Eye Protection Must Be Worn In This Area. You can also have just a word message with no image for Mandatory Signs, with the words in black on a white rectangular background. |
 |
3. Danger Signs – KILL YOUIf you need to warn people about potentially life-threatening hazards or hazardous conditions, you need to use a Danger Sign. The familiar red oval inside a black rectangle with the word DANGER in bold, capital letters, alerts people to the threat. Common Danger Signs include HIGH VOLTAGE and DO NOT ENTER. |
 |
4. Warning Signs – HURT YOUWhen the hazard or hazardous conditions aren’t life-threatening, a Warning Sign lets you know you could still get hurt. These are easy to identify with their yellow background and black triangle around the hazard symbol. SLIPPERY WHEN WET is a commonly recognisable Warning Sign. |
 |
5. Emergency Information Signs – SAFETY FIRSTIf something does go wrong, Emergency Information Signs help people to find the location of, or directions to, your emergency related facilities, like emergency exits, first aid or safety equipment. The green background with white writing and symbols is instantly identifiable for safety, with common signs like, FIRST AID KIT, or EMERGENCY PHONE. |
 |
6. Fire Signs – FIRE EQUIPThe bright red of Fire Signs makes them easy to spot around fire alarms and fire-fighting equipment. All text and imagery is white and stands out against the red background. Fire Signs are available to indicate the location of all your fire equipment, like fire extinguishers, fire blankets, fire hoses, and more. |
Safe Working Practices
Safe Working Practices
- Involve your workers – they are more likely to follow a safe work procedure if they have been involved in its development, and they will often know the best and safest way to perform a task. Involve those workers who are experienced in performing the tasks.
- Identify the elements of each task and the associated risks – grocery shopping involves preparing shopping list, driving to shop and parking, obtaining trolley and pushing to shelves, lifting items from shelves, placing shopping on checkout, placing bags back in trolley, loading boot, driving back to house, unloading boot and carrying to house and packing shelves.
- Identify the hazards and risks that each of these activities pose to those performing the task. Are there any risks of manual handling injuries from lifting and stacking? Is there the potential for vehicle accident, slips and trips etc?
- Control the risks – once the hazards and their associated risks have been identified and assessed, decide how to control them. Consider the most effective way of minimising the risk of harm. Can the shopping be done in smaller loads, is an assistant required, can a trolley be used to carry the shopping from the car to the house?
- Document your safe work procedures – the easier your safe work procedures are to understand, the more likely your workers will follow them. List all the control measures you have identified, as a series of steps set out in the sequence they need to be used.
- Distribute the safe work procedures for review – have your experienced workers review the safe work procedures and make amendments as appropriate.
- Proper implementation of safe work procedures involves training and supervision.
- Your workers must be trained to do their work tasks safely and must demonstrate an ability to follow the safe work procedures. Simply reading the documented procedure is not enough and you must ensure that the safe work procedures are followed at all times. Discipline your workers when safe work procedures are not followed.
- Review your safe work procedures when there is a change to your workplace, or after an injury or near miss associated with the task. As a general rule, do a periodic review of all your safe work procedures to ensure they are current and effective. Involve your workers in this review.
Addressing Pain Points
Addressing Pain Points
-
Managing all the different documents required to ensure compliance
Safetyminder addresses this by allowing clients to store all required documents in a centralised location, this allows for easy access on either a computer or mobile. Cloud technology is utilised to ensure this is very user friendly.
-
Keeping everything up to date
Safetyminder addresses this by enabling reminders to be set up.
-
Asset Management
With the Safetyminder application all assets of your company are kept up to date, eg. Registration of a specific work vehicle.
-
Job Notes
Safetyminder makes it easier for employees to enter job notes in the field via mobile app
The 5 Most Common Workplace Safety Hazards
Workplace Safety Hazards
1. Forklift Accidents
2. Fire Incidents
3. Accidental Slips and Falls
4. Accidental Machine Start-Ups
5. Chemical Accidents
What is the Cloud
What is the Cloud ?
Safetyminder utilises the cloud technology and this is a major benefit.
The cloud refers to servers that are accessed over the Internet, and the software and databases that run on those servers. By using cloud computing, users and companies don't have to manage physical servers themselves or run software applications on their own machines.
The cloud enables users to access the same files and applications from almost any device, because the computing and storage takes place on servers in a data center, instead of locally on the user device.
For businesses, switching to cloud computing removes some IT costs and overhead: for instance, they no longer need to update and maintain their own servers, as a Safetyminder client we will do this for you.