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BSBWHS404 CONTRIBUTE TO WHS HAZARD IDENTIFICATION, RISK ASSESSMENT AND RISK CONTROL

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Business Services/Newcastle
Assessment Brief
Words: 4000
Referencing Style: APA
Qualification Code: BSB41415
Unit Code: BSBWHS404
Unit Name: Contribute to WHS hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control (Release 1)
Qualification Name and Release Number: Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety
 
Assessment Event One
Background:
Minimum compliance with the obligations of the WHS Act 2011 and Regulations 2017 requires an organisation to have systematic arrangements for the identification of workplace hazards and risk management processes that ensure WHS risks are identified, assessed, controlled, monitored and reviewed. In this assessment task you will be asked questions relating to how you would contribute to ensuring hazard identification and risk assessment processes are effectively undertaken in an organisation. You will do this from the perspective of a WHS practitioner or other organisation representative tasked with the responsibility and accountability for WHS.
Element One: Access information to identify hazards, and assess and control risks
What internal (i.e. WHSMS) and external (i.e. legislative requirements) sources of information would you require in completing a hazard identification or risk assessment process? Identify at least five (4) important sources of both internal and external information and data. Highlight how you would access this information.

Internal Sources

Workplace policies and processes and standards
Workplace standards and guidelines often include a reinforcement of the standard operating procedures, also called SOPs, in the workplace. These are written policies which aim to be the primary information book of the employees so that they will be aware of the proper behaviour and work technicalities.
All employees must be made aware of the policy, which should be subject to regular review and revision in the light of experience. Revisions may be in response to changes in the nature of work carried out, new machinery, or any changes in legislation.
Again, revisions should be brought to the employees’ attention.
Policies should be written in plain English so they can be easily understood and put into practice.
Workplace procedures
A procedure sets out the steps to be followed for work activities.
Procedures are an essential part of any organization.
Procedures provide a roadmap for day-to-day operations.
They ensure compliance with laws and regulations, give guidance for decision-making, and streamline internal processes.
Originations must consult with affected workers when developing procedures for resolving work health and safety issues.
Consulting with workers on work health and safety, monitoring worker health and workplace conditions, and providing information and training.
Workplace systems
A typical business organization accomplishes its work load by creating a series of tasks that are performed and carried out as required.
Placing those tasks into series of organized and interconnected systems may benefit the company by introducing efficiency and order to the workday and ultimately increasing the bottom line.
Work systems allow everyday tasks to operate in a coordinated safe manner and provide a basic framework to produce services and products.

External Sources

WHS legislation including the WHS Act
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (the Act) provides a framework to protect the health, safety and welfare of all workers and others in relation to NSW workplaces and work activities. Reviews are scheduled once every five years. This is the first since the Act was introduced.
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017
Administers, provide advice and monitor and enforce compliance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017. If you are an employer or business (or other PCBU) you must comply with these laws to ensure the health and safety of your workers.
Chapter 3
Part 3.1 Managing Risk to Health and Safety
WHS regulatory authorities and their publications including codes of practice, guidance material, safety alerts
A code of practice provides detailed information on specific work tasks to help you achieve the standards required under the work health and safety (WHS) laws. These do not replace the WHS laws, but codes of practice can help make understanding what you have to do a little easier.
Guidance material, such as fact sheets, guides and safety alerts, provide more detailed information on the requirements of statutes, regulations, standards and codes of practice in relation to particular tasks and activities or in the operation of specific plant and equipment.
 
2.  Having selected your information and data what tools or strategies does can an organisation use to determine the nature, scope, range of harms caused and harm impacts on workers?
How to work out the likelihood of harm occurring
The likelihood that someone will be harmed can be estimated by considering the following:

  • How often is the task done?
  • Does this make the harm more or less likely?
  • How often are people near the hazard
  • How close do people get to it
  • Has it ever happened before, either in your workplace or somewhere else
  • How often

You can rate the likelihood as one of the following:

  • Certain to occur—expected to occur in most circumstances
  • Very likely—will probably occur in most circumstances
  • Possible—might occur occasionally
  • Unlikely—could happen at some time
  • Rare—may happen only in exceptional circumstances.

