Purchasing guidelines

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Introduction

One way to reduce the risk of injury is to ensure good design of any plant, equipment, or premises being used.  It is therefore essential that when purchasing (or leasing) new plant, equipment or premises that management consider the health and safety aspects in consultation with the staff involved.  Trial of plant and equipment by staff before purchase will allow for the identification of hazards and the develop of safe work procedures prior to introduction.

Purchasing procedures

A sample purchasing procedures and checklist for the assessment of new purchases are therefore attached..

Also attached are puchasing guidelines for new premises as well as sample vehicle selection guidelines and a vehicle purchase OHS needs assessment form. 

Home design considerations

In the publication "Desiging home environments for people with cognitive impairment who display aggressive or self-injurious behaviour" published in the Home Modification Information Clearinghouse the following design variables were identified as important in reducing risk:

  1. Reduction of known stressors
  2. Keep the environment free of complexity
  3. Balance between over and under stimulation
  4. Facilitate use of preventive and reactive support strategies
  5. Must be flexible and afford opportunities for choice and control
  6. Physically safe
  7. Features with a history of being damaged need to be made durable or removed
  8. Accommodate staff/family support
  9. Home-like design need to blend in with the community

Other physical design issues include the design of bathrooms and entrances in particular design features in bathrooms include:

  • access under vanities and lever type taps, 
  • shower alcoves with no lips or hobs, so as to allow safe and easy access, the minimum recommended size is 1160mm x 1000mm.
  • access to the shower should be at least 800mm wide to allow for the passage of a chair, it should be fitted with a load bearing, adjustable showerhead to allow for easy control, with at least one rail opposite the position of any current or future shower chairs, 900mm off the ground.
  • The rails should be 30-40mm in diameter with a clearance of 50-60mm from the wall to allow for fingers and knuckles, and should be secured to withstand a force of 1100N in any position and direction, a tiled wall instead of shower screen provides more support if needed. 
  • Make sure fittings such as shower hose, towel rails etc are load bearing, as they are  bound to be used.   
  • The entire floor of the bathroom should be sloped towards the shower drain to ensure  there is no need for a lip into the shower. Tiles should be non-slip or treated with a nonslip coating.

Source: Bathroom Design and Tips by MS Australia.

More information on shower and bathroom design can be obtained from the Independent Living Centre in your state or from an Occupational Therapist exerienced in home modifications.

 

 

OHS Consultancy Services

You may also need to purchase OHS Consultant services whether it is to conduct an OHS Audit or to deliver some OHS training.  Consultants cover a wide field and it is important to match the cosultant's skills with your business needs and ethos.  You may need to interview the consultant or contact referees to establish this.

You will need to identify the type of consultant who has the knowledge, skills and expertise to deal with your specific needs.  This requires developing a contract brief, which will then help you assess the consultant's suitability against your specified requirements.  Areas to consider include:

  • Education - degrees or diplomas, continuing education activities to keep updated on developments and legislative changes.
  • Experience - how long has the consultant been providing a consultancy service, what experience has the consultant had with working in the disablity sector.  Ask for references from the sector, sample of work completed etc.
  • Professional associations - ask about membership of suitable associations such as Safety Institute of Australia, Ergonomics Society of Australia.
  • Areas of speciality - does the consultant specialise in the area that you require assistance e.g. manual handling training, policy writing, OHS auditing
  • Traiing style - if conducting OHS training you need to ensure that the consultant has relevant training qualifications and accreditation if required as well as how the training will be delivered (including use of visaul material, case studies, practical exercises etc) and assessed.  If including supported employees in the training program you need to ensure the trainer has experience tailoring the delivery style to suit. 
  • Consultant status - is the consultant in sole practice or a member of a group practice?  How many staff are involved and what are their qualifications.  Who will be working on your job?
  • Business practice - what is the fee structure?  Does the fee structure include travel, subsistence, report production and computer time?  What level of professional indemnity and workers compensation insurance is held - obtain proof.  When can the consultant begin and complete the work?

When you engage a consultant you invest time and money, so it is important that you define and clearly communicate what you want and how and when you want it.  This should be documented in the contract.  The contract should also detail performance monitoring and evaluation criteria, resources to be provided by either party, methods of reporting including progress reports if required, budget, timeframes and any special considerations such as the level and type of consultation the consultant is required to make with staff within your organisation.