A new set of engineering safety guidelines is being reviewed by legal counsel, hoping to create better practice to protect workers physically and legally.

The guidelines have been written to show the concepts and applications of ‘risk theory’ in safety case arguments, define due diligence, and conform with new legislation.

The Engineers Australia Safety Case Guideline (3rd Edition) is expected to be released by the Risk Engineering Society through Engineers Australia later this year.

The new guidelines say due diligence should now mean safety risks are eliminated or reduced so far as is reasonably practicable (SFAIRP) rather than reducing risk to as low as is reasonably practicable (ALARP). It will detail the important differences between SFAIRP and ALARP in fulfilling obligations before judicial scrutiny in the wake of a safety incident.

The new guidelines has been seen by some as a good example of a code of practice made by the industry for the industry, which should mean it also has better grounding in court than a normal industry standard.

“Engineers should remember that in the eyes of the courts, in the absence of any legislative or contractual requirement, an Australian Standard amounts only to an expert opinion about usual or recommended practice. Also, that in the performance of any design, reliance on an Australian Standard does not relieve an engineer from the duty to exercise his or her own skill and expertise,” Minter Ellison partner Paul Wentworth told an industry publication.