Question:
What are various communication methods that can be used by the firms to communicate work, health and safety measures to its employees?
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Communication |
Benefits |
Drawbacks |
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Providing regular training sessions and demonstrations |
Providing regular training sessions and demonstrations helps in instructing the large number of people in basic skills at one time. The audience that is participating can also hear, discuss and participate in the demonstration. If the way of demonstration is used properly then it can generate a great deal of interest and enthusiasm (Underhill 2013). |
If the number of participants is large then some of the people are unable to hear and see clearly what is being demonstrated and may adopt working techniques. Many people are not able to practice the training concepts due to lack of time and facilities. People may also indulge in adopting wrong techniques. |
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Placing posters in prominent positions around the workplace |
The main benefit of poster communication is that several messages can be conveyed at the same room and at same time. Posters can also be used several times at different events. |
The main drawback is that once a poster is printed out it is difficult to make the amendments as it is less flexible compared to presentation. |
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Ensuring your company’s policies are available to your team and that they are written in a way that is easy to understand |
The benefit of communicating in a way that is easy to understand is that even the layman can understand the importance of work, health and safety. It will be effective as it is easy to understand. |
The team may misuse the policies for their own benefit. People may not understand exactly what the conveyor wants to communicate. |
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Sending staff memos, emails, notices on a regular basis or as updates and changes occur |
The employees and the general public are updated with policy changes on regular basis. It also saves time as the new problem can be handled quickly (Underhill 2013). |
People who do not have access to internet and emails will not have any information and update of the policies of the work, health and safety. |
The author chooses to work with an Information technology or IT firm. Along with maximising its profit the other aim of the firm is to ensure health and safety of the organization and people working in the organization. For this the employees should be aware of the health and safety policies. The best way of communicating work, health and safety policies to the employees of an IT firm is through proper training and demonstration on the regular basis. The first way of communication that is providing regular training and demonstrations will work best way of communication in an IT firm where the author chooses to work. Training and demonstration will give the idea to the employees of the regulations and how to act when the situation demands so (Hughes and Ferrett 2015). Since the organization employees more than 200 workers in its firm communication through proper training and demonstration will be the most effective method as it helps in instructing the large number of people of the basic skills at one time. The illustrations of the policies and methods help the employees and the staffs get the clear picture. Even the employees can demonstrate the effect of the policies by applying it in their daily life. It is very essential for the firms to keep the employees and staffs updated with the health and safety issues and measures. If the health of the employees is good then the productivity and profitability of the firm automatically increases (Carey et al. 2014).
There are various communication methods that can be used by the firms to communicate work, health and safety measures to its employees. The employees and the staff members of the organization can access the information on work, health and safety policies through various sources. The other ways of communication include use of social media, internet, and consultation. Consultation helps in effective communication directly to the employees that are affected by the measures of work, health and safety policies. Consultation involves method of listening to the queries of the employees and trying to solve them through proper method and policies. It also involves sharing information with the employees keeping them updated with the policy changes and information (Martinov et al. 2014). The information that is conveyed must be translated into appropriate languages so that it is easy for the employees and staffs to understand. For consultation a special room or place must be created so that the information can be shared between employers and employees. It is essential to measure the safety of people at workplace for a safe and healthy environment. The main aim of using the consultation method of communication is to communicate the work and health safety to the people that come from different culture and background. The main problem is that of linguistics. Communication should incorporate proper planning in its measure and method (O’Neill et al. 2013). Before consultation, the plan and the information that is going to be conveyed should include the proper organizations plan, and the problems that the employees face regarding work, health and safety. It is the responsibility of the employer to convey the information to the employees and keep them updated, for this it is requires for the communicator to communicate the information effectively and they should also build a trust among its employees so that they believe on whatever the conveyor wants to communicate (Chen and Zorigt 2013).
The full form of OHS is occupational health and safety in Victoria where the workplace health and safety is governed by a system of laws, regulations, and compliance codes. The occupational health and safety act (2004) is the cornerstone of legislative and administrative measures to improve occupational health and safety in Victoria. The main aim is to ensure that the workers follow the regulations with the act and regulations. The regulations can be achieved through Compliance Codes, work safe positions, and non statutory guidance.
The legislative framework in Australia for work, health and safety programs at workplace includes the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) and Work Heath and Safety Regulations 2011 (WHS Regulations) in the commonwealth jurisdiction.
