I received a Worksafe Infringement Notice (PIN) – what now?

Many businesses meet their first OHS specialist as a result of receiving a visit or other contact from a state regulator (i.e. Worksafe) whom has visited and provided them with an infringement notice, identifying a hazard or issue to be rectified. Generally, this is as a result of a reportable incident or injury which has happened within the business or there is an industry ‘spotlight’ focus on the industry as a whole.

Importance of managing your OHS System:

The importance of record creation in these processes cannot be oversold, being able to produce documentation which provides records of system processes such as risk assessment, maintenance, competency and consultation with workers ensures that evidence of liability management is continually undertaken and reviewed.

Remember: Date, sign and file your records for a rainy day.

These ‘proactive’ (before any event or incident happens) measures reduce the likelihood of a hazard becoming a risk and in turn potentially injuring your employees. This includes reporting incidents which come under the ‘Incident reporting guidelines’.

Working with regulators during site visits:

Consultants at SafetyZone regularly assist companies to work with regulators when they first attend their site, some of the good habits we teach include:

• Organise a senior representative (and safety representative, if you have one) to escort the inspectors through the business;
• Find evidence of compliance for the area in question, such as:
  • Safe Operation Procedure for plant;
  • Sign off for scaffolding;
  • Take notes for comments, conversations and areas of risk identified;
  • Material Safety Data Sheets for chemicals; and
  • Copies of CIC card or license for training.

Here are some things it would not be best to do, trust us, we’ve seen some great deflection efforts in our time!

• DO NOT send out your best salesman to give inspectors the run around;
• DO NOT tell inspectors to leave site without a decent reason;
• DO NOT start arguments with the inspectors; and
• DO NOT immediately start playing the blame game onsite.

Responding to infringements:

A PIN or Provisional Improvement Notice may be issued by Worksafe Inspectors or company internal Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) if they believe, on reasonable grounds, that an OHS issues is in breach of the OHS Act or Regulations. If issues are identified, there will be one PIN issued for each breach identified during the site visit:

The best way to approach the remedy for any PIN(s) issued will be:

• Read through and determine exactly what is required to comply, don’t be afraid to contact the Worksafe Inspector seek clarification;
• Approach safety experts, such as your HSR, OHS Manager or OHS consultants for their opinion as to rectifying the breaches;
• Also, ask for a ‘Letter of engagement’ which usually satisfies the requirement to ‘Engage a suitably qualified person to assist…’ as per s.22 of the OHS Act 2004 (Vic.).
• Develop an action plan to complete the required actions, as well as proactive measures such as why the system failed in the first place;
• Be proactive in your businesses safety and take a leading role to start a system of identifying and rectifying your hazards;
• Provide the regulator with your action list detailing how you will resolve the PINs and other non-conformances stated; and
• If you aren’t going to make the due date, gather your evidence of where you currently sit, an expected resolution date and ask for an extension.