1. Presented by Kevin Williams
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Presented by Kevin Williams
Health & Safety NZ Ltd

2. Who are the Duty Holders?
PCBU’s
• A Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking
• Includes – an individual, a partnership, a company or a Body Corporate
Officers (of a PCBU)
• Directors
• Partners
• Body Corporate Committee Member – acting like a Director
• “Includes any other person occupying a position in relation to the business or undertaking that allows the person to exercise significant influence over the management of the business or undertaking (for example, a Chief Executive)”

3. Who are the Duty Holders?
Workers
• Employees of PCBU
• Contractors & Sub-Contractors and their workers
• Volunteers working for a PCBU
Other Person
• They must take reasonable care of their own Health & Safety and not impact the safety of others
• They must comply with all reasonable instructions from the PCBU

4. What does this mean to me?
You are:
An Owner-Manager
A Property Manager/Facilities Manager A Body Corporate Management Committee Member
Under the new Act you are a:
PCBU – With Primary Duty of Care
A PCBU who Manages or Controls a Workplace
A PCBU who Manages and Controls Fixtures, Fittings or Plant

5. What does this mean to me?
You’re a PCBU who Controls A Workplace – includes the Fixtures, Fittings or Plant:
A PCBU who manages or controls a workplace must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the workplace, the means of entering and exiting the workplace, and anything arising from the workplace are without risks to the health and safety of any person.
• The Workplace Must be safe for the Workers and for any other person
• Entry and Exit to the Workplace Must be safe
• Anything Arising from the Workplace Must be safe (activity)
• Plant and Structures Must be safe
• Safe Systems of Work (SWMS) Must be provided
• Safe storage and handling procedures required (equipment and substances)
• Information, instruction and supervision of all workers required

6. Where do I get guidance?
The Regulations set out the rules that Must be followed
Codes of Practice provide Guidance on meeting the Regulations
Other Regulations e.g. Building Code inform the process
Standards (NZ & Overseas) inform the process

7. Hazard Management The General Risk & Workplace Management Regulations:
Reg 5 Identify reasonably foreseeable hazards – includes behaviour – children, drugs, alcohol

8. Hazard Management Reg 6 Hierarchy of Control Measures
Eliminate if Reasonably Practicable
If not, you Must Minimise risks to health and safety by doing 1 or more of the following:
• Substituting with something that has a lesser risk

• Isolating the hazard from any person exposed to it

• Preventing any person from coming into contact with the hazard

• Implementing engineering controls

9. Hazard Management
If a risk then remains, you Must minimise the remaining risk, so far as is reasonably practicable, by implementing Administrative Controls
If a risk then remains, you Must minimise the remaining risk, so far as is reasonably practicable, by ensuring the provision and use of suitable personal protective equipment
Reg 7 Control Measures must be maintained and regularly checked to ensure that they are fit for purpose, correctly set up, used and remain effective
Reg 8 Control measures to be reviewed/revised if changes occur (new hazards) or if controls are not working.

10. Hazard Management Summary
• Identify the Hazards creating the risks in the Workplace
• Eliminate the Risks where reasonably practicable
• Implement Minimising Control Measures
• Implement Administrative Controls/PPE
• Communicate Control Measures to the Workers – Signage
• Control the Workers accessing the Workplace

11. Learning from the Aussies!
Hazard Management – What Happens in Australia?
• Property Risk Assessments for each site in the portfolio
Hazard items that could impact a worker on site:
Machinery
Falls
Electrical
Chemical
Traffic
Worker related – vehicles, machinery, chemicals, etc
Non-worker related – slips, falls, swimming pools, recreational
• Supplementary detailed audits where required:
Asbestos, Hazardous Materials, etc

12. Learning from the Aussies!
Contractor Management – What Happens in Australia?
• Contractor system audit – often cursory
• Induction processes for each site – generally poorly done.
• SWMS & JSA’s – Heavy reliance on these as a practical solution.
What Does Worksafe Want?
• Consultation and Planning – How to achieve?
Regular Maintenance – JSA’s
High Hazard Work = SWMS/Permit
Project Work – Safety Management Plan

13. Cost
The cost of controlling a risk may be taken into account in determining what is reasonably practicable, but cannot be used as a reason for doing nothing.
The greater the likelihood of a hazard occurring and/or the greater the harm that would result if the hazard or risk did occur, the less weight should be given to the cost of controlling the hazard or risk.
If two control measures provide the same levels of protection and are equally reliable, you can adopt the least expensive option.
Cost cannot be used as a reason for adopting controls that rely exclusively on changing people’s behaviour or actions when there are more effective controls available that can change the risk through substitution, engineering or isolation.
WorkCover NSW

14. Degree of Harm WorkSafe Victoria
“If the degree of harm is significant (e.g. death or serious injury) then it is extremely unlikely that the cost of eliminating or minimising the risk would ever be so disproportionate to the risk to justify a decision Not to implement an Available and Suitable control measure.”
WorkSafe Victoria