Occupational Health and Safety Policy

Purpose. This policy sets out how CAQA Loom and Last protects the health and safety of workers, contractors and visitors at the Brunswick, Preston and Surry Hills sites.

1.Purpose and scope

CAQA Loom and Last will provide a working environment that is safe and without risks to health so far as is reasonably practicable. This policy applies to all workers, labour hire staff, apprentices, students on placement, contractors and visitors at every site. It covers the cutting room, sewing floor, pressing area, print and dye studio, footwear workshop and warehouse.

2.Commitment

The business will comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Victoria) and its regulations, relevant compliance codes and Australian Standards for machinery guarding. Management will provide the resources, supervision, training and equipment needed to eliminate or minimise risks. Health and safety performance will be reviewed at the monthly quality and safety meeting and reported to the General Manager.

• Machine guards must remain fitted and functional at all times
• Needles, blades and sharps must be controlled under the needle control program
• Chemicals must be stored, handled and disposed of according to the safety data sheet
• Manual handling of rolls, hides and cartons must use the trolleys and lifters provided

3.Responsibilities

The General Manager holds overall responsibility for health and safety. Department leads must implement this policy in their areas, complete risk assessments for new equipment and processes, and act on hazards reported to them. Workers must follow safe work procedures, use personal protective equipment provided, report hazards and incidents without delay, and not interfere with safety equipment. The Quality and WHS Coordinator will maintain the incident register, chemical register and training matrix.

4.Consultation

Workers will be consulted on matters that affect their health and safety through the elected health and safety representatives, monthly toolbox talks and the quality and safety meeting. Changes to machinery, chemicals, layouts or work methods must be discussed with affected workers before they are introduced. Minutes of consultation will be kept for two years.

5.Hazard and incident reporting

Every injury, near miss, hazard, dangerous occurrence and property damage event must be reported on the Incident and Hazard Report Form and entered in the WHS Incident and Hazard Register on the day it occurs. Notifiable incidents must be reported to the regulator by the General Manager or delegate as soon as possible, and the scene must be preserved until the regulator releases it. Investigations will identify contributing factors and corrective actions, not blame.

6.Training and induction

Every worker will complete a site induction before starting work and a machine-specific induction before operating any cutting, sewing, pressing, lasting or finishing equipment. Competency will be recorded in the training matrix. Refresher training will be provided when equipment, chemicals or procedures change.

7.Review

This policy will be reviewed annually, after any notifiable incident, and whenever legislation or the business changes in a way that affects health and safety. The General Manager approves each revision and the Quality and WHS Coordinator issues the controlled copy.