Further questions that can help estimate likelihood.
As in the table

Questions Explanation and examples
How often are people exposed to the hazard? A hazard may exist all of the time or it may only exist occasionally. The more often a hazard is present, the greater the likelihood it will result in harm.For example:

  • Meshing gears in an enclosed gearbox can cause crushing only if the gearbox is open during maintenance, and therefore the potential for harm will not occur very often.
  • Continuously lifting heavy boxes has the potential to cause harm whenever the work is done.
How long might people be exposed to the hazard? The longer that someone is exposed to a hazard, the greater the likelihood that harm may result.For example: The longer a person is exposed to noisy work, the more likely it is that they will suffer hearing loss.
How effective are current controls in reducing risk? In most cases the risks being assessed will already be subject to some control measures. The likelihood of harm resulting from the risk will depend upon how adequate and effective the current measures are.For example: Traffic management controls have been implemented in a warehouse to separate moving forklifts from pedestrians by using signs and painted lines on the floor. These controls may need to be upgraded to include physical barriers.
Could any changes in your organisation increase the likelihood? The demand for goods or services in many organisations varies throughout the year. Changes in demand may be seasonal, depend on environmental conditions or be affected by market fluctuations that are driven by a range of events. Meeting increased demand may cause unusual loads on people, plant and equipment and systems of work. Failures may be more likely.For example: Inner city restaurants and bistros are very busy in the period prior to Christmas, placing extra demands on kitchen and serving staff. The increase in volume of food to be prepared and serving a larger number of patrons increases the potential for human error and the likelihood of harm.
Are hazards more likely to cause harm because of the working environment?  Examples of situations where the risk of injury or illness may become more likely:

  • Environmental conditions change. For example, work performed in high temperatures in a small space increases the potential for mistakes because workers become fatigued more quickly; wet conditions make walkways and other things slippery.
  • People are required to work quickly. The rate at which work is done (e.g. number of repetitions) can over-stress a person’s body or make it more likely that mistakes will be made.
    • There is insufficient light or poor ventilation.
Could the way people act and behave affect the likelihood of a hazard causing harm? The possibility that people may make mistakes, misuse items, become distracted or panic in particular situations needs to be considered. The effects of fatigue or stress may make it more likely that harm will occur.
Do the differences between individuals in the workplace make it more likely for harm to occur? Workers are not all the same and individual variability should be considered, for example:

  • People respond to stress at work in different ways, which means some workers are more susceptible to harm.
  • People with disabilities may be more likely to suffer harm if the workplace or process is not designed for their needs.
  • New or young workers may be more likely to suffer harm because of inexperience.
  • People who do not normally work at the workplace will have less knowledge than employees who normally work there, and may be more likely to suffer harm. These people include contractors, visitors or members of the public.

 

Element Two: Contribute to compliance and workplace requirements

3.  How does an organisation identify WHS duty holders and their range of duties? Select three (3) ways that an organisation can ensure duty holders are appropriately identified.
WHS Regulations
The WHS Regulations specify the way in which some duties under the WHS Act must be met and prescribes procedural or administrative requirements to support the WHS Act (for example requiring licences for specific activities and the keeping of records).
WHS Act
Duty Holder – refers to any person who owes a work health and safety duty under the WHS Act including a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), designer, manufacturer, importer, supplier, installer of products or plant used at work (upstream duty holders), an officer and workers.
Codes of Practice
Codes of Practice provide practical guidance on how to meet the standards set out in the WHS Act and the WHS Regulations. Codes of Practice are admissible in proceedings as evidence of whether or not a duty under the WHS laws has been met.
They can also be referred to by an inspector when issuing an improvement or prohibition notice.
It is recognised that equivalent or better ways of achieving the required work health and safety outcomes may be possible.
For that reason, compliance with Codes of Practice is not mandatory providing that any other method used provides an equivalent or higher standard of work health and safety than suggested by the Code of Practice.
 
hire-expert
 
4.  How can an individual or duty holder contribute to the identification and compliance with requirements of WHS Acts, Regulations Codes of Practice and workplace policies, procedures, processes and systems for hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control activities? Answer this question from the perspective of the following people:
a).  a front line manager/supervisor
Manager or supervisor responsibilities
If you are a supervisor, even if not officially recognised as such, you are responsible for the carrying out of work in a safe manner in the workplace.
The duties include:

  • making decisions about health and safety that may affect work activities or other people
  • ensuring legal requirements regarding health and safety are met
  • actioning safety reports and carrying out workplace inspections
  • ensuring safe work method statements are completed
  • ensuring safe work practices
  • conducting inductions and regular safety briefings
  • participating in incident investigations
  • leading by example and promoting health and safety at every opportunity.

b).  worker and;

