Work Health and Safety
Management Systems and Auditing Guidelines
5th edition, September 2013
(Updated May 2014)
Work Health and Safety
Management Systems and Auditing Guidelines
These Guidelines are a key element of the Procurement Policy Framework of the NSW Government. They are available from the NSW Government Procurement website www.procurepoint.nsw.gov.au
The document shall be updated on an ongoing basis by the Office of Finance & Services to reflect changes to government policy and procedures. To ensure accurate and up to date information, agencies are advised to access the latest version directly from the website.
Further information on these Guidelines should be addressed to:
NSW Procurement Client Support Centre:
Telephone: 1800 679 289
Email:
Issue log
Issue / Release date / Details1.
2. / December 1994 / Revised to apply to projects over $20M
3. / November 1998 / Revised to apply to projects over $3M
4. / June 2004 / Revised to include requirements of OHS Act 2000 and OHS Regulation 2001
Revised to apply to projects over $1M
5. / September 2013 / Revised to include requirements of the WHS Act 2011, WHS Regulations 2011 and Codes of Practice applicable in NSW
Removed reference to requirement for agency accreditation of Work Health and Management Systems
December 2013 / Clarification of OHS Auditor requirements (p4).
Clarification of certificate requirements (p4).
Principal Contractor requirements (p5) updated to remove reference to accreditation
March 2014 / Email address updated
May 2014 / Added ‘Evidence of Implementation’ to Checklist
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Work Health and Safety Management Systems and Auditing Guidelines 1
1. Summary 1
Purpose of the Guidelines 1
Better WHS management performance 1
Other changes 1
Scope 1
Definitions 2
2. Application of the Guidelines 3
Contract requirements 3
Acceptance and Certification of WHS Management Systems 4
Legal obligations 4
Principal Contractor requirements 5
Government agency requirements 6
3. What is a WHS Management System? 7
Corporate WHS Management System 7
Project WHS Management Plan 7
WHS Management Plan 7
Safe Work Method Statements 7
4. Documenting a Corporate WHS Management System 8
Documenting the system 8
5. Auditing Project WHS Management Plans 9
Responsibilities of the parties 10
Government agency 10
Audit teams 10
Task and responsibilities for auditing 11
6. WHS Management System elements 14
1 Senior Management Commitment 15
2. WHS Communication and Consultation 16
3. Managing Subcontractors and Consultants 18
4 Design 20
5 Risk Management 22
6 Training 24
7 Inspection, Testing and Servicing 25
8 Incident Management and Corrective Action 28
9 Purchasing, Handling, Storage, Packaging and Delivery 30
10 Client Reporting and Project Performance Measurement 32
11 Internal Reviews 33
12 Documentation and Records 34
7. WHS Management Plans 35
1 Risk Management 36
2 People with health and safety responsibilities 36
3 Communication and consultation 36
4 Managing incidents 36
5 Site Safety Rules 36
6 WHS training 37
7 Safe Work Method Statements 37
APPENDIX A 39
iii
1. Summary
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Purpose of the Guidelines
The Guidelines have been developed to enable NSW government agencies which undertake construction and infrastructure projects to work with the construction industry in a manner that:
· Improves safety outcomes for all construction industry participants;
· Provides a consistent minimum standard across all NSW government construction projects that construction industry participants must meet;
· Facilitates a safety management systems approach by construction contractors;
· Increases productivity and efficiency by improving planning and reducing accidents;
· Supports NSW government agencies in demonstrating they are meeting their obligations under Work Health and Safety laws.
Better WHS management performance
The 4th edition of the Guidelines has been revised to ensure the following requirements of the WHS Act 2011 and WHS Regulations 2011 and Codes of Practice applicable in NSW are included:
· Change of terminology to include the new terms defining Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU), worker and officer
· The principle of ensuring safety so far as is reasonably practicable
· Due diligence obligations of officers
· New duties for designers
· New requirements for the PCBU who commissions construction work to provide information to the designer
· New requirements for PCBUs who commission construction work to provide complete and up to date asbestos registers for contractors undertaking refurbishment and demolition work
· Revised requirements for safe work method statements
· Access to asbestos registers for all workers
Other changes
Since the 4th Edition there has been increased recognition by construction industry clients and contractors of the pivotal importance of safety leadership in building a sustainable safety culture and improved safety performance in the construction industry.
