If you think health and safety is expensive, try having an accident!

If you think health and safety is expensive, try having an accident. This was a tag line on a recent article I read. My initial thought was that’s a bit of a brutal approach to take to promote the need for good safety management. I prefer to focus on ensuring no one gets hurt rather than getting the big stick out and waving the threat of fines over business owners heads. At the end of the day, we’re in tourism, the foundation of our industry is manaakitanga, no one wants their guests or staff getting hurt.

The previous week saw three tourism operators collectively receive penalties of over a million dollars in fines, reparations, and undertakings. One of these operators has some of the best safety systems I have seen. Unfortunately, the actions of a third party put them on the radar and while it is easy to say things should be foreseeable, we deal with the people factor. We have visitors from all walks of life and from across the globe. Not everyone sees things through the same lens.

As a business advisor I have reviewed hundreds of safety plans ranging across all levels of the spectrum. I see many businesses where someone has been handed health and safety and told to sort it out with little to no training or guidance. As they say, you don’t know what you don’t know. When you do know, the gap is glaringly obvious. While there are some operators who genuinely live their health and safety values, it would be fair to say that across the industry, there is scope for improvement. The biggest challenge is many business owners still feel overwhelmed when it comes to health and safety. Obtaining quality advice and guidance is key to building health and safety capability.

Businesses invest good money to have astute accountants, lawyers and HR advisors. Why? Well, there’s laws we need to follow, and there are fines for not getting it right. We have seen recently seen significant fines in the health and safety space. How long would it take you to make $300k in net profit to pay a substantial fine. The cost of seeking the services of a health and safety professional is a fraction of that cost. In addition to the cost of fines, there’s also the cost of damage to the businesses brand.

More operators are looking for the services of a health and safety advisor, which is great, but like all things, they aren’t all created equal. So, what should you be looking for in a health and safety professional?

Ensure your health and safety advisor is qualified. I have reviewed many safety plans that have been put together by accountants, HR advisors, or someone’s mate up the road. While they may have the best of intent, and some basic skills, unless they are registered or accredited you are potentially leaving yourself vulnerable. You can find a list of accredited health and safety practitioners on the HASANZ register.

Find someone who knows tourism! We have many unique challenges ranging from the nature of the activity/accommodation/transport, location, recruitment, literacy challenges as well as ever evolving standards for operators. This is particularly important if you are an activity operator.

Be mindful of health and safety businesses that want to sell you suites of templates, they don’t work. Having a system that fits your business is one of the most important elements of a safety plan. It should be bespoke, and it must reflect the risks which are present. I often see small transport operators who are great at stating the risks of the photocopier and printer but completely neglect any activity on the road. If you are paying for expert guidance, ensure that’s what you get. Ask if the person advising you actually qualified, or do they work for a company that has some qualified staff? Ask how they will help you build your safety culture.

Look for someone who can assist you with building your own internal health and safety skill set. The HSWA requires you to manage your health and safety, even contracting the services of a health and safety professional doesn’t absolve you of your responsibilities.

Find a consultant you can relate to and that understands your operation. Part of health and safety consulting is challenging business owners on they way they do things. It’s not about trying to prove people wrong, it’s about critically analysing what we do. This process works much better when there are good communication channels.