the wsh advocate programme - Workplace Safety and Health Council

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4GET YOUR SENIORMANAGEMENTON BOARD.IDENTIFY THE STRUCTUREOF THE PROGRAMMEMOST SUITABLE FORORGANISATION.IDENTIFY POTENTIALWSH ADVOCATES INTHE COMPANY.IDENTIFY AND PLAN FORSUITABLE TRAINING FOREACH WSH ADVOCATE.• Senior management needsto understand their role inthe Programme, providethe necessary support andempower the WSH Advocatesto promote safety and healthin the organisation.They would first have toendorse the submission form,indicating their intention toimplement the Programme intheir company, before declaringthat workers have been identifiedas WSH Advocates.• This Programme can beimplemented formally or informally,depending on the staff strength,nature of business, and extent ofparticipation and engagement byeach Advocate.For instance, if your companyhas more than 200 employees, aformal structure can be adopted.WSH Advocates can be officiallyappointed in different departmentsor business units. These identifiedemployees will then have specificroles and responsibilities in theirWSH Advocate committee.For a smaller organisationwith less than 200 employees,an informal structure may beadequate. These WSH Advocateswill operate on an ad-hoc basis.• It is recommended that youidentify a WSH Advocate for eachlevel of the organisation as a start(senior management, middlemanagement and workers level).A potential WSH Advocate should:• be passionate aboutpromoting WSH;• show strong interest in WSHtopics and activities;• be a role model in WSHinitiatives and safe behaviours;• have good rapport withfellow colleagues; and• be able to influencecolleagues positively.• There is no compulsory trainingrequired for this Programme.The management should assessthe competencies of their WSHAdvocates and decide what isbest for them.Typical WSH trainings includebut are not limited to: hazardidentification, risk assessment andrisk management, safety coaching,communication, and so on.• If there are existing safetyprofessionals in the company(e.g., WSH Officer), they can takethe lead to share basic WSHknowledge with their non WSHtrainedWSH Advocates.12 A Guide to the WSH Advocate Programme13