Safety is a Top Priority Throughout the Supply Chain
Supply chains can be very complex and extend far beyond Australia’s borders so there are challenging, but crucial, workplace health and safety obligations associated with the operation of supply chains.
Moving a product or service from supplier to customer often involves a complex web of organisations, people, information and resources so It’s important that all networks involved within a supply chain understand each other’s businesses and work together to help improve the health and safety of workers throughout the chain.
Sadly, there’s a high rate of workplace health and safety incidents in the transport and logistics industry, and there are numerous risks involved with managing fleets of vehicles, operating machinery, and working with dangerous substances, so it’s imperative we take all precautions to protect the health and safety of our workers.
This means not only evaluating our own health and safety metrics but also those of our suppliers and partners. We need to ensure they abide by the same worker safety standards as we do because any breaches along the supply chain will have flow-on consequences impacting on both our team and our clients.
Assessing workplace health and safety across national boundaries is challenging due to the different compliance requirements facing different international organisations along the supply chain. Under the Australian Workplace Health and Safety Act, businesses are required to look for situations that could cause harm or damage and do something to prevent incidents from happening, but at this stage, workplace conditions of overseas suppliers are not covered by the Act.
Consequently, we need to work with our partners to implement change if they need to improve their safety standards. While it can be costly to ensure best practice across the entire supply chain, it would be more costly to deal with the repercussions of an accident.
In addition to monitoring safe conditions for workers, we also need to monitor the machinery that our suppliers operate to ensure it’s safe. According to Safe Work Australia, many work-place related injuries and fatalities are often associated with the unsafe design of machinery so again, implementing an effective machinery safety program is less expensive than injuries.
We also work with hazardous chemicals which is a whole new ballgame in terms of safety precautions, and one we’ll delve deeper into in an upcoming blog.
Each piece of the supply chain has its own unique set of risks, from human rights issues to machinery hazards, and needs its own set of health and safety requirements, but being compliant doesn’t cost more … it will save you!
A safe supply chain doesn’t just mean keeping your people (and the public) safe! Safety and security go hand in hand with efficiency and profitability and a safe supply chain is also an agile and resilient one.
Companies face many risks ifs they fail to provide a safe supply chain. If they mistreat or overwork employees or operate with unsafe practices or machinery they could face labour shortages that dIsrupt production, not to mention generate bad press and irreparable damage to their brand.
To us here at SILA Global, it’s good business to have a good work health and safety record. We’re committed to safe work practices and adhere to industry guidelines in relation to the Chain of Responsibility. Here’s just some of the steps we take to ensure we’re compliant with health and safety regulations.
Risk Assessment – Assessing what might cause harm and ascertaining if we’re doing enough to prevent that harm. This is continually updated as we change equipment or procedures, or work with new substances.
Prepare a Health & Safety Policy – This policy details how we manage health and safety within our business and who within our team is responsible for what, and when.
Assess First Aid Requirements – We maintain a fully stocked first aid kit and an appointed person takes charge of first aid requirements and provides relevant information to staff.
Report Incidents and Illness – We keep a record of any workplace injuries so we can identify any patterns that may help better assess and manage risks in the future.
Staff training and communication – We keep our team fully informed on any hazards or risks they face, what measures are in place to deal with them, and what the emergency procedures are. In a business such as ours, ongoing training is also required for equipment and substance handling.
Our new technology offering, SV3, is helping us across all areas of our business, including ensuring we have all the systems and processes in place to keep our people safe, and if something does go awry, counter any incidents with an immediate response.
To learn more about SV3 head to our website www.sila.net.au or get in touch with our friendly teams in Australia or New Zealand:
Australia
Email sales@sila.net.au
Phone +61 7 3908 1690
New Zealand
Email sales@sila.net.nz
Phone +64 9 390 7942