BSBWHS201 Student Book V2.1016

Student
Book
BUSINESS
COLLEGE
Certificate II
Customer engagement
Contribute to health and

safety of self and others
BSBWHS201
COURSE CODE
Student Workbook
BSBWHS201 Contribute to health and safety
of self and others
BSBWHS201 Contribute to health and safety of self and others 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills
Council Ltd
Version 2: October 2016: Page 0 of 83
Part of a suite of support materials for the
BSB Business Services Training Package
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First published: July 2015

1st edition version: 1
Release date: July 2015
ISBN: 978-1-925328-88-2
Stock code: BSBWHS2011D
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Table of Contents
Contents
BSB Business Services Training Package ....................................................................... 1
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................. 2
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 4
Features of the training program ......................................................................................... 4
Structure of the training program ........................................................................................ 4
Recommended reading ........................................................................................................ 4
Section 1 Work Safely ........................................................................................................... 7
What skills will you need? .................................................................................................... 7
Know the law......................................................................................................................... 8
Identify organisational WHS policies and procedures ...................................................... 11
Participate in safety training and induction ...................................................................... 15
Follow safe work procedures and processes .................................................................... 16
Follow emergency procedures ........................................................................................... 23
Section summary ................................................................................................................ 27
Further reading ................................................................................................................... 27
Section checklist ................................................................................................................. 27
Section 2 Follow Work Safety Requirements .................................................................... 28
What skills will you need? .................................................................................................. 28
Identify designated persons ............................................................................................... 29
Identify hazards .................................................................................................................. 30
Report and record hazards ................................................................................................ 39
Conduct safety inspections or audits ................................................................................ 41
Report incidents.................................................................................................................. 44
Identify WHS duty holders .................................................................................................. 45
Section summary ................................................................................................................ 48
Further reading ................................................................................................................... 48
Section 3 Participate in Consultation................................................................................. 49
What skills will you need? .................................................................................................. 49
Participate in consultation ................................................................................................. 50
Assess risk .......................................................................................................................... 55
Take action: Eliminate or control risk ................................................................................ 59
Section summary ................................................................................................................ 65
Further reading ................................................................................................................... 65
Glossary ................................................................................................................................... 67
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Appendices.............................................................................................................................. 72
Appendix 1: Ace Accounting ............................................................................................... 72
Appendix 2: Ace Accounting organisational structure and WHS structure ..................... 73
Appendix 3: Ace Accounting WHS policy ........................................................................... 74
Appendix 4: Ace Accounting evacuation procedure ......................................................... 76
Appendix 5: Ace Accounting manual lifting procedure ..................................................... 77
Appendix 6: Incident report ................................................................................................ 78
Appendix 7: Safety inspection checklist ............................................................................ 83
Appendix 8: Risk register ................................................................................................... 87
Appendix 9: Answers to selected activities ....................................................................... 88
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Introduction
Features of the training program
The key features of this program are:
Student Workbook Self-paced learning activities to help you to develop an
understanding of key concepts and terms. The Student Workbook is broken down
into several sections.
Facilitator-led sessions Challenging and interesting learning activities that can be
completed in the classroom or by distance learning that will help you consolidate
and apply what you have learned in the Student Workbook.
Assessment tasks Summative assessments where you can apply your new skills
and knowledge to solve authentic workplace tasks and problems.
Structure of the training program

This training program introduces you to skills and knowledge that will help you apply
health and safety law to your work. You will grow skills and knowledge in the following
topic areas:
1. Work safely
2. Follow work safety requirements
3. Participate in WHS consultation.
Your facilitator may choose to combine or split sessions. For example, in some cases, this
training program may be delivered in two or three sessions, or in others, as many as eight
sessions.
Recommended reading
Some recommended reading for this unit includes:
Print resources
Dunn, C. and Chennell, S., 2012, Australian master work health and safety guide,
CCH Australia Limited, NSW.

Dunn, C. E, 2012, Annotated Australian work health and safety legislation, CCH
Australia Limited, NSW.

Frick, K., Jensen, P., Quinlan, M., and Wilthagen, T., 2000, Systematic occupational
health and safety management, Pergamon, New York.

Standards Australia, 2009, AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk management
principles and guidelines.

