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Describe very briefly, aspects of this Presentation, & who its intended Audience are. Does it require any pre-requisites? Should the Audience have any prior knowledge, in OH&S (i.e., before commencing it, with a view to gaining as much knowledge as possible from the material to be presented)?

What characterises effectiveness in Training? What should it comprise? What should a successful delivery of Training be characterised by, when it is completed? How should Training be more effectively delivered? In such topics as OH&S, what could be done to make it more appealing/captivating?

Describe the Scope of the Training to be issued, along with this set of Presentation slides, & the various reference material, e.g., the MAUS Health & Safety Planner & various items of Legislation & Standards.

Elaborate on how to effectively present OH&S Training; i.e., making full use of this Presentation set together with the MAUS Health & Safety Planner. Advise the Audience also, that relevant Standards will be quoted, as they are an important part of familiarisation, knowledge, application, promulgation, & implementation of OH&S at a workplace & at worksites remote to an Organisation’s Head Office.

OH&S in the workplace: Discuss the issues that are at stake, why this is so, who are ultimately responsible, why it is a necessity to be adhered to, & why Governments fully back it & enshrine Laws & Regulations to promulgate it in workplaces.

Imagine a world without OH&S in workplaces! What would it be like? Would we be working in environments just as they were envisaged during the Industrial Revolution in the UK? Have things really improved? What are the gaps (if any) that you feel, should be filled? Introduce these issues as matters for discussion with the Audience.

Advise the Audience that the way the documentation are presented in the slide, is exactly the way in which the hierarchy of documents exists. At the very top are the items of Legislation & Regulations (Government-enacted, promulgated, & enforced through various Government & Semi-government Authorities, e.g., WorkCover NSW). These are followed by Standards (produced/distributed by Standards Australia & other Australian as well as International Standards bodies), Policies, Plans, Procedures, Instructions, Safe Work Method Statements (locally produced, at the organisational level & its contractors (e.g., MAUS)), Material Safety Data Sheets ((MSDSs) produced by Authorities, manufacturers, investigative bodies, etc., for the substances in question), & forms (produced by the Organisations themselves & their contractors).

Explain to the Audience, that these serve as a “Level Playing Field” for the communication of all current & new issues concerning OH&S, throughout an Organisation, & at lower levels, within Departments, Projects, worksites, & work teams.

As more legislation and regulations require self-governance (cf., Sarbines Oxley), more organizations are implementing internal Audit programs.

The keynote speaker who presented the findings provided, was Glen Hiemstra – a Futurist, at a Meeting of The Auditing Roundtable in Philadelphia. In his presentation, he focused on 5 future trends & forces he believes will impact on Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) Management Systems [Reference: Glen Hiemstra, “The Auditing Roundtable”, ENLAR® Compliance Services, Inc. (2007)]:

1. A key element of the Audit programs referred to above involves using Audit findings to identify the need for Corrective & Preventive Actions.

2. Rather than viewing OH&S issues as simply problems to avoid, Organisations have begun to realise that there can be significant “bottom line” impacts as well.

3. More & more products & processes are utilizing nanotechnology. Unfortunately, the long-term health & safety effects that may be associated with exposure to these materials & processes in still relatively unknown. So, more research into the effects of Nanotechnology, especially on persons engaged in this industry, is expected to take place.

4. As industries move to developing countries, particularly India & China, there will be growing pressures to address Health & Safety concerns in a globally–consistent manner. In Australia, State Governments with the Federal Government have made a commitment to implement a consistent Model OH&S Act & Model OH&S Regulations by December 2011. Key areas of proposed Legislative Change have been mapped out that will have the most significant OH&S Compliance & Enforcement Policy, in December 2008. In recent years, OH&S Regulators across Australia have made a commitment to work together to ensure Laws are implemented & enforced consistently on a national scale. Evidence of this effort has resulted in several initiatives, including adoption of the National OH&S Compliance & Enforcement Policy in December 2008.

5. As Glen Hiemstra summarises in his blog, “Environmental, Health, & Safety”: “Issues are often the result of lack of knowledge of long term impacts, & often the result of poor decisions or processes; i.e., “mistakes”! But, very often, deliberate decisions are made to ignore rules, bury adverse research, & seek short-term financial gain over long-term responsibility. The Auditing process is the check & balance on this unfortunate human frailty. OH&S Compliance Policy in December 2008 impacts on the day-to-day Management of OH&S within our workplaces.”

Stimulate a discussion including a “brain storming” session; as to what constitutes an effective implementation, with full cooperation, shown by all staff. Do they agree with the above statements in the conclusion? What would they change? What would they add to it? What are their own personal experiences, from an expected variety of work or cultural backgrounds they are from? How would these varieties in their attitudes & backgrounds impact on their current work situations, & on issues concerning OH&S where they now work? Observe also, once differing opinions start to emerge, how the persons in the Audience interact with each other. Provide comments to them as required.

Encourage the Audience to ask questions. If no one raises his/her hand to ask questions, present some yourself, to trigger off a discussion, debate, etc. Select especially, those in the Audience who appear to be most “passive”, to try to stimulate an interest in OH&S in them. This also has the effect of “switching on” their thought processes.