An OHS Safety Culture makes good business sense

A Safe Business

OHS&W consultancy and training services for regional South Australia

Health & Safety is Good Business Sense!

Health and safety is the bottom line issue for any organisation and the benefits of having a good OHS system in place are invaluable!.

Apart from the legal responsibilities it makes good business sense to ensure health and safety is a primary consideration of every business.

OHS&W Benefits for business

	Increased productivity and profits due to there being less down time because of injury.
	Investing in training programs and safe systems of work is far cheaper than costs associated with a workplace injury!
	There will be less staff turnover which means you can retain skilled staff for your organisation.
	Your workers feel valued and can take ownership of health and safety issues and assist you identify and fix them!
	Positive publicity for your business - higher reputation!
	Integrating a range of systems (quality, risk, financial etc) leading to more effective costs and expenses.
	Safety expenses are tax deductible!
	There will be lower insurance premiums and less expenditure on workers compensation costs.
	Minimised rehabilitation costs, which also means you may not have to employ someone to look after this aspect of your business!
	Less intrusions from authorities such as WorkCover or Safework SA.
	And of course, if things do go wrong then any liability may be significantly reduced if you have systems in place to minimise workplace incidents.

Invest in Safety!

The laws and statutory requirements can be daunting for any business, especially small businesses or those who cannot afford to employ an OHS&W Coordinator to advise and guide them through the maze of responsibilities.

Sometimes businesses don't see the immense value in safety because preventing injuries means something doesn't happen in return for a financial outlay - whereas an injury actually happening is an outcome. The fact is, the investment leads to so many other benefits. Do your own research, look at the most successful businesses around you (good quality, reputation, highly financial) and you will also find that there is an underlying culture that treats safety seriously!

Invest in receiving quality advice from a service provider such as Southern OHS Solutions who can guide and advise and help your business meet its obligations. Development of effective OHS management systems can make a huge difference and lead to outcomes such as the benefits stated above.

It is not usually possible to eliminate every health and safety risk, but you can minimise them significantly by investing in sound prevention principles to a level that is acceptable to you and risks can be controlled.

Make your workplace Safer!

Some systems and services that are the first step to essential understanding of business requirements include:

	Document (make lists) of the hazards you know about
	Undertake simple OHS risk assessments
	Access quality advice to help you understand and comply with OHS&W laws and obligations
	Access quality training on OHS principles and legislative compliance
	Identify gaps and areas that need to be improved
	Develop and implement safety plans and action plans
	Access ongoing support as needed for your business

Southern OHS Solutions can help with all of these!

Invoke a Safety Culture!

Safety culture in businesses cannot change until risk-taking and short cuts are addressed and where possible eliminated. Often this is because "it is the way we have always done it" and "it's never resulted in an injury before" attitudes are indelibly and deeply ingrained into the workplace culture. It only takes ONE injury for these attitudes to suddenly come under question - by which time it is too late!

The safety culture starts at the very top of any business - its executive, senior management and those who make all the decisions! The involvement and commitment from this upper hierarchy is critical and leading by example will directly link to improvement in all the areas stated above that outline key benefits of an effective OHS management system.

This is where Southern OHS Solutions can assist in bringing about the changes needed to make real gains in workplace health and safety.

Health and safety is NOT an add-on - it is one of the most vital parts of your core business.

Disclaimer: This page is published for information purposes. It should not be presumed or relied on as a substitute for individual advice. Using information on this page without individual professional advice is done so at the users risk. Please contact us should you wish to clarify any information found on this page or wish to receive individual support.

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