The Guidelines have been revised to reinforce further the importance of safety leadership, including senior management commitment, and the importance of analysing project safety management performance and client reporting.
Scope
These WHS Management Systems and Auditing Guidelines apply to all NSW government construction projects, and provide the framework for applying a systematic approach to the management of WHS.
The NSW Government Construction Agencies have agreed that:
· Their construction contractors will be required to develop and implement WHS Management Systems and plans consistent with these Guidelines
· The contract value threshold which the contractors must have an accredited Corporate WHS Management System is $1m
· These requirements will apply for tenders invited from 1 October 2013 and subsequent contracts
· Implementation will be managed as part of the business activities of the NSW Government Construction Agencies
· The effectiveness of the Guidelines will be reviewed and assessed in 2018
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Definitions
Client
Party inviting and receiving tenders and letting contracts.
Consultant
Professional party that contracts with a client to provide design, management or other professional services related to construction.
Construction
All organised activities concerned with demolition, building, landscaping, maintenance, civil engineering work, process engineering, mining and heavy engineering.
Construction Consultative Committee
The Construction Consultative Committee consists of representatives of key agencies involved in construction procurement and assists the Government in the development of consistent and effective construction procurement practices, and in promoting the application of these practices by agencies.
Contractor
PCBU that contracts with a client to carry out construction and related services.
Government agency
NSW government department, authority, corporation or entity established by an Act of the NSW Parliament. The terms ‘government agencies’, ‘agency’ or ‘agencies’ are used interchangeably in these Guidelines.
Notifiable incident
An incident involving the death of a person, or serious injury or illness of a person or a dangerous incident, (as defined in the WHS Act 2011) that must be notified to WorkCover
NSW Government Construction Agencies
Government agencies responsible for construction procurement projects and represented on the Construction Consultative Committee (CCC).
Person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU)
May be an individual person or an organisation conducting a business or undertaking (as defined in the WHS Act 2011) and include.
· Public companies
· Private companies
· Partners in a partnership
· Sole traders and self employed people
· Government departments and authorities
· Associations, including not-for profits, if they have one or more workers
· Local government councils
· Independent schools
· Cooperatives
· Universities.
Principal contractor
Contractor that contracts with an agency as the client, and is appointed as principal contractor (as defined in WHS Regulation 2011) for nominated work.
Project
An undertaking with a defined beginning and objective by which completion is defined. A project may be completed using one contract or a number of contracts.
Safe design report
A report, prepared by the designer of a structure with unusual or atypical design features, which specifies hazards relating to the design, that, so far as the designer is reasonably aware, create a risk during construction work
Safe design WHS file
One method of recording WHS information for transfer from the designer to the client
Service providers
Includes principal contractors, contractors, subcontractors, consultants and suppliers.
Subcontractor
PCBU that contracts with a contractor as the client to carry out construction and related services.
Supplier
PCBU that contracts with a client to provide a product and/or service.
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2. Application of the Guidelines
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Contract requirements
Contracts valued at $1m or more
For contracts valued at $1m or more, or lower where the agency otherwise determines, contracts will only be awarded to contractors with an acceptable Corporate WHS Management System.
Contracts valued at below $1m
For contracts valued at below $1m million, contracts will only be awarded to contractors that are able to prepare and implement an acceptable WHS Management Plan
Acceptance and Certification of WHS Management Systems
The contractor will develop a WHS Management System that meets the requirements of the NSW Government WHS Management Systems and Auditing Guidelines 5th Edition.
Corporate WHS Management Systems accredited in accordance with the NSW Government Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Guidelines Edition 4 will be deemed to be acceptable for three years from the date of accreditation.
The contractor will be responsible for engaging an independent OHS Auditor certified by a JAS-ANZ personnel certifier such as RABQSA or equivalent, as a Principal, Lead or Business Improvement OHS Auditor, to provide certification that the contractor's WHS Management System complies with the NSW Government WHS Management Systems and Auditing Guidelines 5th Edition.
