OVER 250 PAGES OF USEFUL DATA!!!

Firstly (and obviously), the manual itself, containing the following headings and content (over 250 pages):

List of Contents

1 Using the manual

2 Introduction to the Manual

3 Planning for safety:

Safety Management Plan

Internal Auditing

Codes of Practices

5 WHS Policy and Procedures

Content of WHS Policies & Procedures

Sample General WHS Policy

Sample Manual Handling Policy

6 Management Procedures

Roles and Responsibilities

General Manager Responsibilities

Supervisor/Line Manager responsibilities

WHS Representatives

Grievance & Discipline

Sample Consultation Statement

Training Session

Trainee's Risk Mgt Workbook

7�Operational Procedures

Slips/Trips/Falls/ Work at Heights

Emergency Response

Injury Management

Return-to-work Coordinator Guidelines

8 Contractor Management

WHS Inspection Checklists

Chemical Storage & Handling

Safe Work Procedures

Incident/First Aid Reporting Form

Workplace Safety Rules

Visitor Sign-in Sheet

Injury Management

Manual Handling Worksheets

10 WHS Encyclopaedia

Secondly, some general notes, tips, etc. re personalising the documents, etc. as follows:

Though the manual is currently configured for the 'harmonised law' in most Australian states and territories (WHS Act 2011), the core elements of appropriate WHS management systems are easily transferable to other state legislature. Our aim is to one day provide state-by-state coverage interstate and national business.

All documents may be edited in Microsoft Word. To replace the generic company name, 'XYZ', in a document with the name of your business, all you do is drop down the 'Edit' box from the tool bar, and click on the tool: 'Replace' (or, hit 'Control' and 'H' button). The 'Find and Replace' window will open. Click on the 'Replace' file. In the 'Find what:' field, type in XYZ. In the 'Replace with:' field, type the name of your business. Now click the mouse button over 'Replace all', and the job is done! All through the manual, where 'XYZ' once appeared, you should now see the substituted business name. This is the 30-second do-it-yourself manual, DONE! Now, however, we have to refine the manual:

The WHS Policy document should be adjusted to mention in the first sentence the sort of business enterprise you are operating. EG 'XYZ is a retail provider specialising in whitegoods in the state of NSW' or 'XYZ is a firm of accountants...' etc. Issues involving the various major hazards need to be addressed, and added to the Policy (or, if not required, withdrawn).

The consultation statement should be drawn up to genuinely reflect the sort of formal processes a Worker/Other can apply to have their concerns heard, and responded to, in the workplace. Refer to the Safe Work Australia Code of Practice for Consultation, etc. to gain a further understanding of the issues. Among other things, make sure the statement highlights which of the three,�or combination of the three,�legislated processes applies in the business: a) Health and Safety representative(s) (HSR; b) WHS Committee(s); c) Other agreed arrangement.

Regarding Document 4 'Legislation',�it is handy to draw attention to (and acquire for your file) specific legislation that you learn of that may affect your business. Not every business will need the legislation for things like 'asbestos removal'�or 'forklift driver certification', but the idea is to personalise the file of data to suit your business, and make it easy for staff and other management to access that data as efficiently as possible.

The downloaded manual has hyperlinks for easy cross-referencing. When you click on the blue highlights, you will be transported to the relevant reference. To return to the previous page, you click on the 'back' button of the browser. Once you download the manual, and decide to produce 'hard-copies', for the sake of appearance, I suggest you prepare a second electronic-copy of the manual, and in this second electronic-copy remove the highlights.

The Trainee's Manual (document 6.09) included in the manual is a rough outline of the sort of thing you would produce for staff for WHS induction and review programmes. Note that there is an allowance in the document where the Trainer would add any copies of MS Power Point or overhead slides and so forth from the presentation.

Occasionally, the need may arise to add a peculiar programme into your safety manual. Certainly have a go at producing your own,�in fact, we encourage it. However, ensure the document is given a fair hearing with input from the various stakeholders to have to use the programme - and certainly contact us at Safe Measure Pty Ltd for advice if required. We have a range of consultants on call covering aspects of:

specific WHS issues (occupational hygienists);

emergency control (including fire, first aid and evacuation, and investigation);

environmental issues (including NATA rated occupational hygiene testing);

investigation issues (including provision of 'expert witnesses');

training needs assessments (and supply of personnel for that training).

