Annual Report 2009(PDF) - Road Safety Authority

CORPORATE SERVICES
Health and Safety
Managing risk in the area of health and safety is recognised
within the RSA as key to ensuring the safety of all employees,
contractors, customers and members of the public who may
be affected by the authority’s activities. Effective
management of risk within the RSA will help to maximise the
well-being and productivity of all employees and will also
help to prevent people from getting injured. Effective
management of risk also offers positive assurance to the
RSA’s reputation in the eyes of its customers, suppliers, other
stakeholders and the wider community. It will also assist in
encouraging better relationships with contractors and more
effective contracted activities.
The RSA had set as a key goal the certification of the
organisation to OHSAS: 18001:2007 standard by end of 2008.
This goal was achieved in November 2008. Immediately the
goal set for 2009 was to maintain the certification. This was
achieved during 2009 following an audit conducted by NSAI.
The RSA develops and implements its health and safety
policies through a framework of partnership. The Health and
Safety Committee, established from staff representatives and
management, continued its work throughout the year.
During 2009, following a review and advice from the HSA, all
driver testers received training as fire wardens. In addition, in
late 2009, the RSA began a project in conjunction with the
State Claims Agency to review the life and safety system in all
RSA occupied buildings. Also Transport Officers and Vehicle
Inspectors received full training on Signing, Lighting and
Guarding to ensure their safety while performing their duties
on the nation's roads, thereby fulfilling the RSA obligations
under the Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act.
The second phase of the Integrated Management System
started in May 2008, initially concentrating on Customer
Complaints procedures and processes, but work did not
progress substantially on this due to concentration of effort
on certification.
Certification to OHSAS 18001 standard is only one part of an
Integrated Management System that the RSA intends putting
in place. The purpose is to build a sustainable system that
can be certified to the relevant internationally recognised
standards.
The areas can be broadly broken down into:
• Health & Safety Compliance (OHSAS 18001)
• Quality Assurance (ISO 9001)
• Impact on the Environment (ISO 14001)
• Accreditation for bodies operating the certification of
persons ISO 17024 for Driver Testing
Work on advancing each of these area continued throughout
2009.
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