OHS Management System

What is an OHSMS?

An OHSMS is a set of plans, actions and procedures to systematically manage health and safety in the workplace. It is actively endorsed by a committed employer to:

• provide a safe and healthy workplace and prevent/reduce the incidence of illness and injury to employees, visitors and contractors
• identify workplace hazards and assess and control risks
• gain involvement of managers, supervisors and employees and their representatives in health and safety matters
• provide information and training for employees at all levels so they can work safely
• measure and continuously improve the OHS management system

The DEECD OHSMS

Health and safety is an issue that affects everyone in DEECD workplaces including employees, students, parents, contractors and visitors. Effective safety management will help DEECD improve employee wellbeing, workplace climate and operations.

The DEECD OHS management system was developed to clarify management of OHS and improve workplace safety for DEECD schools and other Workplaces.  The standardised and practical nature of the DEECD OHS management system makes it easy to implement and maintain. This system will help drive safety improvement across the Department while allowing Principals and Managers to focus on the Department’s core business of improving education outcomes.

 

Policy and Planning	Consultation and Communication
OHS Risk Management	Contractor Management
Hazard Management	Purchasing
First Aid and Infection Control	Induction and Training
Document Management	Evaluation

 

Implementing the OHSMS

In the initial implementation of your workplace OHSMS you will only be required to address certain components of the DEECD OHSMS elements. The complexity of the implementation will depend on the size of your school or workplace. As an example, a large secondary school will have a more complex workplace risk profile than a small primary school due to the operations and activities that are undertaken in Secondary schools (e.g. Technology Studies, Chemistry/Biology etc). Put simply, a large secondary school would have significantly more risks to identify and control than a small primary school and as such would require a greater time and resource commitment during the initial implementation. 

The Employee Health Unit and Marsh, DEECD's OHS Advisory Service Provider have developed an OHSMS Implementation Guide for use by schools and other DEECD workplaces. The guide provides a practical, step by step approach to the implementation of the OHSMS in DEECD workplaces. For more information and advice about implementing the OHSMS see the OHSMS Implementation Guide (PDF - 4.4Mb).