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Future Directions in Occupational Health and Safety

Future Directions is a regular feature. This month we interviewed Max Roberts, Risk and Safety Management Officer, Huon Valley Council, Tasmania.

"A positive safety culture is good for people and good for business," said Huon Valley's Risk and Safety Management Officer, Max Roberts. "Work related injuries and illnesses can be costly and they also impact on an employees' quality of life. Ensuring safer and healthier workplaces is a tangible way to show that employees really matter."

After many years working for Telstra, Max Roberts began his Local Government career in 1992 at Glenorchy City Council. In 2003, after a short stint at retirement, Max joined Huon Valley Council, where he provides leadership and guidance in the development and delivery of a workplace safety program. He also coordinates the management of risks and keeps Council informed on changes and developments in safety and risk management. As part of this role, Max facilitates the education and involvement of employees in the practical application of safety and risk management principles.

"The OH&S role in Local Government is now much more systems based and management focused," he said. "It allows for OH&S responsibility to be devolved to all levels of the organisation. An effective OH&S Management Officer needs the ability and authority to empower all employees of an organisation with the skills and knowledge to ensure their own safety and the safety of others - be they contractors or members of the public."

Max said the two main challenges in his role are culture and financial resources. The issue of culture relates to all employees and the challenge is to set up and maintain systems of work so that employees are not exposed to hazards.

"A safety culture can be achieved if all employees, including managers and supervisors, focus on hazard management through the following procedure. Spot the hazard, assess the risk, fix the problem and evaluate the results. This is most effectively done through inspection programs that involve the whole organisation. Allocating financial resources to fix a problem requires careful consideration of the level of risk and the budgeting process."

Max believes financial resources are limited within Local Government, yet many of the hazards identified require a financial solution.

"Workers compensation premiums are the direct cost for injury and illness in the workplace," he said. "We know that the total cost of workers compensation is similar to an iceberg and the hidden costs are large. However, many employers fail to navigate the iceberg, at an enormous cost to productivity and the quality of working life for employees. International research suggests that for every dollar spent on direct costs of injury, $1.40 to $2 is spent on indirect costs."

Max said the following tips are simple, cost effective ways Councils can reduce risks.

• Ensure that the essential health and safety features, and measures of all Council owned buildings are maintained to the standards included in the Building Code of Australia.
• Address the issues identified from Council's public liability/professional indemnity audits. These audits clearly show risk exposure.
• Carefully manage the return to work program for injured employees. This can be achieved by the appointment and training of a Workplace Rehabilitation Coordinator. Looking to the future, he said it will be important for Council to have policies that help individuals and families achieve a balance between their work, family and lifestyle commitments. Without these, he believes employees can become absent more often or for longer, have lower levels of morale, are more stressed, and are more likely to resign and move to a more supportive workplace.

"The benefits of good policy include reduced staff turnover rates, lower recruitment and training costs and increased return on investment in training as employees stay longer," Max Roberts said. "With an ageing population, the nation will turn to immigration to meet a shortfall of workers. This will lead to an increase in workplace risks. We will be faced with the challenge of addressing issues such as language competencies, work practices and cultural differences.

"Employers offering skilled workers reduced hours in the twilight of their career will go a long way to keeping OH&S expertise in the workplace."

The following articles are also included in this edition or go BACK to the main page: