Employee Health & Safety Representative Meeting

THE UNIVERSITYOF MELBOURNE

EMPLOYEE HEALTH & SAFETY REPRESENTATIVE MEETING

MEETING NO 1/2016 –25thFebruary2016

A meeting of Employee Health & Safety Representatives was held on Thursdaythe 25th of February 2016inthe 5th floor Meeting Room, Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne at 11.00 am.

PRESENT: Deanne Catmull (Melbourne Dental School) Minutes/Chair

Steve Adams (Engineering)

Jennifer Scott (Chemistry)

Darren Tucker (Infrastructure services)

Geoff Duke (Engineering)

Leanne Fisher (Chancellery)

Juan Raffin (BRC/Otolaryngology)

Grace McCorkell (Learning environments)

Robert Hassan (Culture and Comms-Arts)

Sandra Macriyiannis (Learning environments)

Krissy Savidis (External Relations)

Mark Friedlander (VCA)

Joanna Nguyen (Project Services)

Brendan Chaplin (FES)

Kate Murphy (OREI)

1.FORMAL MATTERS

1.1Welcome/Apologies

The Chair welcomed everyone to the first meetingof the Employee Health & Safety Representatives for 2016.Apologies were received from:Laura Ellett (Pathology),Yvonne Lai (VCA & MCM), Laurence Deam (Physics), Matthew Grazia (RIC Parkville US), Amy Hampson (Otolarynology), Anton Cozijnsen (Botany), Paulo Vaz-Serra (Architecture), Monique Aucher (VCA & MCM), Marcus Bunyan (Arts), Sybil Woolfson (RIC-Alan Gilbert), Emma Catherine Read (Bio21-Science), Joseph Mecurio (VCA), Duraan Reid (VCA & MCM).

1.2Introductions

A brief around the table introduction was conducted to introduce the Committee members including all new members.

2. Guest speaker: Deanne Catmull (Melbourne Dental School): DWGs, HSRs and our roles

Deanne’s power point presentation will be provided to all HSRs as supplementary information at a later date.

Deanne explained what a DWG is, how a DWG is negotiated and what can be negotiated within a DWG. Deanne also provided links to the University procedures available to all staff for re-negotiating a DWG as well as the list of DWGs at the University and their respective HSRs/deputies. Deanne also explained the definition of a Health and Safety Representative and the difference between a HSR and Deputy HSR in terms of responsibilities and rights to extra training etc. All references to the Act were quoted where relevant and links to the related University material were provided.Finally the presentation covered the purpose of the University HSR committee and how everyone can actively contribute to make a difference to Health and Safety at the University.

3. Confirm minutes of the last meeting

The Minutes of Meeting 4/2015 of the Employee Health & Safety Representative Group held on Thursday the 19th of November 2015, were confirmed and seconded unchanged.

4. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE (OHSC)

4.1What’s happening at OHSC?

• The OHSC met on the 8th of December 2015. The first meeting for 2016 is scheduled for the 7th of March 2016.
• The members discussed the Committee objectives and the importance of good communication and representation in Health and Safety across the University.
• The members also discussed how they would like the committee to function in 2016 including what should be discussed in the meetings and what the members would like less or more from the committee.
• The HSRs stressed the need for more Management representatives to be present on the committee.
• Sally Eastoe acknowledged that the University contains a very broad/unique structure of Health and Safety hazards. She wished to visit some other workplaces in 2016 with similar structure and function to see how they operate in terms of Health and Safety.

4.2Progress of items previously raised at the OHSC?

• Yammer- Health and Safety group set up

Stefan confirmed that a Yammer group has been set up to share OHS info and advice. Stefan plans to add the HSRs to this group ASAP.

• Bullying advisors (carried over)

Bullying advisors are currently being trained. There are still some issues to be ironed out in terms of their Roles and Responsibilities. More information to follow.

• Update on Working Alone Policy (carried over)

There has been some delays due to issues with Promapp software and is rescheduled for completion in Jan 2016.

