The laws in NSW (and elsewhere in Australia) place a duty of care on anyone conduction a business or undertaking (referred to as a PCBU) to act proactively in the field of workplace health and safety. It is not the purpose of this overview to instruct you in compliance but this duty extends to those in control of PCBUs (referred to as Officers) who must:
Officers and PCBUs can be heavily penalised for breaches.
You are only obliged to do what you are reasonably able to do in complying but remember the penalties are harsh and you should always err on the side of trying that bit harder if you want to be able to use this defence.
Remember you can't show due diligence if you as an Officer haven't at least done something to ensure you know how the system works and we would advise anyone in business to go on one of the many half-day induction courses to WHS. These notes are no substitute for your own proper training.
In the balance of this Overview we will look at how stall holders interact with the market in WHS matters and what is expected of stall holders in this respect. While a market may not normally be though of as a work place it is and all the PCBU with an interest in the site have to play their role in promoting safety. This includes the site owner, the market manager, any stall holder or contractor or entertainer. Employees and members of the public are to be kept safe but their duties only extend to behaving sensibly in relation to any hazards they encounter and doing as asked.
You have many WHS responsibilities to your own employees which a training course will reveal to you. In this Overview we only address the principal matters that arise because you attending the market. It is no substitute for you doing your job properly.
Everyone gets a say in safety! It's never easy to carry out consultations in a diversified location like a market but we will always listen to any comments you may have on safety and market procedures. We always want you to be on the outlook for hazards and have created a special form. Please use this no matter how trivial you think the hazard you have identified might seem.
The modern approach to WHS involves continuous hazard identification and we publish a current list of identified hazards and the risk control action to be adopted: Hazard Identification. Please review it.
When you drive inside the market you must always travel slowly (under 5k), turn off your radio and roll down your windows (so you can hear), pay attention, run your flashing side lights.
If you sell food you must understand how to handle it safely. If you are doing anything that involves serious handling of food you should obtain a food safety supervisors certificate (one day courses at many TAFEs etc).
We want to see the following in your stalls
Wind can blow objects about. We expect you to secure anything that might be blown about. This includes umbrellas and tents. Tents should always have 20k of weight on each of the four legs. That's just like having a person holding them down. You never know when the wind will blow so always weight them down.
Electricity kills. You must always have an RCD between your equipment and where you plug in. Never use the markets electricity points without prior approcal.
Don't string electricity across areas where vehicles move and always string electricity above 3 meters in pedestrian areas.
Don't put out items that are likely to cause trips. If you put an electric cable out string it above or use mats. Don't leave litter or boxes around and be careful if you put A boards out or use guy ropes. If you see or create a trip hazard put a witches hat on it.
Every market has an emergency plan that you must review and be familiar with. Please review the plan for each of the markets you attend.