Safety First An Occupational Health and Safety Guide for Fitness Businesses

Introduction
Dear Industry Member, Fitness Australia has a strong history of raising the standard of excellence within the fitness industry. One example of this is to assist our fitness businesses with developing an effective Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) program. Ensuring your business has an adequate OHS program is critical to protecting staff and clients from injury and illness and in turn, protecting the long term viability of your business. This Safety First Guide has been designed in conjunction with the risk management firm, RiskLogic, in consultation with member businesses to help you learn more about this important topic. The guide provides an easy to understand introduction to OHS that can be used by both existing fitness businesses and those thinking about starting a new business or changing location. It contains practical considerations with simple checklists that can help you evaluate your existing program or assist in starting a new program. Please use this guide as another means to enhance the effectiveness and success of your business. Lauretta Stace Chief Executive Officer

Contents
Occupational Health and Safety Responsibilities 2 Key Components of an OHS Program 3 Success Factors for OHS Programs 4 OHS Risk Assesment 5 Safety Inspection Checklist 26 OHS Program Checklist 29 Next Steps 31 State Work Safe Authority Contact Details 32

All employers have a legal duty of care to ensure the health and safety of their staff. This duty of care also requires the employer to ensure that people (other than employees) are not exposed to health and safety risks arising from the operation of the business. Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) legislation within all states specifies obligations for all businesses, regardless of the number of people employed or the nature of the business. Under OHS law, if you can affect the health and safety of people in the workplace, you have a legal responsibility to implement appropriate precautions. Specifically, these responsibilities include: Maintaining the place of work and working environment under your control in a safe condition. Ensuring the safe use, handling, storage and transport of equipment & substances. Providing and maintaining systems of work (eg. policies and procedures) to ensure workplace safety. Providing the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure the health and safety of employees. Providing adequate facilities for the welfare of employees. Ensuring that risk management procedures are implemented to identify, assess, control and monitor 2 | OHS Guide for Fitness Businesses

Occupational Health and Safety Responsibilities

workplace hazards. Ensuring that appropriate employee consultation arrangements are in place and implemented. Ensuring that injuries are reported within prescribed timeframes and that a system exists to facilitate the return to work for injured employees. Although OHS legislation focuses on staff safety, it also requires employers to ensure the safety of any visitors to the workplace. Furthermore, many of the measures required to protect employees will also apply to clients. Consequently, by implementing an effective OHS program you can minimise the risk of injury to both staff and clients and reduce the likelihood of related fines and public liability claims. Significant sanctions exist for a breach of regulatory terms. For example, the maximum penalty for offences under the OHS Act in NSW is $1,650,000 for corporations and $165,000 or 5 years imprisonment for individuals. Please note that state authorities (eg. WorkCover or WorkSafe) have the right to enter your premises to conduct an inspection if they believe that there have been potential breaches of the Act or Regulation.

An effective OHS program should address the general requirements specified by OHS legislation as well as the specific risks associated with your business. For example, all fitness businesses should have procedures in place to address the following general OHS requirements: OHS policy An OHS policy outlines the objectives and scope of your OHS program and demonstrates managements commitment to providing a safe workplace. OHS Responsibilities Specific health and safety responsibilities and accountabilities should be provided for key positions within your business including contractors where applicable. Training and competency A procedure is required that identifies the formal qualifications required for staff working for you as well as any additional health and safety training needs. The procedure should also cover the induction provided to new staff to ensure that they are aware of all relevant safety procedures. Appropriate records should be kept of any required qualifications or training provided. OHS Consultation and Communication All businesses require a documented process, agreed to by employees, to enable employee involvement and consultation on health and safety matters. Hazard identification, risk assessment and control A procedure must be developed to identify potential health and safety hazards, (including public safety hazards), assess the potential risks and develop control measures. This includes procedures for workplace inspections and hazard reporting (A risk assessment and sample inspection checklist to support these procedures is provided in Section 6 of this guide).

