Workplace health and safety laws place responsibility for health and safety, and risk management, on the people in charge of the workplace.
To provide a safe work environment for everyone, the employer should ensure a high standard of health and safety policies, procedures and culture to support their workplace. Research shows that managing health and safety at work effectively is good business practice.
Just some of the benefits of robust health and safety practices include:
- Increased productivity when following safe operating procedures
- Reduced insurance premiums
- Fewer absences for sickness
- Better employee retention and morale
- Reduced costs of training replacement employees
A large number of businesses opt to establish a safety and health committee, this can be an integral way to facilitate consultation and cooperation between employers, management and workers in developing and implementing safety and health measures and monitoring programs.
The benefit of safety and health committees is that they bring management and worker representatives together in a planned, structured and focused way, providing a means for developing policies and procedures and performing other safety-related functions such as analysing hazard/incident and audit reports.
Once a safety and health committee is established and worker representatives have been elected then they must complete Safety & Health Representative (SHREP) Training. A SHREP has a key role to play in representing other employees and raising safety and health matters at the safety and health committee and therefore should be familiar with the legislative functions of the committee.
SHREPs play a vital role in promoting safe practices in the workplace. When trained, SHREPs can understand and carry out their tasks efficiently. The OSH Act requires elected SHREPs to attend a course or training within 12 months upon election.
After completing the course, the SHREP participants can:
- Demonstrate knowledge of legislation concerning their role as a Safe and Health Representative (or the company’s employee)
- Perform workplace investigations and inspections whenever necessary
- Disseminate information regarding health and safety matters
- Represent workers when concerns on safety and health arise
- Find and identify known and unknown hazards for better application of risk management processes
- Resolve issues or conflicts and create Provisional Improvement Notices
Safety and Health Representatives participants will gain in-depth knowledge and skills to operate as an effective SHREP.
The Aurenda Difference
Aurenda specialises in helping companies reduce the cost of injuries in the workplace. Our years of experience means we know how to proactively approach safety, injury management and training to achieve efficient and effective outcomes. These outcomes have assisted us to build strong working relationships with many organisations.
The objective of our comprehensive training is to reduce costs allocated to workers’ compensation. With proper training in place, it is easier for businesses to take care of these costs, along with the other financial hurdles that come with sick leave, staff replacement, and other expenses.
Aurenda is an accredited safety and health representative training provider recognised by WorkSafe WA (National Provider Number 52089). Aurenda training courses comply with the Western Australian Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.
We believe after attending our training the SHREP’s should be confident and competent, especially when communicating with other workers. Everyone in the workplace should understand the risks and know the proper process to follow if an injury or incident occurs. It is why we are committed to delivering high standards of training to get high-quality results.
What the Training Participants Say About Aurenda
We’re proud to announce that 100% of Aurenda Safety & Health Representative training participants in 2020 applauded our training services and solutions. They also stated that they would recommend our training course for other SHREPs.
One of our recent participants, James, who works in the transport industry, commented on how easy the training sessions were due to clear explanations.
In all our training sessions, we provide useful information that the participants can apply to their roles as Safety and Health Representatives.
One trainee, Aimee who works in Education, said that one of the best parts of the training process was understanding the Occupational Health and Safety legislation. It’s critical to know the law surrounding health and safety to implement the given guidelines in the workplace correctly.
Other trainees noted the following benefits they gained through the Aurenda 2020 training:
- Acquiring better skills, more self-confidence, and improved knowledge
- Learning to evaluate hazards and perform risk assessments with the team
- Understanding of the full extent of their roles and responsibilities
- Developing knowledge of workplace consultation when it comes to risks, safety, and health.
SHREPs have many responsibilities, including accompanying an inspector when the workplace is being inspected. If an employee requests assistance, SHREPs are entitled to attend interviews/meetings regarding Occupational Health and Safety matters, to support that employee.
At the same time, these SHREP’s consult with employers on intended changes to the workplace or the plant or substances used at the workplace where those changes may reasonably be expected to affect the safety or health of employees. There is no better place to undertake training than with WA’s most reputable training service provider, Aurenda.
Aurenda in 2021
Aurenda is a registered training organisation that truly offers a refreshing take on workforce development and training solutions. Our trainers are professional, highly trained, experienced, and ready to share their skills and knowledge with our clients.
As part of all our SHREP courses, Aurenda enables participants to put what they have learned into practice through a site visit. Through this activity, newly elected representatives can apply the acquired skills not just in the classroom but in a live workplace.
2021 is here, to view the complete schedule and train with Aurenda Training. Book online to start or call us on (08) 6157 9300 today.
