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ACCESS IN ACTION • AUGUST 2014
ACCESS in ACTION
Further questioning could not establish
if there was a point in time for the
introduction of VoC, however it does
appear through incident investigations
there was a responsibility placed upon
the company to confirm competency
regardless of the operator qualifications or
experience.
A large company that provides services
to principle contractors said: ‘Since the
company conducts regular training and
has a retraining program in place plus
keeps up-to-date records of an operator’s
qualifications and currency; and though
can provide evidence of competence and
currency, employees are still required to
undergo VoC to enter a site. What’s more
annoying is at the next site they enter, they
require the same VoC again.’
This company believes VoCs not being
recognised between different work sites is
a waste of time, resources and money.
Legal
To cover all aspects, I also contacted
a specialist law firm and asked were
there any points of law that places a
responsibility upon a company to use a
VoC assessment program?
The answer was: a company has a duty
under the Act that a person conducting
business or undertaking has a primary
duty to ensure so as far as reasonably
practicable, workers and other persons
are not exposed to health and safety risks
arising from the business or undertaking.
Conclusion
To conclude, there is no legislative
requirement to support the VoC process.
It appears to be industry driven and has
the support of the regulators.
From a legal perspective, it is a tool used
to strengthen a defence by turning the
responsibility back on the operator.
I often cross paths with HRW licence
holders who may have received a licence
over 10 years ago and struggle with
basic operating concepts, yet under the
regulation, they are qualified to operate.
Other operators may have also received
their HRW licence 10 years ago, but have
been operating plant weekly and are
current in their skills.
I believe the first example is the perfect
application for a VoC process, however on
many construction sites, both operators
would be required to complete a VoC
assessment.
The frustration many end users are facing
is each organisation is setting its own goal
posts as to when and how each operator
should require VoC. It’s becoming a time
and financial burden on many contractors
and end users in industry.
I believe there is a place for VoCs. If
this type of assessment can prevent
incidents due to operator error, it should
be encouraged. I believe there needs to
be guidelines established so stakeholders
such as RTOs and principle contractors
can establish whether an operator should
undergo VoC assessment and how often.
The currency of this topic has further
highlighted the need for a code of practice
for EWPs. The only real document to assist
EWP operators is the AS2550 Australian
Standard, which is in need of a rewrite.
I would like to see input from all
stakeholders within the EWP industry to
establish a code of practice which will
include guidelines for licencing and VoC
assessments.
Phil Middleton
EWPA Training Director
SoloGyps
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