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Taylor, G., Easter, K., and Hegney, R., 2001, Enhancing safety: a workplace guide 1,
3rd edn, WestOne, Perth.
Online resources
Canvas Solutions, Application store, GoCanvas, viewed June 2015,
<http://www.gocanvas.com/mobile-forms-apps/>.
Commonwealth Government, Acts and codes of practice in your state or territory,
Business.gov.au, viewed June 2015,

<http://www.business.gov.au/businesstopics/employing-people/workplace-healthand-safety/Pages/workplace-healthand-safety-in-your-state-or-territory.aspx>.
IBSA, IBSA channel, YouTube, viewed June 2015,
<http://www.youtube.com/ibsachannel>.
Safe Work Australia, 2011, Model Codes of practice, Safe Work Australia, viewed
June 2015, <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/model-whs-laws/

model-cop/pages/model-cop>.
Safe Work Australia, 2011, How to manage work health and safety risks, available
online, Safe Work Australia, viewed June 2015,

<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/Documents
/633/How_to_Manage_Work_Health_and_Safety_Risks.pdf >.
Safe Work Australia, 2011, Work health and safety consultation, co-operation and
co-ordination code of practice, available online, Safe Work Australia, viewed June
2015, <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/
Documents/624/Work_Health_and_Safety_Consultation_CoOperation_and_
CoOrdination.pdf>.
Safe Work Australia, 2012, Emergency plans fact sheet, available online, Safe
Work Australia, viewed June 2015, <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/

SWA/about/Publications/Documents/657/Emergency_plans_fact_sheet.pdf>.
Safe Work Australia, 2012, First aid in the workplace code of practice, available

<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/about/publications/pages/firsta
id-in-the-workplace>.
Safe Work Australia, 2012, Guide to the model Work Health and Safety Act,
available online, Safe Work Australia, viewed June 2015,

/717/Guide-to-the-WHS-Act.pdf>.
Safe Work Australia, viewed June 2015,
<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA>.
Safety Culture, viewed June 2015, <http://www.safetyculture.com.au/>.
SAI Global, viewed June 2015, <http://www.saiglobal.com>.
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The Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors, (IEHF), Office work, The Learning
Zone, viewed June 2015, <http://www.ergonomics4schools.com/lzone/

office.htm>.
WorkCover NSW, 2012, Compliance policy and prosecution guidelines, available
online, WorkCover NSW, viewed June 2015, <http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/

__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/15319/compliance_policy_prosecution_guidelines_
2012_4437.pdf>
WorkSafe Tasmania, Sample safe work procedures, WorkSafe Tasmania, viewed
June 2015, <http://worksafe.tas.gov.au/safety/safety_advisors/sample_safe_

work_procedures>.
WorkSafe Victoria, viewed June 2015, <http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/>.
Please note that any URLs contained in the recommended reading, learning content and
learning activities of this publication were checked for currency during the production
process. Note, however, that IBSA cannot vouch for the ongoing currency of URLs.
Every endeavour has been made to provide a full reference for all web links. Where URLs
are not current, we recommend using the reference information provided to search for
the source in your chosen search engine.
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Section 1 Work Safely

This section is about working safely. You need to work safely to meet legal and
organisational needs. This section explains those legal and organisational needs by
talking about the work health and safety (WHS) laws, the WHS policy and procedures that
an organisation has, pre-start systems*, equipment checks, and what you should do in
emergencies.
*A pre-start system is a checklist for checking your equipment before you start using it.
Scenario: Working safely at Ace Accounting
Ace Accounting is a medium-sized accounting firm that has its head office in Melbourne,
Victoria. Ace Accounting also has offices in Sydney, NSW. Karen works in Ace
Accounting as a clerk in the tax returns department at the Sydney office.
As a member of the administration team, she is responsible for:
answering calls from clients
writing workplace documents at a workstation*.
To follow the WHS laws and company guidelines, Karen will need to do her best to be
safe herself and do her best to make sure others are safe. She will need to follow
procedures for doing her own work because the company wrote the procedures to make
sure that Karen uses the safest method of completing her tasks.
Karen has completed WHS induction*. She needs to follow organisational procedures
for safe work including conducting housekeeping* and doing pre-start checks to set up
her workstation. In addition, Karen needs to follow procedures for safe use of office
equipment, safe lifting and use of cleaning materials in the kitchen. Karen needs to be
aware of signs to make her aware of dangerous things in the workplace that are called
hazards. Finally, Karen has to follow procedures for practice evacuations such as fire
evacuations.
*A workstation is an area where you work, when you dont have your own office.
*An induction is training you get when you start at a company so that you have a basic
knowledge of what to do
* housekeeping means looking at your workplace and making sure that it is as safe as
possible, ideally before you start your shift.
What skills will you need?