The OHS Auditor must be independent and not associated with the contractor or any person who developed the Contractor's WHS Management System. An OHS Auditor who is an employee of a registered organisation (under the Fair Work Act or similar) may be engaged to undertake the certification audit.
The OHS Auditor will be required to undertake a desk-top audit of the contractor's WHS Management System and, if it complies,to provide certification, on the OHS Auditor's letterhead, that the Contractor's WHS Management System complies with the NSW Government WHS Management Systems and Auditing Guidelines 5th Edition. The certificate should include full details of the contractor and the OHS Auditor includingbusiness names, ABN numbers and addresses, and the certificate issue date and expiry date of not longer than 3 years.
A copy of the letter of certification, along with a completed and signed copy of the checklist (at Appendix A of these Guidelines) used to verify compliance, should be maintained by the contractor and provided to any NSW government agency, upon request.
Accreditation under the Australian Government Building and Construction OHS Accreditation Scheme (Office of the Federal Safety Commission) is deemed to comply with the requirements of the NSW Government WHS
Management System Guidelines, Edition 5.
Withdrawal of WHS Management System acceptance
Failure by a contractor or its service providers to implement properly a Project WHS Management Plan or WHS Management Plan, or repeated safety breaches, may constitute grounds for withdrawal of acceptance of the contractor’s WHS Management System.
Audits of a contractor’s and its service providers’ implementation of Project WHS Management Plans and WHS Management Plans will be taken into account when an agency determines whether or not the contractor’s WHS Management System continues to be acceptable.
The contractor and its service provider will be given an opportunity to comment on any such audits and the agency must properly consider these comments before withdrawing acceptance of the contractor’s WHS Management System Agencies may (but are not obliged to) withdraw acceptance of a contractor’s WHS Management System without further review if it is withdrawn by another NSW Government Construction Agency.
Legal obligations
These Guidelines, any associated guidelines or any previous guidelines do not in any way relieve service providers of their legal obligations.
Service providers are and remain responsible for meeting their obligations under WHS laws.
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Principal Contractor requirements
Contract category / At tender stage / Before work begins / During contractContracts valued at $1m or more
OR
Where the government agency otherwise determines / Provide evidence of a WHS Management System that meets the requirements of the NSW Government WHS Management Systems and Auditing Guidelines 5th Edition (see sections 3 and 4) and previous satisfactory WHS management performance. / Submit a Project WHS Management Plan. / Implement Project WHS Management Plan
Submit WHS Management Monthly Reports
Report WHS incidents
Contracts valued at below $1m / Provide evidence of previous satisfactory WHS Management performance. / Submit a WHS Management Plan / Implement WHS Management Plan
Submit WHS Management Monthly Reports
Report WHS incidents
Government agency requirements
Contract category / Preparing the tender / During tender review / Post award of contract - before work begins / During contractDesign consultancy / Include safety risks relating to the site where the construction work is to be carried out / Confirm designer is capable of meeting safe design obligations / Not applicable / Consult with the designer about safety.
Require the designer to provide safe design information.
Contract valued at $ 1m or more or lower if determined by the government agency / Include safe design report and asbestos register (if refurbishment / demolition) / Confirm contractor has Acceptable WHS Management System and has demonstrated satisfactory WHS management / Review Project WHS Management Plan / Audit the contractor’s implementation of their Project WHS Management Plan.
Review Contractor’s WHS Management Monthly Reports.
Investigate any reported Notifiable WHS Incident.
Report WHS performance using Contractor Performance Reporting system.
Contract below $1m / Include safe design report and asbestos register (if refurbishment / demolition) / Confirm contractor has demonstrated satisfactory WHS management / Review WHS Management Plan / Review the contractor’s implementation of their WHS Management Plan.
Review Contractor’s WHS Management Monthly Reports.
Investigate any reported Notifiable WHS Incident.
Report WHS performance using Contractor Performance Reporting system.
3. What is a WHS Management System?
This section defines the minimum WHS Management System standard required, at both the corporate and project levels. A WHS Management System contains a corporate system, project WHS Management Plan and safe work method statements.