It does not hurt for you to understand the way 'cut-&- paste' systems have undergone the process of negative to positive connotations in the experience of SafeMeasure staff. In fact, here's an edited spiel Doug Wakefield gave about systems, safety, life, death, taxes�and so forth during the original manual launch:

"Hi, my name is Doug Wakefield.

When I created the info in this manual, I must admit I had some misgivings.

I don't particularly like 'cut and paste' OHS systems as such, because it is too easy for a system to be created to achieve an initial 'paper-trail' endorsement from a third party, and then to put the system on the shelf with no further reference nor understanding. After that, it usually only comes off the shelf when an incident occurs that brings in a statutory body, and an investigator applies gap analysis.

This analysis reveals something along the lines of: "Hey, this what you say you do, why didn't you do it?!!"

Now, having got that off my chest, I must say that from working in the field of OHS for a few years, the bottom line is that even firms where very specific systems have been tailored by WHS specialists - and often at great expense -�these systems can also�suffer the fate of being put on the shelf and forgotten about!

Sooo, I figured "Why not produce a manual that provides substantial knowledge in safety that is practical and immediately useful, both in terms of providing paper-trails in WHS, as well as providing data that does lead to good safety records when applied, and to provide this information at a reasonable price (FREE)?"

I must emphasise, the manual is not an overnight dalliance on my part. It uses information garnered from my years of experience in commercial and industrial work. Work that has included electrical contracting in domestic and industrial settings, accountancy work in the commercial sector, human resource management in the health care industry and, of all things, some commercial diving and salvage work. I have also owned and run market stalls, worked as a typographer and graphics layout draughtsman, performed as a musician and in theatre. I have never been a brain surgeon nor a jet pilot, but at only 67 years young, who knows what my�future holds!

My work has also taken me to continents and countries as diverse as Europe,�USA, Malaysia and India.

I have credentials in safety auditing and management, investigation and analysis. I am a Registered Safety Professional in Australia - courtesy of the�Safety Institute of Australia -�and am working toward a Fellow of that body.

Academic qualification includes degrees from the University of Newcastle in WHS�- a university I chose because of its proximity to the mining areas, as well as -�at the time -�its proximity to a large steel works. My other degree is from the University of Sydney in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management. I did this because I wanted an understanding of the political nature of WHS issues -�and WHS is a very political animal, make no mistake! It is also one of those disciplines where the rift between ethics and politics is regularly visible.

The work in the manual�is part ethics and part politics.

Ethics are regularly mentioned in the workplaces of modern, first-world societies. Usually, it comes in the form of a mission statement, such as "Your safety is our first priority", or "Safety First: otherwise don't start work", or "Safety First: No Exception", or "Safety is not Negotiable", or "No Safety? No Work!" and so on.

It all sounds fine, but when it comes to the crunch, pretty much all of us can recall places where these statements are given lip-service only, while behind the scenes, even deliberate acts of 'unsafety' occur!

I think it is rather peculiar, since without our own life, work will certainly continue, but not for us; good�days will continue to happen, but not for us; bad days will continue to happen, but not for us... In other words, that wonderful thing called life, with all its ups and downs, will continue, but we won't be around to enjoy the ride! Besides, even if we survive some workplace catastrophe, it can certainly be made very difficult�for us to�work at all, should illness or injury impair us in our actions and thoughts.

Therefore 'safety' must be considered as the first priority, and everything else can fall into place afterward.

It is like giving 'safety' the number one in the workplace and everything else the figure '0'. If we put safety second, we'd end up with a number like 'zero point one (0.1)', if we put safety third, our number would then be '0 point zero one (0.01)' and so on. However, if we put safety first, we'd end up with the numbers 10, 100 and so forth, indicating, to me, that when we consider the experience of safety in the purest form, we cannot help to not only add to the nett worth of the enterprise, but to multiply the return on the safety investment.