In order to work safely, you must be able to:
follow safety procedures and instructions when you are at work
do pre-start checks and equipment checks that are in your work procedures
follow work procedures for responding to emergencies.
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Know the law

There are laws in Australia that the government
designed to keep Australian workers and workplaces
safe. Under WHS law, everyone has a responsibility to
help keep a safe work environment. Employers (or
PCBUs) must keep a safe place of work. Workers must
act responsibly to perform work tasks safely and avoid
harming themselves or others.
Key term PCBU

You can think of a PCBU (person
conducting a business or
undertaking) as an employer.
The reason that we refer to
PCBU instead of employer is
because PCBU is the term used
in the WHS Act and it has a
more specific meaning than the
word employer.
In most cases, if you follow the procedures at your work,

it is enough to satisfy legal requirements for workers
and employees. For example, a construction worker
follows a work procedure by putting on a helmet before
entering the construction site. The construction worker is following a procedure for work
that is making sure he or she is safe because it will protect him from falling tools or
materials at the construction site.
In other cases, however, deciding on what your legal responsibility is for the safety of
others may be more difficult. For example:No safety procedures may exist for you to
follow. You may have special WHS duties. You may be responsible for supervising others.
You may not be sure of your rights Your employer might not follow the legal requirement
to make sure your workplace is safe. Who can you contact for advice or complain to?
To really know your legal responsibilities and rights, you need to know a little about health
and safety laws. Lets look at the legislative framework (laws), work health and safety
authorities, and think about the new WHS laws in most places around Australia.
The WHS legislative framework
Legislation
The WHS legal framework shows the relationship
Legislation is a collection of
between the different levels of legal documents. These
laws. Australian legislation, for
documents explain the requirements and enforcement
example, refers to the group of
(who the authorities are, how they make sure people are laws that apply in Australia.
following the law or how they punish people for not
following the law) of WHS legal compliance in Australian states and territories.
The WHS legal framework consists of several levels of documentation.
Acts
Regulations
Standards and codes
of practice
Guidance notes
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Acts
An Act with a capital A refers to an Act of Parliament,
Premises
which, in Australia, is a law made by a federal or state
Premises are the workplace
Parliament. Acts have the highest legal status in the
buildings, as well as land and
framework. Acts tell you who have responsibility roles
any other structures on the land.
and tasks. For example, the WHS Act tells you the
obligations of duty holders (such as employees or people
with WHS responsibilities in the workplace). Acts also tell you who is responsible for
enforcing the Acts. For example, WHS is the responsibility of the state governments
in Australia, so each state and territory enforces its own WHS Act.
Generally, the various WHS Acts across states and territories require employers (PCBUs)
to:
Protect the health and safety of workers
Make their workplaces safe and make sure these places do not risk are not
dangerous to the health and safety of the people who work there and visit
them.
Make sure that their machinery and equipment (known as plant) is safe and
is not dangerous to peoples health and safety when used correctly.
Let workplace inspectors enter any premises for inspection . Inspectors
may give written orders, directives or on-the-spot fines* (if appropriate) in order
to make sure that all plant, procedures and equipment are safe
Provide training and safety systems to ensure the health and safety of
employees and other persons in their workplace
Speak with employees first and make decisions with them that
affect WHS
*An on-the-spot fine is money the employee or employer has to pay immediately because
they didnt follow the law.
Employees also have obligations under state and territory WHS Acts. Employees must
take care of their own safety and not endanger the safety of others through their actions
or inaction. Courts generally dont prosecute employees for workplace accidents where
bad design of workplace equipment or procedures caused an injury to a person.
Regulations
Regulations support Acts by explaining how courts should understand the Acts and
enforce or use them. In other words, a Regulation is a law that results from an Act. The
regulation explains the law in practical terms. For example, Regulations made under the
WHS Act explain about fines and penalties for failing to meet safety standards.
Regulations may include approved standards, such as Australian Standards. Employers
and employees must follow both Acts and regulations. There are penalties for noncompliance, such as fines.
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Standards and codes of practice