Key Components of an OHS Program

Contractors If contractors are used in your business, the health and safety responsibilities of the contractors should be clearly defined and communicated to the contractors. Equipment Safety A procedure is required that outlines how you will ensure that equipment is safe to use. This includes procedures for inspecting, maintaining, and repairing equipment as well as ensuring that clients are aware of the correct use of equipment. Safety considerations when purchasing new equipment should also be included. Emergency preparedness and response All potential emergency situations should be identified and emergency procedures developed to address these situations including training, first aid and equipment requirements. Injury Management A procedure should exist that outlines the notification and claims management requirements for workplace injuries. This may involve different protocols for injuries sustained by staff and clients. Specific risk prevention measures In addition to the above requirements, all fitness businesses should implement measures to minimise specific OHS risks associated with their operations (eg. slips and trips, hygiene, security, etc.) OHS Guide for Fitness Businesses | 3

While the above components provide the basic framework for an OHS program that is compliant with legal requirements, it is important to recognise that implementing these components alone does not guarantee an effective OHS program. Related research has identified a number of success factors that are critical to the effective implementation of an OHS program. These include: Visible commitment from senior management Successful OHS programs require a top down approach that demonstrates the business owners commitment to the program. This is seen through the owners visible support of the program, on-going monitoring of program activities, regular follow-up of safety issues, etc. OHS responsibilities should be reflective of line management structure in order to develop and maintain clear reporting pathways. Clear standardised approach Successful programs ensure that there are clear and documented procedures that are applied in a consistent manner across the business. OHS integrated into the business Rather than being seen as an add-on responsibility, successful OHS programs integrate OHS into the normal operations of the business. Obtain clear verbal and written agreement from all staff that they understand their OHS responsibilities (including OHS policies and procedures) this will assist towards creating a safety culture among all levels of staff. 4 | OHS Guide for Fitness Businesses

Success Factors for OHS Programs

Clear objectives Setting clear program objectives and performance targets enables effective planning strategies and monitoring efforts. Injury reduction focus Programs that focus on the reduction of injuries as their goal instead of only legal compliance produce more successful outcomes. Preventive rather than reactive approaches Rather than just responding to reported hazards or incidents, effective programs take a proactive approach by identifying potential risks and ensuring that appropriate control measures are in place to minimise the likelihood of an incident occurring. Regular program monitoring Since OHS programs are dynamic in nature, ongoing monitoring is required to identify opportunities for improvement and to address any changes in the business activities, legislative changes, etc. Adequate resources OHS programs must be adequately resourced to ensure success. This includes identifying all types of resources including time, financial expenses and expertise required during all program phases.

OHS Risk Assessment

The following risk assessment can help to identify The risk rating is determined by assessing: the potential hazards associated with providing exercise The likelihood of an incident occurring training services. It can be used as a guide to locate hazards as the result of the hazard, and in your business and help to direct the implementation of The potential consequences of the incident appropriate measures to minimise risk to staff and clients. It should be noted that every fitness business is different, By referencing these two factors in the tables below, therefore it is important to look for any specific or you will be able to determine whether the hazard presents additional hazards that may apply in your case. a high, significant, moderate or low risk. Issues should be addressed in accordance with their risk rating, with high It is also important to assess the significance of each priority issues requiring immediate attention. hazard in order to prioritise which ones to address first. This can be done using the risk rating table shown below. 1 Estimate of Consequence (Severity of Impact) Level Descriptor Examples of Description 1 Insignificant Minimal or no injury; or very low financial loss 2 Minor First aid treatment; minor medical treatment but no lost time; or minor financial loss 3 Moderate Medical treatment required; lost time injury; less than four weeks off work 4 Major Extensive or multiple injuries; major back, neck, arm, leg, face or internal injury; extended absence of one or more employees; external investigation by WST; lost time over one month 5 Catastrophic Death; or permanent or severe health effects for one or more employees; public/media cutrage; potential for huge financial loss 2 Estimate of Likelihood Level Descriptor Examples of Description 1 Rare The event may occur only in exceptional circumstances; rare exposure to risk; very low probability of damage 2 Unlikely The event could occur at some time; infrequent exposure to risk; low probability of damage; little or no history at this site 3 Moderate The event should occur at some time; regular or occasional exposure to risk; moderate probability of damage 4 Likely The event will probably occur in most circumstances; frequent exposure to risk; substantial probability of damage; some history of occurrence 5 Almost certain The event is expected to occur in most circumstances; constant exposure to risk; high probability of damage; clear history of occurrence 3 Estimated Level of Risk (Risk rating = Consequences x Likelihood)