  • Duty of workers (section 28)
  • While at work, workers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions or omissions.
  • They must also:
  • comply, so far as they are reasonably able, with any reasonable instruction given by the PCBU to allow the PCBU to comply with WHS laws, and
  • cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure of the PCBU relating to health or safety at the workplace that has been notified to workers.

c).  health and safety representative.
If elected as a health and safety representative (HSR) shall:

  • represent the workers in the HSRs work group on health and safety matters and in discussions with managers on hazards and safety issues
  • monitor that the ‘person conducting the business or undertaking’ (PCBU)—a broad term used in work health and safety legislation to describe all forms of business—is meeting health and safety standards
  • promote the health and safety of workers in your work group
  • provide a vital communication link between people at work and the PCBU. HSRs are not expected to be an expert on health and safety, and are not responsible for fixing problems in HSRs workplace.

 

Element Three: Contribute to workplace hazard identification

5.  How would an organisation advise an individual and parties of workplace hazards, the harms they cause and the effects they have on workers? Highlight three (3) examples of WHS knowledge that would assist in this process.
Consultation

  • Work Health and Safety Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination Code of Practice – practical guidance for employers on how to effectively consult with workers.
  • Health and safety aspects are considered in the design of work and throughout the product and service life cycle.

The Australian standard
The Australian standard, AS/NZS ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use):

  • specifies the conditions for a workplace health and safety management system
  • gives guidance on its use.

The standard aims to enable organisations to provide safe and healthy workplaces by preventing work-related injury and illness, and proactively improve its work health and safety performance.
Like some other Australian standards dealing with management systems, AS/NZS ISO 45001:2018 is closely aligned with the relevant international standards, ISO 9000 series, dealing with similar issues.
Health and safety committees The Australian standard
Health and safety committees—sections 75 to 79 of the WHS Act
Participating in Effective Health and Safety Committees guide for committee members)

  • Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) a health and safety committee bring together workers and management to develop and review health and safety policies and procedures for the workplace.

Functions of a health and safety committee are:

    • facilitate cooperation between the PCBU and workers in instigating, developing and carrying out measures designed to ensure the workers’ health and safety at work
    • assist in developing standards, rules and procedures relating to health and safety
    • comply with functions prescribed by regulations
    • carry out any other functions agreed between the PCBU and the health and safety committee.

6.  What knowledge does an individual or party need to have to contribute and apply to the selection, techniques, tools and processes used to identify workplace hazards, undertake risk assessment, and determine risk control measures then implement, evaluate and review the success of the risk controls? How can an organisation facilitate this process? Provide four (4) examples of facilitation.
Model Code of Practice
How to manage work health and safety risks
This Code of Practice on how to manage work health and safety risks is an approved code of practice under section 274 of the Work Health and Safety Act (the WHS Act)
Examples
1—How to identify hazards
Identifying hazards in the workplace involves finding things and situations that could potentially cause harm to people. Hazards generally arise from the following aspects of work and their interaction:

  • physical work environment
  • equipment, materials and substances used
  • work tasks and how they are performed, and
  • work design and management.

How to find hazards
Inspect the workplace
As a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), regularly walking around the workplace and observing how things are done can help you predict what could or might go wrong. Look at how people actually work, how plant and equipment are used, what chemicals are around and what they are used for, what safe or unsafe work practices exist as well as the general state of housekeeping.Things to look out for include the following:

  • Does the work environment enable workers to carry out work without risks to health and safety (for example, space for unobstructed movement, adequate ventilation, lighting)?
  • How is work performed, including the physical, mental and emotional demands of the tasks and activities?
  • How suitable are the tools and equipment for the task and how well are they maintained?
  • How do workers, managers, supervisors and others interact and how are inappropriate behaviours or conflicts dealt with?
  • Have any changes occurred in the workplace which may affect health and safety?

2—How to assess risks
A risk assessment involves considering what could happen if someone is exposed to a hazard and the likelihood of it happening. A risk assessment can help you, as a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), to determine:

  • how severe a risk is?
  • whether any existing control measures are effective
  • what action you should take to control the risk, and
  • how urgently the action needs to be taken.

Many hazards and their associated risks are well known and have well established and accepted control measures. In these situations, the second step to formally assess the risk is not required. If after identifying a hazard you already know the risk and how to control it effectively, you may simply implement the controls.
A risk assessment can be undertaken with varying degrees of detail depending on the type of hazard and the information, data and resources that you have available. It can be as simple as a discussion with your workers or involve specific risk analysis tools and techniques developed for specific risks or recommended by safety professionals. For some complex situations, expert or specialist advice may be useful when conducting a risk assessment.

 
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