Evaluation of WHS and Suggested Improvement
Discuss about the Businesses and Influential Organizations.
The aim of this report is to identify and research the Work Health and Safety practices for Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd. It is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers (Coles.com.au 2017). The organization was founded in 1914 and currently it handles over 100,000 employees (Coles.com.au 2017). The supermarket chain operates in over 776 stores across Australia (Coles.com.au 2017). The company is committed to deliver quality products and services and move towards a sustainable future. The company intends to take care of its employees (Coles.com.au 2017).
Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) or Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is a discipline related to protection of health and safety of the workers from work activities. They are important to prevent injury and illness at the workplace. Workplace safety is important to create productive work environments. The well-being of both employers and employees can be enhanced. There have been incidents of trip, fall or slips reported in the supermarkets where the employees make a personal injury compensation claim (Bruening et al. 2015). Therefore, it is the duty of supermarket retailers to create an environment that is safe for the workers. Risk cannot be eliminated completely, however circumstances of injury can be minimized to keep the employees safe. Regular inspections and risk assessment is necessary to create a healthy and safe atmosphere (Bruening et al. 2015).
The grocery stores hold a number of potential hazards to the customers and employees. A few obstacles must be overcome on a daily basis. Obstruction hazards can cause customers and employees to trip. The grocery stores must ensure that the aisles and walkways are clear to prevent tripping hazards. It is noted that a few carts obstruct the walkways that can cause hazards to the customers and employees (Pitt 2016). The stocking materials and pallets must be kept off the grocery store to avoid tripping hazards during the working hours. The other obstacles involve the products that fall off the shelves, loose floor mats or exposed electrical cords. It is the responsibility of the management to take immediate actions and prevent injury. According to McCauley (2016), Coles was ordered to pay a customer a compensation for $284,000 as she tripped and injured her ankle. The customer was unable to do her household activities and had to undergo surgery and physiotherapy. However, Coles argued that the trip happened due to her lack of care leading to the accident. Coles had to pay the amount for covering her damage, both economic and non-economic loss, lost earnings, medical treatment and cost of hiring servants (McCauley 2016).
Workplace Safety Importance
Another hazard that may be caused are slipping hazards that may be caused by grocery store floors. Coles may have incidents such as leaky pipes in the refrigerators that may cause potential slipping hazard. Spilled products such as liquids, detergent and other liquids may cause the employees to trip and hurt themselves. The staff at Coles must always wear slip-resistant shoes and maintain a daily cleaning schedule so that the corrections can be made in the event of spill. A hazard was caused where a woman, Sangeeta Guru slipped on a grape in Coles leading to claim of $90,000 (Johnston 2016). Another customer, Rakesh Dhody slipped on a whole banana resulting in taking the company and cleaners to the court. He asked for $50,000 as a compensation for his stress, suffering and pain (Johnston 2016).
Another hazard is bacterial hazard that needs proper monitoring. The employees at Coles must develop a habit of washing hands regularly and wearing clean uniform to prevent the spread of bacteria. The equipments such as knives, cutting boards and other utensils need to be maintained (Pitt 2016). Coles must supply sanitizing stations for constant cleanliness and sanitation purposes. According to Cheer (2016), the investigation by Seven News stated that the trolleys at Coles supermarkets were detected for faecal coliforms. Bugs were found on surfaces that reveal poor sanitation practices. Therefore, the employees as well as customers are not protected against the risks. Brown and Killalea (2016) argue that salmonella was spread in Australia due to the bacteria present in fruits and vegetables. Coles was reported to have vegetables that lead to spread of salmonella.
Mechanical hazards can occur from equipment such as forklifts and deli slicers. The supermarket employees must be trained and practice safe use of equipment. Also, they must wear personal protective equipment. According to Poulsen (2016), an electric contractor aged 19 was rushed to the hospital after suffering from an electric shock. The incident occurred when an electrical contractor was working on a refrigeration unit, but received shock in the afternoon. He was immediately moved to the hospital to ensure if he was alright.
Therefore, Coles faces hazards and risks from mechanical equipments, slipping, tripping and bacterial infection at Coles supermarket. This indicates that Occupational Health and Safety is necessary at the supermarket. According to Safe Work Australia, workplace health and safety practices are necessary as it ensures safety of the employees (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). With the safety of employees, positive relationship can be built (Pitt 2016). Therefore, employees need proper training. Training shall help them in putting things in place so that nobody is hurt from trips and falls. It is a legal requirement by Safe Work Australia to provide training in occupational health and safety (Bruening et al. 2015). Hazard risk assessments can be done for particular tasks such as manual handling, fire safety and others (Pitt 2016).
Responsibilities of Coles Supermarkets Pty Ltd
Conclusively, workplace safety is important to create productive work environments. The grocery stores must ensure that the aisles and walkways are clear to prevent tripping hazards. The staff at Coles must always wear slip-resistant shoes and maintain a daily cleaning schedule so that the corrections can be made in the event of spill. Coles must supply sanitizing stations for constant cleanliness and sanitation purposes. It is a legal requirement by Safe Work Australia to provide training in occupational health and safety.