Make safety number 1 in the operation and everything else adds to the nett worth; place safety second and the nett worth of our operations becomes fractional.

The ethics of safety includes passing-on good techniques for the management of safety issues. Safety management systems that will ensure that no-one ever gets hurt - nor does property damage occur - from coming into contact with the workplace and its goods and services.

In the manual, there are tools that provide ideas you can implement in your day-to-day business function that will help you reach that fabulous goal of 'no injuries or damage�- ever!'

The politics in the manual include legislative overviews as well as draughts of policy statements and documentary paths you can follow in order to minimise the impact of any prosecution by a statutory body.

For example, the area of contractor control underlines your responsibility to ensure any contractor you use signs a 'contractors statement', outling the contractor's diligence in having appropriate workers compensation for all the contractor's employees; fully paid-up wages, superannuation, public liability and professional indemnity insurances, etc. and that you check the truth of that statement.

This will help defend you against any claims of public liability, workers compensation, etc. that may arise through poor safety management on the part of that contractor... and, as you'll learn, your responsibility for the contractor, the contractor's team, and the contractor's work, does not end just because you out-sourced that work!

In the manual there are a number of documents that address the most common issues faced by businesses, but certainly not all the issues.

For example, some businesses�- even small ones�- will need to have documents that touch on infection control issues. This would include the small dental surgery which is advised to establish a written programme for infection control. Another firm might need an explicit explosives programme,�such as�a small building contractor regularly using an explosives-powered nail gun, and so on.

Remember that WHS professionals like myself can assist in the production of specialist documents, but ultimately it is up to the stakeholders in the business to take ownership of the programmes and draw them up in a way that truly reflects the needs of that particular workplace. External advice provides a guidance, but the business must establish its own internal culture of safety.

I hope the information in the manual will be used by you to keep the spark of safety alive in your own mind, and allow you to nurture that spark until it becomes a beacon for safety in your own workplace. It is handy to note the aim of genuine safety professionals is to make themselves redundant as quickly as possible, by ensuring the culture of safety runs right through the workplace and beyond.

The only way to do this is to apply the rule:

'Inspiration plus information equals achieve the goal.'

And the formula MUST be applied in that order!

That is: Inspiration is the first thing we need.

If we are not inspired, at least be able to act inspired (we all have the occasional 'bad' day when a smile has to be forced) but if we can't even act inspired, then I suggest it is time to look for another job.

Once we are inspired, we will gladly gather together the information we need and apply it to achieve the end-goal.

I'll leave you with my own personal definition of safety:

"Safety: the ability to enjoy my next breath in the most beautiful and comfortable way possible!"

And finally, as I like to emphasise to all my clients and their Workers:

'I hope never to see your body parts in my forensic photographs collection!'

Enjoy this life..."

So, there you have it, from the horse's mouth!

Here are 3 sample pages from the package (click on the title to access):

OK? TRUST ME? GO AHEAD AND DOWNLOAD!

OH! OH! Here's the small print:

Waiver!

Though the best effort has been made by me (Doug Wakefield), the information in the manual remains advisory only. As you can understand, I do not know the ins-and-outs of your specific workplace, so do not know where some very specific OHS problem may exist.

An example of how specific each and every workplace is, occurs when we consider what sort of business do the neighbours run? "What's happening next door?" One site I surveyed had a business next door that crushed glass for recycling, and whenever a southerly wind hit, the loading dock of the business I was assisting was swept with glass-shards from next door! Very unpleasant, indeed!

Each business has its own peculiarities that require addressing, and I cannot be held accountable unless I were to visit each and everyone of the businesses and present my views on how to handle each and every hazard. My firm, Safe Measure Pty. Ltd., can certainly supply personnel to assist in this. My advice is to go through the information in the manual and see what is easiest for you to address, but where you feel you come to a blind spot, then to get a hands-on professional consultation from either Safe Measure Pty Ltd -�or some other WHS professional (I won't lie to you: there are some excellent competitors in WHS consultation 'out-there', but even here I have some advice: choose a consultant who is at least rated a Registered Safety Professional (Australia) by�the Safety Institute of Australia�- since this professional body has 'continuing professional development' requirements of all its members).

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