Major retailer – large re-licence program

The challenge

A large, Australian-owned retailer self-insured for workers’ compensation engaged Verus after Queensland's Office of Industrial Relations (OIR) stepped up the number of workplace health and safety (WHS) audits self-insurers had to complete for licence renewal. The changes meant a significantly expanded proportion of the client’s sites now needed auditing, an increase largely driven by a desire for increased oversight following a range of industrial disasters.

For consistency across audits and reporting, the client wanted to appoint a consulting firm that had OIR-approved auditors who were practical in engaging with site personnel and reviewing evidence. Timeframes were critical, with self-insurers unable to negotiate revised deadlines and only a finite number of approved auditors available with multiple licences due.

Multinational manufacturer – OHS management system improvement program

Verus’s knowledge and experience in developing, reviewing and implementing health and safety management systems for self-insurers saw us selected as the consultant on a project to streamline a multinational manufacturing organisation’s OHS management framework.

The challenge

The framework had been developed 20 years earlier, and the occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) had become an administrative burden. It was acknowledged the system had become complex and 'bloated', requiring bureaucratic effort by safety resources rather than focusing on the people and solving safety issues.