• Reporting experiences and best practice in OHS across the University (carried over)

Rolled over from 2014. Endorsed by Mr Adams, along with suggestion that invitations and participation from other areas be encouraged. The OHSC discussed this matter in Meeting 2/2015 and noted three key areas that need to be addressed to improve best practice. They included: Effective Communication of OHS, education of OHS and reporting strategy. Promapp has been suggested as a future tool for sharing OHS information such as Standard Operating Procedures and Risk Assessment as well as regularly meeting with local OHS staff. The use of technology, engaging leadership and implementing change was also discussed in order to shift the current profile and what needs to be done to drive these changes such as budgets, strategic decisions and information processing. This will become a goal for 2016.

• Promotion and recruitment of HSRs (carried over)

Deanne met with Dani Norman in November 2015 to discuss this issue. Dani was keen to get the HSRs added to the Health and Safety group on Yammer. She also discussed holding a “welcome reception” for all HSRs across campus so everyone can put faces to names, network and create connections. She also suggested having an end of year BBQ as a way of saying thanks to HSRs for all the work they do during the year with perhaps even a little award ceremony for outstanding achievements, best practice or team work etc. Improvements to communication flow and websites was also discussed. This was extremely positive. Deanne contacted Dani in Jan 2016 and is awaiting progress on these matters.

• Terms of reference (carried over)

The Terms of reference have been drafted and presented but is yet to be approved by the committee (reporting lines-who is the committee reporting to?)

• Electrical Safety (carried over)

Guidance has now been published and can be obtained via the following link: .The guidance addresses the responsibilities for all items to be checked thoroughly during the Testing and Tagging procedure.

• DWGs (Carried over).

It is hoped that all DWGs across campus will be finalized by Feb 2016. HSR/Deputy HSR recruitment/elections will then follow.

4.3 Items to be raised at OHSC

Action item table:

Date / Item / Action / Person Responsible / Status
Aug 2014 / OHS feedback from Faculties, Schools and Departments / Stefan wants some information on YAMMER. Summary template for local areas on Objectives and targets progress, training requirements and incidents etc. Inviting guest speakers to present to the OHSC. / Stefan Delaney
Deanne Catmull (YAMMER information) / Almost completed.
Yammer information has been received and discussed. A Yammer group for the Health and Safety team has been set up with HSRs to be added to the group ASAP.
Nov
2014 / Working alone and in isolation policy / Stefan to publish this document which will contain some terminology changes in Promapp. / Stefan Delaney / In progress. (Update: Dec 2015) Due to issues with Promapp, this has been delayed until Jan 2016.
Nov
2014 / Terms of reference / Stefan to draft a template of the new T.O.R for the OHSC. Template is to include OHSC reporting lines / Stefan Delaney / Partially completed
A new draft has been completed but has not been approved by the committee yet (no new updates from the Dec 2015 meeting).
Nov
2014 / HSR promotion / Stefan to encourage and promote staff to become HSRs across the University / Stefan Delaney / In progress
(Update Oct 2015)
Campaign to attract HSRs has begun as at September 2015 with a meeting being held between HSRs and University services (US) to exchange ideas for a marketing-like campaign for early 2016.MDHS has started campaigns for new HSRs coinciding with DWG renegotiations. OHSC also circulated and exchanged ideas around how to approach such a campaign as there is a clear lack of clarity of the role.
Feb 2015 / HSR roles and responsibilities / Stefan to forward documents to all supervisors describing the EXACT role of a HSR in the workplace and how it differs to an OHS advisor/officer / Stefan Delaney / In progress
Update Oct 2015
This process will commence once DWGs are finalised in Feb 2016.
Feb 2015 / HSR training obligations / Stefan to forward a document about the legal requirements for HSRs under the Act as well as paid leave requirements for a HSR to attend conferences such as WorkSafe week/OHS reps conference and the various costs associated with those. / Stefan Delaney Rochelle Sullivan / Paritally Completed
Update Feb 2016
Deanne met with Andrew Everett from the Health and Safety team about the format of the draft letter when new HSRs are elected. Deanne will forward the format to Andrew for review. The email should contain information on their training requirements and links to the appropriate sites. The Health and Safety team is looking at placing more of a community spin on the Health and Safety area in 2016.
Nov 2014 / OHSC review of DWG / Stefan Delaney to publish a structure of DWG for University services and meet with HSRs to finalize DWGs for other areas. / Stefan Delaney
Panel of HSRs / Almost completed
Update Oct 2015
DWG structure for the University as at Oct 2015 has been completed with areas still to be renegotiated shaded. The University expects DWGs to be finalised sometime in Feb 2016.
Nov 2014 / Bullying and Psychosocial hazards / Stefan to recruit, train and publish a list of current Bullying prevention advisors for the University. / Stefan Delaney / Partially completed(Update Dec 2015) Bullying advisors are currently being trained. Still some issues to iron out around their roles and responsibilities and also their title.
Sep 2015 / Uninsulated pins / It has been queried whether it is NUVOs duty of care to ensure all appliances are checked for uninsulated pins and why this has not been done already? / Stefan Delaney / Completed
Guidance has now been published and can be obtained via the following link:
Feb 2016 / HSR re-election and notification policy / With the help of a small HSR working group a couple of years ago, Deanne inserted some new information into both the MPF 1189 document-OHS representation and Committees Procedure and The University Safety guidance policy “How to elect an employee Health and Safety Representative” to iron out issues surrounding the responsibilities of OHS Advisors/Managers to notify HSRs of upcoming re-election and responsibilities of HSRs to notify if they retire, are made redundant, shift DWGs etc. / Stefan Delaney
Deanne Catmull

