Safety Matters - Rail, Tram and Bus Union of NSW

How Does Your Company Rate
on Health and Safety?
INTRODUCTION
Safety Matters A Guide for Workplace OHS Representatives
Rail, tram and bus workplaces cannot ignore safety and environmental issues.
Companies are faced with increasingly stringent legislative controls and rising
compensation, insurance premiums, energy and raw materials costs. Safe,
efficient and effective use of equipment, space, raw materials and improved and
more efficient process operations are vital if companies are to remain competitive.
Pressure is also being exerted by suppliers and customers for rail, tram and bus
operators to reduce their environmental impact. Consumers and the public not
only expect a range of high quality transport services, they expect them to be
safe, reliable, free of unnecessary risks, and delivered and managed in ways that
are sensitive to the environment. Similarly, increasingly the community expects
transport operators to minimise their impact on the local environment. All of
these factors mean that occupational, health, safety and environmental issues
should be an essential part of your company’s business plan and operations.
In the Rail sector alone in New South Wales over the past three years
there have been an average of 165 collisions per year (or more than 40
per quarter). Alarmingly, in the thirty (30) months between Jan 2001 and
August 2003, there were 137 (average of 4.5 deaths per month) fatalities
on the railways in NSW
Source: NSW Transport Safety and Rail Regulator, 2003
Company OHS Performance Overview
The following general checklist is provided to allow OHS representatives to
focus generally on how their company or workplace performs on OHS, and
to identify areas for improvement. The specific and detailed resources and
checklists in this Guide can then be used to build on this initial assessment.
Purpose and Structure
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RAIL
TRAM AND BUS
U N
I O N