The main regulatory activities of the act include managing the policies and programs under the WHS Act. The primary aim of the regulatory activities is to reduce the human and the financial costs that arise due to rise in diseases and illness (Yassi et al. 2013).
The work and safety legislative framework consists of five parts in Australia. The WHS safety act will was passed for the commonwealth jurisdiction except for the states and territories of Victoria and Western Australia. It also includes WHS regulations and the codes of practice to implement the act that is enforced.
The legislative framework also includes guidelines and standards to fulfil the program of work health and safety policies. It includes the set of guideline policies for the employers to follow it in their organization so that the employers are able to provide a safe place for the employees to work. The companies that are covered under WHS are agricultural and mining sector, construction industries, licensing and small business and major hazard facilities (Lundgre and McMakin 2013).
There are various acts that the government has levied to ensure the health and safety of employers and employees at workplace. One such example is Comcare that works in partnership with employees and employers to reduce the human and financial costs of workplace injuries and disease in commonwealth jurisdiction. Another example is The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).
Work safe Victoria’s responsibilities include:
Energy safe Victoria is a regulation in Victoria covering electrical equipment safety and efficiency administered by ESV. The three responsibilities include:
The act available in Victorian Law is:
Workplace injury rehabilitation and compensation Act 2013 was operational from the 1st July 2014. The WIRC act delivers on government commitment to reduce the regulatory burden associated with workers compensation legislation. It will make it easier for the employers and workers to use legislation and understand the rights, obligations, and responsibilities. The act aims at reducing the incidence of accidents and diseases in the workplace and maintains a fully funded scheme. It also aims at providing a framework for the effective occupational rehabilitation of injured workers and their early return to work. The WIRC act also includes the compensation to all the Victorian workers that includes the benefits that are available to them (Worksafe.vic.gov.au 2016).
The regulations available in Victorian Law are:
Occupational Health and safety regulations:
The objectives of the regulations are:
The moral codes of conducts are practiced in relation to the workplace safety that is as follows:
References
Australia, S.W., 2012. Work-related traumatic injury fatalities, Australia 2009-10. Australian Government-Safe Work Australia.
Barajas, L.G., Martinson, E., Payton, D.W. and Uhlenbrock, R.M., GM Global Technology Operations LLC, 2014. Method and system for training a robot using human-assisted task demonstration. U.S. Patent 8,843,236.
Carey, R.N., Driscoll, T.R., Peters, S., Glass, D.C., Reid, A., Benke, G. and Fritschi, L., 2014. Estimated prevalence of exposure to occupational carcinogens in Australia (2011–2012). Occupational and environmental medicine, 71(1), pp.55-62.
Chen, J.K. and Zorigt, D., 2013. Managing occupational health and safety in the mining industry. Journal of Business Research, 66(11), pp.2321-2331.
Hughes, P. and Ferrett, E., 2015. Introduction to Health and Safety at Work: For the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety. Routledge.
Lundgren, R.E. and McMakin, A.H., 2013. Risk communication: A handbook for communicating environmental, safety, and health risks. John Wiley & Sons.
Martinov-Bennie, N., O’Neill, S., Cheung, A. and Wolfe, M.K., 2014. Issues in the assurance and verification of work health and safety information.
O’Neill, S., Martinov-Bennie, N., Cheung, A. and Wolfe, K., 2013. Issues in the measurement and reporting of work health and safety performance: A review. Safe Work Australia, Safety Institute of Australia and CPA Australia.
Safeworkaustralia.gov.au. (2016). Model Codes of Practice – Safe Work Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/model-whs-laws/model-cop/pages/model-cop [Accessed 30 Jun. 2016].
Safeworkaustralia.gov.au. (2016). Victoria regulators – Safe Work Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/about/who-we-work-with/regulators/vic-regulators/pages/vic-regulators [Accessed 26 Jun. 2016].
Underhill, E., 2013. The challenge to workplace health and safety and the changing nature of work and the workplace environment. Australian workplace relations, pp.191-208.
Worksafe.vic.gov.au. (2016). Acts & Regulations. [online] Available at: https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/laws-and-regulations/acts-and-regulations# [Accessed 30 Jun. 2016].
Yassi, A., Lockhart, K., Sykes, M., Buck, B., Stime, B. and Spiegel, J.M., 2013. Effectiveness of joint health and safety committees: A realist review.American journal of industrial medicine, 56(4), pp.424-438.
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