Occupational Health and Safety Policy

Purpose. This policy sets out how CAQA ClearFlow Water protects the health and safety of its workers, contractors and the public across treatment plants, networks, storages and depots.

1.Commitment

CAQA ClearFlow Water will provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to health so far as is reasonably practicable, and will comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Victoria), its regulations and the relevant compliance codes. The business will consult workers on safety matters and will provide the training, equipment and supervision needed to work safely.

2.High risk work

Confined space entry, excavation and trenching, work near live traffic, chemical handling, working at height on reservoirs and towers, working on or near water and electrical isolation are high risk activities in this business. Each must be controlled through the permit to work system and the relevant procedure. No worker will enter a confined space, an excavation deeper than 1.5 metres or a live traffic zone without a current permit and the controls it specifies.

• Confined space: entry permit, gas test, standby person, rescue plan
• Excavation: utility location, shoring or benching, permit
• Traffic: traffic management plan and accredited controllers
• Chemicals: safety data sheet, personal protective equipment, spill kit
• Isolation: lock and tag by the authorised person

3.Responsibilities

The Managing Director is accountable for health and safety. Department managers must implement this policy, keep risk assessments current and act on hazards. Crew leaders and shift operators must hold pre-start briefings, check permits and stop work that is unsafe. Every worker must follow procedures, wear the personal protective equipment specified, report hazards and incidents on the day they occur and look out for their workmates.

4.Incident reporting

Every injury, near miss, hazard, chemical release, environmental spill and vehicle incident must be reported on the Incident Report Form and entered in the WHS and Environmental Incident Register on the day. Notifiable incidents must be reported to the safety regulator by the Managing Director or delegate immediately and the site preserved. Investigations will focus on causes and controls.

5.Fitness for work

Workers must present fit for work and must not be affected by alcohol or drugs. On-call workers must manage fatigue in line with the standby roster rules and must tell the control centre if they are not fit to respond. Heat and cold stress controls apply to field work.

6.Training

Workers will hold current competencies for the high risk work they perform, recorded in the training matrix, including confined space entry, gas detection, traffic control, chemical handling, first aid and dam safety surveillance where relevant. Contractors must hold equivalent competencies before starting work.

7.Review

This policy will be reviewed annually, after any notifiable incident and whenever legislation or operations change materially.