Coles Supermarkets Pty Ltd. is committed to ensure a safe and healthy workplace for its employees by minimizing or eliminating the risk of injury to people. Coles is committed to providing a suitable and safe environment, training and instruction to ensure safety and competence (Pitt 2016).
An employee must report injury or illness with their supervisor within 30 days and lodge a Work Cover claim. According to Work Cover Queensland, the employees shall be eligible for accident insurance policy and household worker insurance (Worksafe.qld.gov.au 2017).
According to Safe Work Australia, the employees must receive training, instruction and information to carry out manual handling task such as lifting, pushing, holding, throwing, carrying, packing, assembling, cleaning and operating machinery (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017).
According to the Emergency Control Organization (ECO), safety of the building at Coles must be ensured. An evacuation alarm system shall be set up with repeated beeps in case of an emergency. Upon hearing the evacuation tone or direction of the supervisor, the employees must quickly proceed to the emergency exit door in the department. The lift must not be used to evacuate the building and only stairs must be used.
As a responsible management, Coles must achieve the highest level of fire safety. Fore risk assessments must be reviewed and undertaken regularly. The fire evacuation procedure must be practiced at least 5 times a year. Training shall be provided to any staff and induction shall be given how to raise the alarm and escape through the given routes.
According to Occupational Health and Safety, a safe work environment must be created by designing and installing equipments. The inspectors of health and safety must be updated at regular intervals and instruct the employees.
For the purposes of smoking policy, all the employees are restrained from smoking all tobacco and containing products that are not limited to cigars, cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, pipes and others.
According to the Human Rights Department, unwelcome sexual advances or sexual comments, remarks, comments about sexual experience are prohibited. Physical misconduct of a sexual nature such as molestation or rape, request for sexual favours, and discriminatory displays are strictly prohibited (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017).
This policy is established to identify, assess, and control the risks at Coles. The Board members, employees and management members must review the measures to ensure that the risks are minimized or eliminated.
The OHS/ WHS induction session for new employees went well as they enjoyed the training. The employees took the training more seriously as they asked to demonstrate the learning. However, the return on investment needs more improvement as the financial gains are not high.
If the induction session was run by me, I would improve the process by talking about the experiences of the new hires. Feedback shall help in making the induction better in future.
References
Brown, V. and Killalea, D., 2016. Lettuce recall at Coles, Woolworths: Why we should avoid pre-packaged greens. [online] NewsComAu. Available at: <https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/lettuce-recall-at-coles-woolworths-why-we-should-avoid-prepackaged-greens/news-story/e4dc3dbb1b89efe2da098b9576f05e7c> [Accessed 27 Apr. 2017].
Bruening, R., Strazza, K., Nocera, M., Peek-Asa, C. and Casteel, C., 2015. How to engage small retail businesses in workplace violence prevention: Perspectives from small businesses and influential organizations. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 58(6), pp.668-678.
Cheer, L., 2016. Tests reveal faecal bacteria on trolleys and baskets at Coles and Aldi. [online] Mail Online. Available at: <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3696827/Tests-reveal-faecal-bacteria-trolleys-baskets-Coles-Aldi.html> [Accessed 27 Apr. 2017].
Coles.com.au, 2017. [online] Available at: <https://www.coles.com.au/about-coles> [Accessed 27 Apr. 2017].
Johnston, C., 2016. It’s all gone bananas for Coles – another injured shopper seeks huge payout. [online] The Age. Available at: <https://www.theage.com.au/victoria/its-all-gone-bananas-for-coles–another-injured-shopper-seeks-huge-payout-20161214-gtbco3.html> [Accessed 27 Apr. 2017].
McCauley, D., 2016. After tendering CCTV footage with ‘a crucial 27 seconds’ missing, Coles has been ordered to cough up a quarter of a million.. [online] NewsComAu. Available at: <https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/coles-ordered-to-pay-customer-284000-after-she-slipped-and-injured-her-ankle/news-story/71409ab5480ad8271c4464a654468749> [Accessed 27 Apr. 2017].
Pitt, M., 2016. Health and safety and health and wellbeing. Journal of Retail Management & Leisure Property, 7(4), pp.263-264.
Poulsen, J., 2016. Man suffers electric shock at Coles. [online] Themercury.com.au. Available at: <https://www.themercury.com.au/news/national/nineteenyearold-rushed-to-hospital-after-suffering-electric-shock-at-coles-palmerston/news-story/30cb8321017aed6c6ab3d9638cb9a0f3> [Accessed 27 Apr. 2017].
Safeworkaustralia.gov.au, 2017. Home. [online] Safe Work Australia. Available at: <https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/> [Accessed 27 Apr. 2017].
Worksafe.qld.gov.au, 2017. Apply for a WorkCover policy online. [online] WorkSafe Queensland. Available at: <https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/insurance/apply-for-workcover-policy-online> [Accessed 27 Apr. 2017].
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