The Importance of Health and Safety Documentation

By Scott Pinfold-Woodcock

Health and safety documents help everybody to understand how your workplace should run. As well as providing information, they can explain who is responsible for doing what, when and why and how to avoid accidents and exposure to health and safety risks.

Small business operators often ask, “what health and safety documents do I need to be compliant with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015?”

In short, there is no hard and fast solution for any business regardless of size or industry it operates in. However, we know the importance of documentation. Whether it’s online or on paper.

It’s often best to consider what documentation you might need in an accident investigation (either run

internally, or by WorkSafe NZ) to prove your due diligence to meet the requirements of the Act.

Here’s a list of basic documentation you should hold

• Employee Records

  • Basic information about each employee in your business, including employment agreements, information about any health issues, contact details, drivers licence information (as appropriate), etc.

• Induction Records

  • Proof of a documented induction process.

  • Records of proof that all employees have gone through the induction.

• Training and competency records

  • Proof of which employees have done what training, to what competency, when its due to expire, etc.

• Training or safe operating procedures

  • Documentation that is used in training employees in the safe use of equipment, machinery, chemicals, and tasks.

• PPE records

  • Proof of what PPE has been provided to which employees, when, what type, and when this needs to be reviewed.

  • Proof that the employee understands when and how the PPE should be used.

• Asset registers

  • A register of what the business owns.

  • Repairs and maintenance records for those assets.

  • Compliance records for assets as appropriate, e.g. WOF records for all vehicles, registration records for all vehicles, regular equipment checks, test and tag information for electrical equipment, etc

  • Anything that can prove that your assets are fit for purpose and are well maintained.

• Hazard registers and records

  • Proof to show that you and your employees have worked together to identify all hazards/risks in your business and assessed the level of risk.

  • Records to show the method used to assess the level of risk, e.g. a risk matrix or similar method.

• Hazard review records

  • Proof that you continue to review all hazards/risks in your business, and that you are working on ways to continue to minimise the risk involved, e.g. pre and post testing of the effectiveness of the hazard controls.

• Corrective and preventative action records

  • Proof that you have implemented changes to reduce risk of hazards reoccurring, and that you are reviewing incidents and accidents in your business as well.

• Incident, accident and near miss records

  • A documented process that sets out for all personnel the method for reporting any incidents.

  • The induction record to show that your employees are aware of the reporting process.

  • Documentation for all incidents/accidents within your business, whether big or small.

  • (There is no requirement under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 to investigate accidents or incidents, but it is recommended that a business have a procedure and supporting documentation to do this. This will show any accident investigator that you are committed to the continuous improvement of your health and safety systems.)

• Notifiable accident registers and records

  • Proof that the business has a method for the reporting of any notifiable events and that this responsibility is delegated to a senior manager or the PCBU.

• Health and safety meeting records

  • Although these are not required by law, it would be foolhardy to not keep good records. They are a good way of proving that employees have been notified about any workplace or task related hazards, incidents, etc, and involved in the discussion.

• Contractor management records

  • With contractor pre-qualification in place in New Zealand, it is advised to have effective contractor management processes in place, and to maintain all records of your communication and interaction with these people.

• Chemical management records

  • All businesses must have a spreadsheet/inventory about what chemicals are used in their business, how much is stored within their business, etc.

• Employee involvement records

  • This is a key part of the Act, and as a PCBU, you are required to involve your employees in all aspects of your health and safety plans and management. This engagement will form part of your health and safety meeting records.

• Senior management records

  • PCBU and officers meeting records

Everyone in your workplace needs to know what is in the documents that affect them. Tell workers about the type of documents used in your workplace and show them examples. Explain what each part of a document is saying.

Review and revise your documents regularly to make sure that information is clear and up to date.