Where Is Your OHS Manual

How much do you know about your OHS manual? It's proabably the most important document you hold at work. If you've been inducted into your workplace, and haven't seen, or know little about it, then someone is making a mistake. Don't be one of the thousands injured every year because they haven't had correct access to the right documentation. An OHS manual isn't simply a book detailing how well covered your employers behind is, it's for you to remain safe. Why not seek it out the next time you head into work?

Well, let's try to simplify the whole affair. In essence, every industry in Australia where people are employed to work needs to show some kind of duty of care toward its employees. This is most commonly, and effectively done in writing, and covers all aspects of health and safety legislation applicable to that industry. Office work will be a different animal to construction work, for example. Usually, this piece of writing will require a sign off of some kind from everyone expected to follow its procedures. This is your OHS Manual. If you work, and you haven't seen one, or understand the requirements of occupational health and safety, then something, somewhere is going wrong, and you should inform your line manager.

So, how exactly should an OHS manual be laid out? While the format isn't stipulated by legislation, the content and result should be similar. One of the most common ways of ensuring that your OHS manual is up to scratch is to purchase one which simply requires you to fill in gaps in the script with particulars of your business. This cut-and-paste approach has two main benefits over other methods. Firstly, you're saving time and energy, and secondly, you can be 100 per cent sure that whatever OHS manual you buy (as long as it's applicable to your business), will be up-to-date and cover all the relevant points. These kind of universal formats have the added benefit of offering you more cover than a bespoke one.

So, what about content? An OHS manual is a shop environment is a different affair to, say, something for a university campus. In general, though, they should cover a few broad areas. It should start with a general piece on the management of health and safety in the workplace. This may include basic safety instruction, as well as policy, procedure and guidelines.

Consultation is a common factor in an OHS manual. What this does is cover the people concerned, as well as the types of responsibilities they have. Issue resolution and indemnity could very well be covered here.

The real meat of an OHS manual is in the hazard management and incident management. All of the guidelines are covered here, mainly including those you need to work safely in your role. This is the most important piece of information that you need to keep yourself safe. This can cover a multitude of aspects from office bullying to bushfires procedures and beyond.

Following that, some kind of form and record database should be present in any OHS manual. This will include reporting forms, first aid reports, and evacuation drill plans. Remember, an OHS manual is not just a piece of red tape, it's there for your safety and the safety of those around you.