October 2016 - National Safe Work Month

A safe and healthy workplace is a positive and productive workplace. Each year in October, National Safe Work Month reminds us about the reasons why workplace health and safety is important, and it’s a good time to stop and think about the ways in which we can all look out for each other and make sure the workplace is a healthy and safe environment. If you see something unsafe, say something.

At EQAS we're trying to do our bit by using this time to remind our clients and contacts about the opportunities and obligations we have to minimise risks in this area - I'm always happy to hear what you have to say!

Know your Hazardous Substance Basics!

Our WHS legislation in most Australian jurisdictions has specific requirements for managing hazardous substances, however it’s our experience that in too many workplaces these basics are often misunderstood or not practiced; here are some examples:

• You need to make a register (list) of all chemicals used in the workplace – no, just list the hazardous ones used in excess of household quantities for purposes inherent to the workplace activities.

• You need to obtain and make available the SDS (MSDS) for all chemicals used in the workplace – no, just the hazardous ones, although you may need to access an SDS to determine whether the substance is hazardous or not.

• Not ensuring that the SDS is less than five (5) years old.

• Not ensuring that the SDS complies with Australian content and layout requirements (e.g. COP Preparation of Safety Data Sheet for Hazardous Chemicals); chemical suppliers can be particularly guilty of this when importing from overseas. 

• Assuming that providing the SDS at the workplace is enough, and not undertaking and documenting a hazardous substance risk assessment as required.

The above situations may unfortunately lead to unacceptable safety risks in the storage, handling and use of hazardous substances in your workplace – not to mention breaches of legislated WHS requirements.

If you’re not completely sure whether your workplace is doing the right thing, I’d suggest asking someone who knows!

     Call us at EQAS on (08) 8338 2771 for help to ensure 

hazardous substance compliance!

Celebrating Australian Food Safety Week 2015

8 to 15 November 2015

Did you know? - Food Safety and HACCP

There is a common misunderstand about the relationship between food safety and HACCP, as people often think HACCP accreditation = food safety. 

HACCP actually stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points and is a risk assessment tool for management and staff to more efficiently assign resources to higher risk areas that may cause food safety concerns. 

In Australia, all food producers have to meet the relevant State's food safety standards, while HACCP is generally a choice. If you are a small business owner who just started a new food business, to correctly interpret the legal requirements can be very overwhelming! 

At EQAS, we look at both sets of requirements and can provide you with professional assistance so you can be sure that the food you produce or the catering service you provide are safe for your customers! 

Give us a call particularly during this food safety week and we will provide you with a FREE review of your current food safety management issues. This is our way to celebrate
Food Safety Week! 

For more details, call us at EQAS on (08) 8338 2771

With kind regards, Greg Francis Senior Consultant

               

Helping you meet Standards in Environment, Quality Assurance, Safety

Be safe. Be healthy. Because… there’s so much more to look forward to in life!

There are so many reasons for being safe and healthy at work – and this is another one, as we dedicate this month to encouraging individuals and workplaces to be involved in raising awareness of work health and safety.

We at EQAS try and do our bit by continuing to remind organisations about how to ensure they remain proactive and complying with their legal safety responsibilities!

In addition to work, we should be able to look forward to hobbies, sport, travel and volunteering, just to name a few!

Did you know these interesting statistics?

• that 53% of quad-bike deaths are caused by roll-overs!
• that 'body stressing injuries' accounted for 41% of injuries in 2012–13
• that 'mental stress' claims are most common for workers ages between 40 - 54
• that the total cost of work related injury and illness is $60.6 billion!!

A focus on health and safety in your workplace can therefore

help your business!

EQAS can assist you to:

• identify and control hazards in the workplace
• find better ways of doing your jobs
• work more together to improve your workplace
• increase your worker job satisfaction
• improve your worker health and wellbeing, and
• most importantly, ensure they all return home from work safely every day!

For more details, call us at EQAS on (08) 8338 2771

Keep Safe and Kind Regards, Greg Francis Senior Consultant

                                                       

Helping you meet standards in Environment, Quality & Safety

Being Safe makes good business sense!

There is strong evidence that businesses who manage their risks well, including their health and safety risks, perform better financially.

National Safe Work Month 2015 reminds us about the reasons why workplace health and safety is important. 

Be safe. Be healthy. Because…it makes good business sense.

Why good business sense?

• Clients want confidence you are not risky to deal with.
• You want confidence you're not breaking the law
• You don't want your people hurt
• Unnecessary business interruptions can be costly

So a focus on health and safety in your workplace will
help your business!

EQAS can assist you to:

• identify and control hazards in the workplace
• find better ways of doing your jobs
• work more together to improve your workplace
• increase your worker job satisfaction
• improve your worker health and wellbeing, and
• most importantly, ensure they all return home from work safely every day!

For more details, call us at EQAS on (08) 8338 2771

Keep Safe and Kind Regards, Greg Francis Senior Consultant

                                                       
Helping you meet standards in Environment, Quality & Safety.

Do you know that October is National Safe Work Month

National Safe Work Month is dedicated to encouraging individuals and workplaces to be involved in raising awareness of work health and safety.

This year’s theme is Be safe. Be healthy.There are so many reasons for being safe and healthy at work –what are yours?Here at EQAS we will be continuing to remind organisations about how to ensure they remain proactive and complying with their legal safety responsibilities!

There are many National Safe Work Month activities happening around Australia throughout October.

Too many workers are losing their lives!

Every year around 200 Australians lose their lives as a result of a work-related injury. 

In addition, Australian employees make an average of 120 000 serious workers’ compensation claims for injuries or illnesses involving one week or more off work each year. 

This equates to 330 serious claims made every day.

A focus on health and safety in your workplace can
help your business!

EQAS can assist you to:

• identify and control hazards in the workplace
• find better ways of doing your jobs
• work more together to improve your workplace
• increase your worker job satisfaction
• improve your worker health and wellbeing, and
• most importantly, ensure they all return home from work safely every day!

I suggest you might use the opportunity to think about whether your organisation is adequately focussed on workplace health and safety - just contact me if you'd like a chat!

Winning those tenders!

I was speaking to a government procurement manager at a recent ‘Meet the Buyer’ session (hosted by SA Government’s Office of the Industry Advocate-you should check them out if not already done  so!) who lamented about the number of companies who submit tenders for what they hoped was going to be lucrative contracts, yet often responses had to be discounted because they had failed to address the basic requirements of the Department’s Request for Tender (RFT). An example was one ‘trade contract’ tenderer who simply submitted the price, and then requested that all other information be sourced from their website!

It’s all about understanding what the customer wants

You simply can’t expect your prospective client to go looking for the information they have requested; just lay it all out in an orderly manner so it’s easy to find.

There are no secrets in submitting a high quality tender to maximise your chance of winning or being appointed as a preferred supplier. It is simply a matter of doing your homework, understanding the scope of requirements and what qualifications are needed, getting your price right (estimate your costs carefully, add a suitable margin, and state clearly what’s included or excluded), and presenting your business to the prospective client in a state of preparedness.

Get professional help if needed

I can hear many of you saying that’s fine if you have the time and people to prepare the submission, particularly if you’re a small business, but if that’s the case, get someone outside to help. Several of our clients have asked us at EQAS to do this, and find it relatively efficient, particularly if we already know the business through any Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) work we may have done for them. That’s because HSEQ continues to be a big part of most tender requirements.

It’s no secret then that tenderers who have done their homework, read the tender requirements, and demonstrated their understanding and capability effectively, will be the only ones of real interest to those issuing the RFT.

Good luck tendering!