Consequences Likelihood Insignificant 1 Minor Moderate Major Catastrophic 2 3 4 5 Rare 1 1 L 2 L 3 M 4 S 5 S Unlikely 2 2 L 4 L 6 M 8 S 10 H Moderate 3 3 L 6 M 9 S 12 H 15 H Likely 4 4 M 8 S 12 S 16 H 20 H Almost certain 5 5 S 10 S 15 H 20 H 25 H L = LOW risk; acceptable risk perhaps, manage by routine procedures M = MODERATE risk; attend to in medium term, allocate management responsibility S = SIGNIFICANT risk; attend to in short term, senior management attention needed H = HIGH risk; immediate action detailed research and management planning required at senior levels OHS Guide for Fitness Businesses | 5 Tub

Sample Risk Assessment for Fitness Businesses

Safety Hazard Sample Risk Rating Your Risk Rating
General All Fitness Businesses Issues relating to staff/contractor qualifications or training, visitors and deliveries High Health risks associated with fitness training High Injury due to damaged or poorly maintained equipment Significant First aid response to injuries Moderate 6 | OHS Guide for Fitness Businesses

Control Measures Comments

(eg. level of priority, difficulty/cost of implementation) Establishminimumqualificationandprofessionalregistration for all staff or contractors. Ensureproofofqualificationsbeforestaff/contactorsstartingwork. Identifyandimplementanyadditionaltrainingrequired(e.g.hazard identification and reporting, specific risk factors, medical assessment procedures etc.) ProvideanOHSinductionforallnewstaff/contractors. VisitorsandcontractorsmustcomplywithCentrerules&regulations including wearing appropriate clothing & footwear. Visitors&contractorsshouldsignthevisitorsbookandbeissued with a visitor sticker. AlldeliverypersonnelshouldreporttoReceptiontoreceiveinstructions concerning the delivery. A register should be kept of all deliveries and the relevant recipient. Ensureanindustry-endorsedpre-exercisescreeningquestionnaire is completed by all members/clients to identify risk. Exerciseprogrammingservicesaretobetailoredfortheindividual according to the results of the risk assessment. Followingriskassessmentcertainclientsmayneedtobereferredto health practitioners prior to the commencement of an exercise program. Ensurethatallequipmentisingoodconditionincludingexercise and weight machines, steps, balls, bars, weights, mats. etc.) Ensurethatequipmentisservicedonaregularbasisbyqualified personnel as recommended by the manufacturer. Conductaweeklyinspectionofallexerciseequipmenttoensurethat it is operating properly. Fitness businesses should have a checklist in place for what to look for on each product. Investigateanyreportsofdefectiveequipmentassoonaspossible. Remove/disableandclearlymarkanydefectiveequipmenttopreventitsuse. Ensurethatthereisareportinganddocumentationprocedurefor faulty equipment. Ensureanadequatefirstaidkitisavailableandmaintainedonaregularbasis. EnsurethatanAccidentandIncidentReportisavailableandcompleted. OHS Guide for Fitness Businesses | 7

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Your Safety Hazard Sample Risk Risk Rating Rating

Transfer of information between trainers (eg. if one trainer fills in for another and is not familiar with the group/individual) Moderate Exposure to hazardous substances Low General Indoor facilities Electrical equipment hazards High Trip/slip hazards including obstacles on floor, loose carpets or tiles, electrical cords, etc. Significant Hazards relating to contracted services (eg. massages, juice bar, etc.) Moderate Change room/ toilet facilities Low Lighting hazards Low