Eighty-six per cent of Australian OHS managers are concerned with finding ways of highlighting to senior management the value of safety as a key business driver - despite almost 90 per cent citing safety as being of critical or high importance to their organisation.
Recent research conducted at Safety in Action Melbourne 2011 by ComOps also found that contractor management and environment compliance was thought to be of high or critical importance to 80 per cent of OHS managers.
The former is likely to be a natural consequence of Australia's current low unemployment rate and a resulting reliance on contractors, while ComOps said environmental concerns are being buoyed by the current public debate about climate change and carbon pricing.
"The number of areas requiring OHS input just keeps growing," said Moshe Woods, sales director - Salvus, ComOps.
"Every year, OHS managers are being asked to do more in line with organisational aims to improve productivity and enhance competitiveness and sustainability."
The survey also found that more than three-quarters of respondents nominated risk mitigation and the new AS/NZS ISO31000 standard, OHS training, understanding and planning for OHS harmonisation and reducing the cost of injury management as priorities for management in 2011.