When a Department of Labour inspector arrives, most ask for your health and safety risk assessment first, then your health and safety file. After that they want to know who your SHE Reps and first aiders are, they check the dates on the certificates and that the training provider is approved by the Department of Labour, and some ask your fire fighters to show what they would do in a fire. It depends on the inspector, but this is what we see most often when we help companies through inspections. If you are not sure what the Act asks of you, start with OHS Act Training.
1. Your risk assessment
The risk assessment is the baseline process for your company. What risks do you have? What level are they at? How are you going to reduce or mitigate them? It shows your due diligence towards health and safety.
A mistake we see a lot: a company has had a health and safety file put together for it, but there is no risk assessment in it. Our HIRA Training teaches your team to do one, or we do it with you as part of OHS Navigator.
2. Your health and safety file
Next comes the health and safety file. It is very easy to have a system in place, but it is only as good as how well it is implemented, applied in the business and updated regularly.
3. Your SHE Reps, first aiders and first aid kit
Inspectors ask who your SHE Reps are, who your first aiders are and where your first aid kit is. Not sure how many you need? Use the calculators on our SHE Rep Training and First Aid Level 1 pages.
4. The dates on the certificates, and who issued them
They check the dates on the certificates, and that the company that did the training is registered and approved with the Department of Labour: an approved provider's certificates carry its Department of Labour approval number. DDi's First Aid Level 1 to 3 training is accredited by the Department of Labour and aligned to the QCTO curriculum, and first aid certificates are valid for three years.
5. Your fire fighters
Some inspectors call a few of your fire fighters and ask them questions: what would they do in a fire, do they know the PASS method (pull, aim, squeeze, sweep), and which types of extinguisher are in their area? On our Basic Fire Fighting course everyone discharges a real extinguisher, so they can answer from experience.
6. Forklift licences
If you use forklifts, the inspector will want to see that the right people are trained and that their forklift licences are up to date.
What gets companies into trouble most often
- Incomplete health and safety files.
- No risk assessment.
- First aiders and fire fighters who are not trained.
- No SHE Reps.
- Forklift licences that are out of date.
We often get frantic calls: we need urgent first aid and fire fighting training, because the Department of Labour arrived and nobody checked the certificates. Training fixes part of it. The lasting fix is to start with a risk assessment and keep your health and safety up to date, so the inspector is happy whenever they arrive.
Two companies we helped
A safety file in days, so a business could open. A client needed an OHS file for its accreditation and company registration, and didn't know where to start. We designed the electronic file with OHS Navigator and had it up and running within a few days. They passed the inspections and got the registration they needed to start trading.
Prohibition notices lifted within days. The Department of Labour arrived at a company and issued prohibition notices. We met, set a plan to implement and to show the Department the work, and within a few days put the documents together and added them to the health and safety file. The Department approved it, the notices were lifted, and the company is still operating today.
Be ready before the inspector arrives
With OHS Navigator your risk assessment, safety file, appointments and training records stay in order, and if an inspector arrives you call us. Prefer a once-off check? Book a safety audit and get a compliance action plan. And if your first aiders or SHE Reps need training, see First Aid Level 1 and SHE Rep Training.
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Stephan writes and reviews the DDi OHS blog. About DDi OHS
