What is the purpose of an OHS Management System?
The purpose of an OHS Management System (also known as an OHSMS) is to systematically reduce the possibility of accident, illness, injury or fatality in the workplace by ensuring that hazards in the workplace are eliminated or controlled in a systematic manner.
PCBU’s have a legal responsibility to provide a safe workplace and systems of work. This also includes consulting with your workers and keeping them informed about health and safety matters.
Top management is ultimately responsible for providing a safe place and systems of work.
Developing a good OHS management system will provide a more effective way of protecting workers and others from workplace injury and illness.
The benefits of an OHS Management System includes:
- Meeting ‘due diligence’ requirements through a health and safety system that helps demonstrate that management is effectively meeting its legal responsibilities.
- A systematic approach that ensures consultation occurs between PCBU’s and other stakeholders to manage health and safety concerns before they become problems.
- Systems can be internally or externally audited and monitored to provide verification that health and safety performance is meeting expectations. Any gaps in the system can be quickly identified and corrected.
- Delivering long term cost efficiencies by avoiding workplace injuries and illnesses and reducing the cost impact on the business.
- A competitive advantage as an effective health and safety management system can provide evidence often required under contract tendering processes.
