Reviews are important to assess how well your business is doing at preventing workplace injuries. They determine the value of your health and safety activities, and provide a basis for the next stages of the WorkSafe cycle – planning, commitment and communication.
What you can do
Carry out a review at least once a year. Your review could include:
- auditing injury prevention systems and practices
- monitoring hazard (particularly significant hazard) improvement actions and controls
- analysing near-miss events, injuries and injury factors.
How to do it
How you complete your review will depend on your workplace and what data is available. However, these processes are commonly included:
- Worker consultation – reviews are most effective when they involve workers. Workers can identify safety issues and hazards, and provide feedback on the effectiveness of current health and safety systems and practices. Get worker feedback from:
- focus groups or meetings
- surveys
- staff meetings.
- Audit – part of the review process is likely to include an audit against a checklist, audit tool or hazard controls.
- Analyse data – if you do not regularly analyse injury and near-hit data you will need to do so as part of the review.
Your first review
The main purpose of your first review is to gather material to help develop an improvement plan. Repeat the process at least once a year. In later reviews, you should also measure progress against activities and targets set out in your improvement plan.
Health and safety systems and practices
Reviewing your systems and practices will help you to systematically identify and fill the gaps in your workplace health and safety.
What to review
You must review the extent to which systems in the WorkSafe cycle are in place and effective.
Where to get data
- Documentation of health and safety systems – eg health and safety manual
- Worker views on the effectiveness of systems and practices
- Evidence that these systems are in place and working
- Health and safety committee or forum meeting records
- Minutes of team and management meetings where health and safety is an agenda item
- Legislation and standards, and your performance against them
Tools available
Download our ACC WorkSafe Cycle review checklist in one of the formats below:
For more information, see Workplace Safety Management Practices.
Last updated: 20April2009