The person in control of the workplace appears to be the franchisee. However, if the franchiser is training and determining how the franchisee should operate and manage health & safety, then liability for accidents and injuries rests with who?????

Looks like you are doing the right thing Robyn. If your staff have voted to appoint health & safety representatives for each workplace then you are simply required to work with them on the practicability of effective solutions designed for each scenario.

Good info here Jane. Your checklist provides some guidance of 'all practicable steps' in assessing the risks to an individual's work hazards. So, if it turns out that the risk is not significant, then why require steel cap boots?

Jane you nailed it. The Triple Bottom Line - People (your staff and their welfare), Planet (your impact on the environment) and Profit (meeting your investors/customers/consumers needs). There are global ISO standards that provide relevant management systems to achieve and prove this.

"The system will always be defended by countless people who have enough intellect to defend but not quite enough to innovate". Edward De Bono

Why can't this be done on Google Docs (with password system) based on what you say you want to use it for?

My understanding is that elected health & safety reps and staff health & safety committee members are two entirely different positions with different responsibilities. Unless there is a special agreement with management, staff and unions that elected H&S reps will make up your health & safety committee. This would be highly unusual.

Great stuff Sheri, in the self imposed bureaucracy of health & safety, its so easy to make things complex but it takes analysis, experience and wisdom to make them simple and effective.

Great post Nancy, this sort of bureaucracy stands in the way of good health & safety operations at the point of work. Recommend you get yourself a copy of 'Paper Safe' by Greg Smith. You'll be nodding all the way through. We need to reconnect safety to the workplace.

I acknowledge the academic theories used here to justify Tōtika and other Prequal schemes, but when it comes down to practicability I think Simon has summed it up nicely. One could provide a set of no more than 12 contractor due diligence questions for businesses engaging contractors that would achieve the same outcome at no charge. The PCBU simply has a duty of due diligence in selecting a competent contractor and applying the 3 C's on the job based on who is in the best position to manage which risks. Just putting it out there for comment????

Don't see why not Lucille. Many business's do this quite successfully. Maybe consider what training they need and their role within the health & safety committee which in turn makes recommendations to management.

My take on this Lucille is your volunteers are not HSR's unless specifically elected by a workgroup and they have attended union or other approved HSR training courses. All that means is they can issue the PCBU with formal/legal health & safety improvement notices. We could also call them health & safety committee members who represent staff in their work area. A much more proactive, positive and collaborative arrangement.

Good question Garth. You appear to be taking 'all practicable steps' to keep people safe from infection. Just get past 'considering' to 'implementing' a Covid 19 safety plan for your operations. Take into account any mandated government advice. This is a serious crisis and one would expect organizations to 'act in good faith' to protect staff from harm as far as reasonably practicable.

Agree with your views on this topic MattD2. It's motivated me to get around to designing a template to manage and record the consult, co-operate and co-ordinate process on who is in the best position to manage which hazards.

This Delta Covid is a serious crisis regardless of the legislative norms that are ignorant of the current situation. We simply need to apply the concept of "what would a reasonable person (or PCBU) do under the circumstances of the situation" and set a strategy for dealing with the crisis and who will do what. This is a decision for senior management and their legal advisors - that's their job. After all, who's running the show and who's /=? #* is on the line. They should be telling health & safety people (as a resource) how they need to implement the Covid strategic plan and report its effectiveness.

Hi Sandra, looking at case law in Australia it appears the question is 'who was agreed as being in the best position to manage the risks of the work' after reference to evidence of the pre-work Consult, Collaborate and Co-ordinate process.

I was the drummer in the 70's blues/rock bands 'Underdogs, Jigsaw & Fresh Air'. Enjoying playing percussion again in two bands in Warkworth & Auckland.

Good point Andy. My understanding is that ISO 45001 certification automatically meets Totika requirements and that's how it should be.

All good examples above of how the OH&S certification industry has fostered management system complexity and personal interpretations instead of leadership in developing simplicity and effectiveness for the client.

I think it's well overdue that the various trade industry associations front footed this and provide a competent, independent prequal and public safety star rating service for their members.