The time is drawing nearer for transport operators to transition over to Accredited Mass Management Scheme (AMMS) in Western Australia. As of the 26th of April 2016, the CWMMS and CLBPS permits will expire and AMMS will come into play. All operators (previously with CWMMS or CLBPS Permits) will need to apply for AMMS permits. In order to do this, operators must be accredited under the WA Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Mass Management Module. Applicants seeking to participate in the accredited Mass Management Scheme must submit an entry audit. The AMMS requires the applicant to demonstrate their capacity to comply with…

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As a company who travels anywhere, we thought this is a relevant topic for our own staff but for all our clients, and anyone who travels by driving. This blog illustrates what we as a company do when driving and our policy. These are only guidelines and examples. Driving and fatigue is outlined in the Code of Practice – Fatigue Management for Commercial Vehicle Drivers and by the WA Department of Transport in a Guidance Note, titles, Driver Fatigue Management. Although the Code of Practice is aimed at Commercial Drivers valuable information can be obtained and applied in a non-commercial…

Ergonomics is the process of designing or arranging workplaces, products and systems so they fit the people who use them. This means producing a workspace to accommodate for worker’s health needs. Ergonomics, in fact, is a branch of science. It aims to learn about human abilities and limitations, and then apply this learning to improve people’s interaction with products, systems and environments. It aims to improve workspaces and environments to minimise the risk of injury or harm. As technologies change, we need to ensure what we use is designed for our body’s requirements. In the workplace, according to Safe Work…

The Equal Opportunity Act: a legal means of protecting from discrimination and/or harassment either at work or away from work.  To start off let’s define discrimination. Discrimination is when a person is treated unfairly because of their sex, race, marital status, religious or political beliefs, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, impairments and/or family. This means associating people with a thing (group, class or category), rather than on individual worth. Harassment in the workplace is, making fun of people, cronyism and having favourites and giving unfair workloads or lack of training. This means harassment is advantaging and disadvantaging some in behaviour and…

TEAMWORK IN A BUSINESS   ‘NOT ONLY IS IT A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, IT IS ALSO A MEANS OF MAKING YOUR WORK EASIER’ – The Australian Institute of Business   Working in a team can be difficult and it really depends on your personality. Working in a business needs teamwork because staff and others need to work together to complete goals and get along. A team consists of people working towards a common purpose. People need to stay involved and care about one another to keep a happy and productive workplace. To be productive, people need to listen…

Click the link to open up our Newsletter we send out by email. If you would like these newsletters, we send them via email, so register with us at admin@switchedontosafety.com. December Newsletter

9 requirements for training your supervisorsEffective supervision is essential to ensure that you create and maintain a safe workplace. Supervision does not mean keeping constant surveillance of your workers’ activities. It means giving workers general direction, and coordinating and overseeing their work. Effective supervision involves: When are you required to supervise workers? having a recognised chain of command and reporting system, e.g. a worker reports to their supervisor who reports to their manager; giving workers appropriate instruction; conducting regular inspections of the worksite; and giving prompt directions when safe operating procedures are not being followed.When is supervision required? Supervision is…

In the mining and mining construction industries there’s been a lot of focus on FIFO workers of late. As you would know in many cases FIFO work on mine sites inevitably involve shift work so this may be relevant to some in our group.   Do you know what the safety and health risks of shift work are? 10 tips for managing shift work to reduce the risk for your workers and your business   Depending on your business, it may be necessary to have some or all of your staff engaged in shift work, especially in industries such as…