The Importance Work of Workplace Health and Safety at Coles

Question: Discuss About Evaluation Of Workplace Health And Safety At Coles? Answer: Introduction This report aims to analyse the Work Health and Safety practices at Coles Supermarkets Pty Ltd. Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain belonging to the retail industry. The supermarket chain was founded in 1919 and is owned by Wesfarmers (Coles.com.au 2017). There are over 750 stores across Australia (Coles.com.au 2017). Coles needs a healthy workforce as it develops a positive and caring image. A healthy environment can be created for the employees by enhancing self-esteem and improving their morale. Coles is committed to provide a healthy and safe work environment by managing the risks and hazards at the retail stores. The supermarket sells grocery products and services, bakery items, dairy products, liquor and thousands of other products. Coles is governed by legislation and self-insurance requirements and look for opportunities to improve (Coles.com.au 2017). Importance of Workplace Health and Safety at Coles Every workplace is bound by legal regulations to comply with occupational health and safety. Every workplace might cause injuries and accidents resulting in direct and indirect costs. The direct costs comprise of medical expenses such as doctor fees, medication, ambulance and rehabilitation (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). It may also be compensation payments, litigation costs or insurance premium. A few indirect costs are disrupted work schedules, loss of morale, bad publicity, repair and lost productivity. Therefore, Coles aims to improve the employability of workers through design, training, work demand assessment and wellness programmes (Bruening et al. 2015). Evaluation of Workplace Health and Safety at Coles Accidents can be caused at a supermarket for a variety of reasons. Usually, accidents at the supermarkets are caused by negligence of the staff and management. A few examples off supermarket accidents are slipping on wet floors, being struck by objects on shelves, electric shocks from faulty equipments and machines, tripping over packaging, and falling from stairs (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). Coles faces certain obstacles on a regular basis. The food supermarkets and grocery stores are filled with possibilities of fall and slip injuries. If the obstructions are left in the aisles such as poorly shelved items, it may drop overhead causing a fall (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). Further, faulty refrigeration can cause water leakage forming puddles around freezer shelves and displays. A few obstructions are broken jars with its filling oozing, dropped canned goods and fruits and vegetables in the aisle (Anderson and Chun 2014). Coles is legally under the duty to keep its aisles free on a regular basis. They can do things like train the store employees so that the store manager is informed immediately. Further, the workers at Coles can be trained to keep aisles safe by quickly removing fallen items, like fruits or chip bags (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). Further, the supervisors must train the employees to make displays and stocks as a design to prevent injury (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). The employees at Coles must keep all walkways, selling areas, parking lots and checkouts free from hazardous conditions (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). If Coles fails to meet the duty of care, they may be liable to legal compensation both employees and customers who suffer the damage (Akbar and Ahsan 2014). The employees need to be aware of the loose produce that can fall off to the floor of supermarket. The sections at Coles are filled with freezers, tanks of waters and others that may accumulate water. According to Gardiner (2013), Coles was sued by a Sydney woman as she slipped in the supermarket on two pieces of cardboard. It was found that the pieces of cardboard had fallen due to lack of negligence of the staffs. Therefore, the company had to pay an amount of $120,000 as damage for compensation (Gardiner 2013). The lady knocked over rows of dips and cheeses and was unable to perform daily activities due to injury in her back and arm (Gardiner 2013). Another case was reported by a woman aged 50, who fell on a puddle in the Coles supermarket (Peters 2016). She twisted her ankle and was unable to carry out her domestic activities, recreational and social activities. Coles was ordered to pay the woman $280,000 plus litigation fees as a compensation to the woman (Peters 2016). According to Byrne (2017), a former Coles employee won $1 million as he feel off the stool at work. The woman used to work in 2009 and fell off the safety step while she was straightening shelves (Byrne 2017). The woman claimed that she received no training after she joined the supermarket and injured her hip. She had to undergo several medical treatments as she copied the other workers footsteps without training. This implies that Coles does not provide proper training to its employees so that accidents and injuries are least (Byrne 2017). According to Safe Work Australia, workplace health and safety practices are necessary as it ensures safety of the employees (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). In case of accident at Coles, the employees must call their nearest manager and supervisor. The supervisors must witness the context of the scene. The manager must write an accident report. In case of a serious injury, the manager can call an emergency contact number. If the injuries are not serious, first aid may be provided to the employees (Pitt 2016). However, the managers must look for eye witnesses who can testify the depositions. Positive relationships can be built if the employees are properly trained. Safe Work Australia makes the company legally bound to provide occupational health and safety (Bruening et al. 2015). Conclusion Coles Supermarkets Pty Ltd needs workplace health and safety improvement practices. Coles is committed to provide a healthy and safe work environment by managing the risks and hazards at the retail stores. Coles aims to improve the employability of workers through design, training, work demand assessment and wellness programmes. If the obstructions are left in the aisles such as poorly shelved items, it may drop overhead causing a fall. The employees at Coles must keep all walkways, selling areas, parking lots and checkouts free from hazardous conditions. Assessment 4- Project Report WHS Policy Statement Coles Supermarkets Pty Ltd is committed to provide a safe and healthy workplace for its employees, guests and customers. The work environment must actively encourage risk control and continually improve the workplace health and safety (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). Policy and Procedures Work Cover According to the legislation by Work Cover Queensland, the employees must report the injury and illness caused to them due to workplace activities within 30 days of the incident. These employees shall be eligible for household worker insurance and accident insurance policy (Worksafe.qld.gov.au 2017). Manual Handling As stated by Safe Work Australia, every employee must receive induction training to carry out activities in the organization like carrying, packaging, lifting, cleaning and maintenance of things (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). Emergency Procedures Emergency situations such as fire may cause injuries or fatalities at the workplace. Coles must ensure that the evacuation alarm is set so that the employees can exit using the emergency exit door. Training must be provided so that the employees can help customers evacuate the building (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). Fire Safety Coles must achieve the highest level of safety to prevent fire accidents. All inflammables must be prohibited inside the building. In case of fire, the employees must be trained to raise the alarm and alert the people to escape (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). OHS/ WHS Representative Functions 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 (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). Smoking Policy The employees and visitors must be prohibited to smoke any products like cigarette, tobacco, pipes and others inside the premises (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). Sexual Harassment The employees must not pass any sexual comments, jokes or remarks. Any acts that are considered attempts to molestation and rape are strictly not entertained. Any verbal or physical assault, request for sexual favours are strictly prohibited (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). Risk Management All the employees must be trained to identify the risks. Further, they must assess the risks so that they can be categorized. The risks shall be controlled and must be reviewed so that the risks are minimized or eliminated (Safeworkaustralia.gov.au 2017). Induction Feedback Form Answer 1 The OHS/ WHS system was effective for the employees at Coles. The employees took the training more seriously as they asked to demonstrate the learning. The training activity was made fun by using humour. There was high participation and engagement by the employees in the training session. However, the return on investment needs more improvement as the financial gains are not high (Ford 2014). Answer 2 If the induction session was run by me, I would talk to the new hires about their experience. I shall start the session on time and finish it timely. Feedback shall help in making the induction better in future. Also, the course materials would have been provided by me so that the employees could refer to it and apply practically (Dhar 2015). 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. 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