WorkSafe New Zealand is adding up to 60 new recruits to its inspectorate this year and has just opened its first intake
WorkSafe is investing an extra $2.7 million annually into growing its inspectorate. This is part of its new strategy to target the sectors with highest work-related harm – construction, manufacturing, forestry, and agriculture.
WorkSafe describes inspectors as its frontline eyes and ears across the country, and says it will be fully training up to 60 new recruits this year.
“We are currently integrating the full range of assessment and investigation work in our inspectorate. This will create a supportive training ground for our incoming inspectors to springboard from,” says WorkSafe’s Head of Inspectorate Rob Pope.
WorkSafe undertakes inspections to ensure duty holders are meeting their obligations under the legislation it administers. Inspectors are tasked with understanding how well duty holders are identifying and managing risks, and promoting ways of achieving sustained improvements in managing risks to health and safety.
Inspections are also opportunities to increase inspectors’ awareness and understanding of particular work activities, processes and new technologies and how they influence practices and risk management. Inspectors gather intelligence on factors that influence industry behaviour, and build rapport with duty holders.
Outcomes of an inspection
The desired outcome of an inspection is that the duty holder takes responsibility for identifying and managing the risks they create or can control. Duty holders can meet their obligations under the legislation WorkSafe administers by having competent people, appropriate structures, plant, processes and procedures in place to ensure risks are assessed and managed effectively. The aim is to eliminate or minimise the risk that an incident, injury or ill-health will arise from their activities.
Inspectors will collect and record information about the inspection including key findings, recommendations and what enforcement has been taken, if any, and why. The record provides transparency about the inspector’s decision making. It also offers an opportunity for inspectors to share knowledge and recognise good work health and safety practices. Records support WorkSafe to measure its effectiveness and ensure interventions target the right places, at the right time, for the right reasons.
Inspectors will use their enforcement tools where appropriate. WorkSafe’s Enforcement Decision Making model (EDM) provides inspectors with a framework to make proportionate and consistent enforcement decisions.
Closing an inspection
Generally inspectors will verify that all significant risks identified in the inspection are being appropriately managed including commitments for actions for improvement, before finalising an inspection. Some actions take time to implement. The inspection will not be closed until these have been completed. In these cases the file remains ‘open’ until all agreed actions have been completed
