Page 121 - Australasian Paint & Panel magazine Nov-Dec 2021

SAFETY AWARD
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BEST PRACTICE AWARDS
PAINT&PANEL NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021 WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.A
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NORTHSHORE BMW
THIS NEW AWARD IS TO RECOGNISE BUSINESSES WHO PUT THEIR TEAM’S SAFETY FRONT AND CENTRE OF EVERYTHING THEY DO.
ly worked for over 30 years as a safety consultant in both government and pri- vate industry. Their safety system, includ- ing policies and procedures can be adapt- ed to any panel shop although a range of factors would need to be considered fol- lowing a site inspection and risk assess- ment which is a critical part of developing the framework.
“Collision repair is a high risk industry,” says Tammy, “you have to find the money if a staff member or a customer gets in- jured; so it is a small investment first up to be proactive rather than reactive.”
By setting up a safety board at each work- shop, staff are fully involved in forming the policies and procedures used at each shop. To begin the process Tammy set up a Risk Register. Every piece of equipment, every job task is listed on the register, then a risk category is assigned to each item.
Strategies are then designed for the use of each bit of equipment or in the carrying out of each task that minimises or pre- vents injuries to either staff or customers. Over time they have developed over 60 safe work procedures for the in-house equipment including Covid sanitation processes.
Triple accounting is used whereby safe work practices, policies and procedures are written for staff, customers and the environment. All personal protective equipment is listed and Tammy’s register has flags that pop up when a PPE’s use- by date has been reached.
For the staff there are incentives to fol- low the proper work practices and an open door policy if anyone has a sugges- tion to make things better. “Staff appre- ciate management taking their health and welfare seriously,” says Tammy.
EEPING STAFF SAFE HAS
never been more important, and the pandemic has shone brighter light on workplace WHS. When we are judging for these awards if we see breaches of WHS it’s an instant disqualification. We are delighted that we now have an award, which was suggested and sponsored by
Glasurit, that recognises businesses which go the extra mile to keep their teams safe. Our inaugural winner is an excellent example of how to set up any shop to make it a place where your team want to work.
Northshore BMW and Macarthur Pres- tige have a huge advantage having Tam- my O’Donnell on the team. She previous-
Glenn and Tammy O’Donnell at the Northshore BMW shop.
SPONSORED BY