Plumbing Connection 2-2015

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1 1 2 P L UMB I N G CO N N E C T I O N W I N T E R 2 0 15
TIPS
I n the event of an emergency incident,
it’s likely you will find workplace
safety inspectors at your place of
business.
The most important part to remember
about this is that inspectors have
legislated powers. This gives them
broad powers of inquiry including
coercive powers, whereby people can
be compelled to provide information,
answers to questions and documentation
to inspectors.
Inspectors have the authority to require
access to people and information at your
workplace, including:
ǩ Names and addresses.
ǩ Conducting interviews and making
enquiries.
ǩ Taking photographs, recordings and
measurements.
ǩ Taking possession of items for
examination, testing or for use as
evidence.
ǩ Taking samples of substances or
objects.
ǩ Requiring documents to be produced
for examination and copying.
ǩ Calling in other people to assist
them, including technical or scientific
experts, interpreters or police officers.
Put simply, unless a person has a
reasonable excuse, they must answer
questions or provide documents and
cannot rely on the privilege against self-
incrimination as an excuse not to do so.
Think of the time following a fatal
incident at a workplace. Inspectors are
on-site swiftly, asking questions. That
is their role. But for employees, it is
often not the best time to be answering
questions, suffering as they may be from
personal shock and stress.
1) HAVE SOMEONE PRESENT
As an employer, you are within your
rights to have a third-party present at
interviews. This may be legal counsel.
If you dispute an inspector’s findings,
you can also request a review of their
decision.
For example, an inspector may
form an opinion that an activity in a
workplace involves a risk to health and
safety and issue an improvement notice.
The employer may wish to contest the
decision and ask for an independent
internal review because they believe
the activity is safe.
Alternatively, an inspector may
form an opinion that an activity is safe
and take no action. An employee affected
by the decision (and in some cases a
health and safety representative) may
wish to contest
the decision and ask for an independent
internal review because they believe
the activity to be unsafe.
The review process is designed to be
speedy and transparent. Most internal
review decisions have to be made within
14 days; some have to be made within
seven days after the application is made
or in the case of a stay of an inspector’s
decision, within 24 hours.
2) SHOWCASE DUE DILIGENCE
Workplace safety inspectors
respect good systems. Ensure you can
demonstrate due diligence. A mining
company, after an incident involving a third
party transport supplier, welcomed the
inspectors on-site for interviews. Before
they were allowed onto the mine site,
both inspectors were taken through the
rigorous induction process (over an hour)
and written test. Due diligence at its finest.
Know what inspectors look for.
Government websites offer great advice
on actions that can be taken to improve
safety, including this video (http://www.
workplace-inspections/what-happens-
during-an-inspection) from the Victorian
Workcover Authority that interviews
safety inspectors.
3) CLEARLY OUTLINE YOUR
EMERGENCY RESPONSE
An emergency plan is a written set of
instructions that outlines what workers
and others at the workplace should do in
an emergency.
The types of emergencies to plan for
may include fire, explosion, medical
emergency, rescues, incidents with
hazardous chemicals, bomb threats,
armed confrontations and natural
disasters. The emergency plan should
be based on a practical assessment
of hazards associated with the work
activity or workplace, and the possible
consequences of an emergency occurring
as a result of those hazards. External
hazards should also be considered
in preparing an emergency plan, for
example a chemical storage facility
across the road.
Emergency plans do not necessarily
have to be lengthy or complex. They
should be easy to understand and tailored
to the specific workplace where they
apply.
It may include practical information for
workers such as:
ǩ Emergency contact details for key
personnel who have specific roles or
responsibilities under the emergency
plan, for example fire wardens, floor
wardens and first aid officers.
ǩ Contact details for local emergency
services, for example police, fire
brigade and poison information centre.
ǩ A description of the mechanisms for
alerting people at the workplace
to an emergency or possible
emergency, for example siren or
bell alarm.
ǩ Evacuation procedures including
arrangements for assisting any hearing,
vision or mobility-impaired people.
IN SAFE HANDS
Sometimes accidents happen
and if they are serious enough,
you could find yourself being
interviewed by a workplace
safety inspector. Emma
Bentton explains what is
expected of you in the event
of an emergency.