5. OTHER BUSINESS

Deanne recently met with Andrew Everett from the Health and Safety team to discuss effective communication of OHS and the election/re-election process for HSRs, communication flow and notification and the promotion of Health and Safetyacross campus.

Andrew suggested creating a template for a Welcome Letter for all HSRs welcoming them to the Health and Safety community. Deanne will work with Andrew to create this template which will include links to training, the HSR email list, the convenor of the committee and the committee web page.

Andrew also showed Deanne a template for a new webpage which is currently being created to re-vamp the old University Health and Safety page. It has a new format and introduces Health and Safety as a community. Deanne showed the committee the templates Andrew showed her which is due for launching in late March.

The HSR committee link will feature on the front page which will also contain tabs directing staff to a support page, lists, policies, DWGs, Health and Safety forums etc. The Support page will provide resources and tools which will assist in addressing Health and Safety matters in local and broader areas on campus, relevant topics, upcoming training sessions, seminars and conferences and other useful links. Any other suggestions will be welcomed by Andrew in the lead up to the launch and also after the launch to constantly improve the site and make it more user friendly.

Deanne also mentioned the University HSR list: and noted that Deputy HSRs had now been separated from HSRs with the Deputy in (brackets).

Deanne asked for HSRs to check this list and let herself or Andrew Everett know if there are any errors or if there are any questions/queries:

Andrew will also be producing a HSR mailing list for sharing events and will aim to reduce email chains. HSRs will also be able to unsubscribe to the list. More information to come.

5.1 Future Guest Speakers

The Committee discussed looking at the effective management of workloads. Deanne had been working towards locking in a Guest Speaker, but the topic needs redefining with a heavier focus on Health and Safety. We have already had Orania Tokatlidis from Counselling and Psychological Services come to speak to the HSRs about Stress Management and psychological hazards in the workplace. Robert Hassan suggested focusing on the impacts of fatigue in the workplace in terms of workloads, could this be a topic for Worksafe? Deanne will investigate further.

5.2 Terms of Reference endorsement

The Terms of Reference for the HSR committee were circulated by Deanne prior to the meeting. The terms were endorsed fully by the HSR committee. Deanne requested that at least one volunteer could offer to take the minutes once or twice a year rotating with either Deanne or another committee member. Call for volunteers will commence in Meeting 2.

6.NEXT MEETING

• The next meeting will be held on Thursday the 26th May 2016 in the 5th floor meeting room of the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne at 11:00am.

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