Further, down the framework, standards and codes of practice give more specific and
detailed information about how to comply with the Acts and Regulations in specific types
of workplaces and industries.
Standards and codes of practice are not strictly mandatory, but you should follow them to
make sure you are compliant with Acts and Regulations.
Importantly, you must follow standards and codes of practice that the legislation
approves, if you cant prove that you can achieve the same or better safety outcomes by
following a different WHS practice or standard.
Safe Work Australia publishes model codes of practice, for example, How to Safely
Remove Asbestos, Confined Spaces, or Managing Electrical Risk. These codes of practice
and many others are available from the Safe Work Australia website:
<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/model-whs-
laws/modelcop/pages/model-cop>.
Guidance notes
Finally, the Commonwealth and the various states and territory regulatory bodies publish
guidance notes from time to time. These notes provide information that will help duty
holders to meet the requirements of Acts or Regulations. When you use guidance notes, it
will help you to comply with the law. Like codes of practice and industry standards,
guidance notes have no direct legal status, but you should follow them to make sure that
you comply with the law.
Safe Work Australia publishes guidance material and fact sheets, for example, there is a
guide called Hazardous Chemicals Requiring Health Monitoring, as well as a guide called
Worker Representation and Participation guide. These guidance materials and many
others are available from the Safe Work Australia website:
<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/model-whs-laws/guidance/
pages/guidance-material>.
Workplace health and safety authorities

Each state and territory in Australia has its own WorkCover or WorkSafe authority or
regulator. You can contact your state or territory regulator for information and advice on:
complying with work health and safety laws
reporting a workplace incident
renewing or applying for licences
workers compensation claims
Plant
Any machinery, equipment or
tools used at work.
registering plant and plant designs.
You can find links to various state and territory regulators on the Work Safe Australia
website:
<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/pages/default>.
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New WHS laws

You should be aware of recent changes to the health and safety laws in Australia. These
changes may affect your work and your organisations approach to work health and
safety. The Commonwealth and state and territory governments have agreed to make
laws that reflect the model Work Health Safety Act (the WHS Act) which Safe Work
Australia developed. These laws will replace older occupational health and safety (OHS)
laws.
Note that, the original OHS laws still exist in Victoria and Western Australian as they have
not yet (as at September 2016) enacted the model WHS Act. Note also that, while most
information in this Student Workbook applies to work health and safety in general, this
Student Workbook uses terminology from the WHS Act. For more information about the
model Work Health and Safety Act, and the progress of implementation, visit Safe Work
Australia:
<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/modelwhslaws/pages/jurisdictional-progress-whs-laws>.
Learning activity: New WHS laws
Visit Safe Work Australia online to find out the progress of implementation of new WHS
laws in your state or territory on the Jurisdictional progress on the model WHS laws
page: <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/modelwhslaws/pages/jurisdictional-progress-whs-laws>.
Answer the questions below.
Do new WHS laws already exist in your state or territory?
If not, is there a scheduled date for implementation?
Identify organisational WHS policies and procedures

While legislation tells you what you must do, usually it doesnt tell you how to do it for your
particular workplace. Organisations must have policies and procedures to make sure that
the workplace follows WHS legislation, approved standards and codes of practice.
The law requires employers to provide a safe system of work. This means an employer
needs a method of communicating employer and employee responsibilities and
explaining a safe way of working that all employees can follow.
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1st
Section 1
Tip: WHS manuals
An organisation usually keeps its WHS policies and procedures in a manual. Manuals
may be physical books or they could be available online. Some typical WHS policy and
procedures include:
workplace harassment policy emergency procedures
rehabilitation policy
hygiene* procedures housekeeping
procedures problem solving.
*hygiene relates to keeping people and equipment clean
* rehabilitation means the way you help an injured person to recover
and regain their health.
Lets look at policies and procedures in slightly more detail.
WHS policy
Work health and safety policies give you a foundation
for understanding employer and employee obligations.
A WHS policy is a statement of what the organisation
wants to achieve in its approach to health and safety.
For example, a WHS policy says what the employer
(called in the WHS Act a PCBU, which means a person
conducting a business or undertaking) is going to do to
keep a safe workplace and follow laws.
Policies usually contain statements about the:
Policy
Purpose
Scope
Responsibility
Legislation, etc.
purpose or intent of policy

range
responsibilities for implementation
legislation, standards and codes of practice that affect the company.
The policy will only be effective if all levels of the company are committed to it, including
senior managers. For this reason, an expression of commitment from the highest levels of
the organisation is often included in a WHS policy. Policies may also apply to specific
areas of WHS. Look at the following examples.
Example WHS policies
Ace Accounting WHS Policy (purpose)

