Plant Assessor - Managing data
It is important to understand the legal requirements around storing machinery compliance records over time. Here we explain why.
Retaining compliance records such as pre-starts and risk assessment reports are part of the compliance activities required of Australian businesses by Work, Health & Safety regulations.
Under SafeWork Australia's Code of Practice - Managing the risks of plant in the workplace and in line with Regulation 237 from the Australian Government's Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011
"The person with management or control of plant that is required to be registered at a workplace must keep a record of all tests, inspections, maintenance, commissioning, decommissioning, dismantling and alterations of the registered plant for the period that the plant is used or until the person relinquishes control of the plant. The person with management or control of plant with a presence-sensing safeguarding system must keep a record of safety integrity tests, inspections, maintenance, commissioning, decommissioning, dismantling or alterations of the plant. The record must be kept for:
- five years or
- for the life of the plant or until the person relinquishes control of the plant if the plant is registered plant or has been altered.
It is also good practice to keep records for other types of plant in your workplace. Keeping records of the risk management process helps demonstrate compliance activities with the WHS Act and WHS Regulations. It also helps when undertaking subsequent risk assessments. Records on items of plant that may be kept include:
- the unique plant identification number
- plant design registration information
- relevant data from commissioning
- compliance statements and/or test certificates
- manufacturer’s specifications and user manuals
- results of inspections
- results of tests on the plant including safety devices, for example protective earth continuity tests, testing of mechanical guarding, stop time measurement
- information on maintenance and major repairs carried out
- information on alterations
- information on use deviating from intended operating or design conditions
- results of risk assessments carried out on plant
- information, instruction and training provided to workers, and
- competencies of operators
As the risk assessments conducted in our system are based on our IP, we also hold some liability for any incidents that may occur where it is found that our risk assessment failed to identify relevant hazards or offer appropriate risk treatments for known hazards. Therefore, it is essential that we also maintain accurate records of these assessments and reports in the case of an incident and subsequent legal proceedings.
When considering other data stored in our system, such as documents and images, ownership of this data does remain with the original organisation that uploaded it, except where our system has been used to share information with other businesses for the purposes of site compliance. Once a file has been shared, it forms part of the compliance history of the receiving organisation and must be retained in our system for their use in the case of an audit.
Data ownership is not limited to one user within the organisation as the data produced by one user may be consumed by another for the purpose of occupational health and safety. Even in circumstances where the above data retention requirements do not apply, we may still require confirmation from multiple parties within an organisation before deleting any data to ensure that critical compliance records are not lost.
It's essential to check with the relevant regulatory authority in your state or territory and consult any industry-specific regulations that apply to your business. Furthermore, you should also consult with your organisation's legal and compliance team to ensure that you are meeting all record-keeping requirements. Failure to retain safety records for the required period could lead to legal and compliance issues in the event of an incident or inspection.
At Plant Assessor, we are required to retain name and email data in our system for identification purposes, however other personal information such as
phone number, address, birthdate can be removed by you. Any other data removal can be managed on request by contacting out support team on 1300 728 852 or email
info@assessor.com.au
