OHS Online

The Broken Bay Catholic Schools Office's (CSO) "OHS Online" is a web-based Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) product that integrates and makes the OHSMS and its resources easily accessible to CSO's employees. The product of a continuous improvement process, "OHS Online" has been developed and implemented over the 6 years 2001-2007, beginning in 2001 as a paper-based OHSMS product with an electronic audit tool then converted for launch in 2006 as the web-based "OHS Online" with its associated online audit tool and e-learning modules. The development of "OHS Online" has followed authoritative guidelines and recommendations, specifically: A. Extensive consultation (school principals, safety representatives, external consultants, regulatory authorities, statutory and industry bodies) that has established OHS policies, management implications, and OHS Online requirements B. The 5-module framework recommended in the Australian Standard for OHSMS (AS/NZS 4801) has been adopted as the "OHS Online" framework, and "OHS Online" support resources developed, integrated and provided accordingly: 1: Policy o OHS o Specialised o School 2: Planning o Risk management o Legal o Objectives & Targets o OHS Management 3: Implementation o Resources o Responsibilities o Training o Consultation o Communication o Reporting o Documentation o Document management o Risk management o Injury management 4: Measurement & Evaluation o Monitoring o Health surveillance o Incident investigation o Records o Audits 5: Management Review C. Systematic planning principles have been utilised and are supported by "OHS Online": (a) The CSO Organisation Plan establishes OHS values, vision and commitment, then: (b) The "OHS Online" 6-year Strategic OHS Management Plan establishes and prioritises OHS strategies, requirements and time frames, then: (c) The "OHS Online" Annual OHS Management Plan templates help schools adopt and translate Strategic Plan requirements into school initiatives, responsibilities and time frames, then: (d) Plan-specific "OHS Online" support resources (eg. policies, procedures, plans & template plans, safety checklists, risk management guides, record & report forms, information & training packages, communications) help each school to implement their Annual Plan. D. "OHS Online" training and information packages and e-learning modules support face-to-face training in: (a)Safety management planning (b)OHS consultation (c)Pro-active risk management and related: o Safety induction o Fire safety o Hazardous substances o Playground safety o Anaphylaxis o Emergencies o Ergonomics o Manual Handling o Stress o Violence and bullying o Voice care o Cash handling o Vehicle safety (d)Use of "OHS Online" (e)Safety auditing E. The safety audit criteria recommended in the Victorian WorkCover Authority's SafetyMAP program have been adopted and merged with the audit requirements of AS/NZS 4801 in the "OHS Online" audit tool F. Results of "OHS Online" audits related to Strategic and Annual Plan objectives and targets: (a) Provide performance feed-back and motivation for school personnel (b) Compare and report actual school vs planned practice (c) Identify each school's practice gaps, problems or areas for improvement (d)Identify CSO support requirements (e) Measure and report each school's performance over time (f)Inform the continuous improvement process "OHS Online": 1. Serves as a vehicle to drive the achievement of CSO's safety vision 2. Is managed by CSO and implemented by each school, accommodating both CSO and individual school requirements. 3. Has been integrated with other core school management functions 4. Has facilitated the establishment of a sustainable culture of safety in each school 5. Provides the practical safety management support resources to enable each school to manage school safety systematically 6. Enables review of safety management progress and performance and consequent alignment of safety practice with objectives and targets 7. Facilitates the progressive achievement of safety compliance and best practice management. "OHS Online" enables CSO's effective promotion of safety in 43 school communities comprising more than 17000 students, 1800 full-time employees and many thousands of contract workers and daily school visitors in a geographic area of 2763 square kilometres. Evidence of "OHS Online" effectiveness includes: 1. The development of independent safe work planning and implementation skills in school personnel, 70% of schools now developing Annual OHS Plans without CSO assistance and 90% of demonstrating fulfilment of their Annual Plans. 2. Improved safety awareness in CSO schools. 3. Increasing ability of personnel to understand and articulate safety management principles and to contribute to the pro-active management of school safety issues 4. Steadily decreasing costs of incidents, injuries and illnesses 5. The incorporation of OHS considerations into daily school activities and the embedding of safety in CSO school culture. 6. Increasing capability of school OHS committees to lead and coordinate school safety management. 7. Improving OHS compliance in each school. 2006 audit results show: (a)80% of schools complying with OHS policy, risk management and legal compliance planning requirements (b)75% of schools complying with CSO's objectives, targets and Strategic Plan requirements 8. The progressive achievement of best safety management practice. 2006 audit results show: (a) 60% of schools achieving best risk management practice (b) 72% of schools achieving best injury management practice 9. Intense interest in "OHS Online" by other educational and church organisations. To date: (a)A version of "OHS Online" has been adopted for 72 church parishes in NSW and Queensland (b)Versions of "OHS Online" are being used by 19 external educational organisations to either manage or assist their constituents to manage the safety of approximately 740 Australian schools. (c)Catholic Church Insurances sponsors its education industry clients who seek to use a version of "OHS Online" to manage school safety (d)Professional bodies including the Australia and New Zealand Education Law Association, the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations and the Queensland Safety Conference invite CSO to demonstrate "OHS Online" and discuss its implementation with conference delegates. As a vehicle for managing workplace safety, "OHS Online" has served CSO with distinction, gaining recognition from the National Safety Council of Australia, earning its 2004 award for Excellence in Occupational Health & Safety and from the WorkCover Authority of NSW, earning a place in 2004 amongst the Best Workplace Health and Safety Management Program finalists.