Ace Accounting recognises its responsibility to provide a healthy and safe working
environment for employees, contractors, clients and visitors. Ace Accounting is
committed to the continued wellbeing* of its employees and to ensuring that all
employees are safe from injury and health risks while undertaking work-related
duties*, including home-based work.
*wellbeing means a feeling of safety and happiness
*undertaking work-related duties means doing tasks at work or for work
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WHS Policy 62 Manual handling (excerpt adapted)

The organisation must assess the risk of all tasks involving manual handling and
control them. The organisation must identify and communicate responsibilities for all
levels of employees and management and all staff who have these responsibilities
must do them effectively. The organisation will provide equipment to assist in
manual handling where they identify a need as part of a control measure. Staff will
use this equipment appropriately and maintain it well at all times. All operators must
be certified where the law requires it.
Control measures
An example of a full WHS policy can be found for Ace

Accounting in Appendix 3 of this Student Workbook.
Procedures
A method used to reduce or

remove risks that happen
because of a something
dangerous. For example, placing
walls around a dangerous
workplace would be an example
of a control.
A procedure is a written instruction that describes the

best (and safest) method of performing a task or activity. A WHS procedure will explain
ways to reduce any risks or harm when you do a task.
A procedure explains the potential hazards and then
describes the control measures you should apply.
Procedures often include:
name of the action or task
description of action you need to take
standards
who is responsible
process for monitoring
safety requirements
step-by-step instructions
diagrams and flow charts*
Procedure
Name
Description
Standards
Responsibility
Monitoring
Safety requirements
Instructions
Flow charts
Training needs
Reporting
training requirements
reporting requirements.
*A flowchart shows the step-by-step instructions in boxes with arrows to other boxes
Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are types of procedure that everyone should follow
in the same way. SOPs are an important way to make sure safe behaviour is consistent
when employees perform a work task. Standard setting bodies such as the International
Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) may give their support to SOPs.
You can find examples of procedures in the Appendices of this Student Workbook.
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What if I dont agree with a policy or procedure?

Policies and procedures are there for your own safety. We all have to follow them.
However, sometimes a procedure may be inaccurate, old, unsafe or incorrect.
If you notice a problem with a procedure (or you identify any safety problem), you should
tell your supervisor. If they dont help, or cant, you can tell your:
Health and safety
representative
(HSR)
Health and safety

advisor
WHS manager
Local WorkCover
or regulator
Learning activity: Policies and procedures

Think about your workplace or a workplace you are familiar with. Can you find the WHS
manual or WHS policies and procedures?
Read the Ace Accounting scenario at the beginning of the section again and look at the
WHS policy in Appendix 3. Can you think of other procedures that might be necessary
for office workers to work safely?
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Participate in safety training and induction

It is law that employers must provide training to employees to teach safe work methods.
Training may include:
Workshops
On-the-job training
WHS meetings
WHS seminars
Online training modules
WHS inductions
When you start a new job, usually you experience what is called an induction. An induction
is when you are introduced to your job; the tasks you are required to do, the culture of the
organisation and the policies and procedures you need to follow. Work health and safety
induction provides new employees with the basic information, instruction, training and
supervision that they need to function safely and effectively on-the-job.
Inductions are an opportunity for you to get a positive attitude to work health and safety
(especially when you see the positive attitudes of management and other workers). A
workers experiences in the first few weeks on a new job or task could form their attitudes
to their work and their attitude to WHS.
Learning activity: Forklift induction training
Watch the video BSBOHS201A: Forklift safety induction at Nover on IBSAs YouTube
channel at <http://youtu.be/LWY2CIKnPqs>.
What does Michelle Eccles from Toyota say is the main problem forklift operators
experience when they drive forklifts?
Section 1
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During the forklift safety induction at Nover, Michelle Eccles shows some of the features
of the new Toyota 7 series forklift. What are the features of this forklift that contribute to
reducing safety hazards in the workplace and add to driver comfort? Each feature
reduces a safety risk. Which safety risk does each feature reduce?
Check your answers in Appendix 9 of this Student Workbook.
Follow safe work procedures and processes

It is part of your responsibility to make sure that you follow workplace policies and
procedures for safe work. Procedure and processes include:
Housekeeping
Keeping informed and up-to-date
Following signs and warnings
Checking protective equipment
Conducting pre-start checks
Housekeeping
Like at your home, mess can be dangerous at work. Housekeeping is a common
workplace procedure for making sure it is safe.
For example, if you notice a spill or equipment on the floor you are must clean it up, put a
barrier around it, or report it immediately before someone slips or trips.
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Good housekeeping means all staff should check:

if the area is kept clean and tidy
if all items are safely stored
if all floor coverings are in good condition and there is no possibility that someone
will trip
if the work and floor area are clear of electrical leads, network cables or similar
objects
if all desk drawers and filing cabinets are closed when no one is using them
if waste paper bins dont have dangerous material in them, such as broken glass.
Organisational processes for housekeeping may include the use of checklists. Remember,
checking is only part of your workplace responsibility. You need to fix the problem or
report it immediately. Your workplace should have procedures for dealing with and
reporting hazards.
Keep up-to-date
You need to keep up-to-date with changing safety conditions. Lets look at some common
ways to keep up-to-date.
WHS noticeboards
WHS noticeboards let employers and responsible people show safety information to all
staff. This information includes:
Safety
notices
Workplace
hazards
Training
Usually these boards are in a tea or lunchroom, or in an area where you are can see them
and read the information.
Organisational intranets and websites

Intranets are good tools for distributing WHS information. A responsible person can put
any WHS forms and copies of safety alerts on the intranet for all staff to see and use as a
reference. Important safety information is also sometimes available on the organisations
website.
Emails, memos and safety alerts

Employers and responsible people can easily share large amounts of information with
workers cheaply and quickly via emails.
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A responsible person can also distribute memos and safety alerts to all staff. For
example, the HSR may want to remind workers about paying particular attention to falls,
slips and trips and write a safety alert for all staff to be vigilant* in this area.
*vigilant means to look very carefully, in this case for dangerous things
Example: A workplace memo
From: John Citizen CEO Ace Accounting
To: All Staff
Date: 27 June
A new safety alert about slips, trips and falls has been posted on our intranet.
At this time of the year, our work levels are particularly high and I urge all staff to be
vigilant about reducing risks wherever possible by keeping tax files and boxes of files
ordered and well-stacked.
Please be aware that visitors to our workplace are also exposed to the same risks and
remind them to be careful when entering or leaving the storage room.
I urge all staff to read this new safety alert and know how to avoid this type of accident,
and that you know what forms to use should an incident occur.
John Citizen CEO
Follow the signs and warnings

Workplaces use standard signs to so that people are aware of hazards or requirements of
different areas. Different types of signs in the workplace have different (but standardised)
colours and mean different things.
We use horns and sirens in workplaces to warn people about hazards, such as moving
equipment, or to alert people to emergencies like fires.
Mandatory signs
Mandatory signs are blue and white. They tell
you things that you must do in a work area. We
often use them to tell people to wear safety
equipment or stay on the walkways.
Caution signs
Caution signs are yellow and black. They show
workplace hazards such as forklifts, noise,
radiation areas or overhead cranes.
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Danger signs
Danger signs are always red, black and white.
They show areas where you cant go, such as
high voltage areas or chemical storage areas.
Fire safety signs

Fire safety signs are always red. They show
locations of extinguishers, hoses, alarms and
other fire safety equipment
First aid signs

First aid signs are always green. They show you
the location of first aid kits, first aid stations,
eyewash stations and so on.
Learning activity: Look for the signs!

Draw a plan of your workplace or place of learning.
Look for the following signs and tick them if you find them. Write next to each kind of
sign what colour those signs are in your workplace.
mandatory signs
..................................................................................
caution signs
..................................................................................
danger signs
..................................................................................
fire safety signs
..................................................................................
first aid signs
..................................................................................
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In your opinion, were there enough signs? If not, suggest what you could do to improve
the number or type of signs to improve workplace safety.
Check personal protective equipment (PPE)

In some work sectors (like manufacturing and construction), a common procedural
requirement is to use personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce the exposure to
hazards. PPE can include such items as:
eye protection (goggles or glasses)
hearing protection (ear plugs or ear muffs)
respiratory protection (respirators and face masks)
foot protection (safety boots, sometimes steel capped)
head protection (helmets)
body protection (aprons and/or safety harnesses).
In most office situations, workers probably wont need such PPE. However, if you work in
an office of a construction company, for example, then there may be times when you
need to wear some PPE.
Scenario: Steel cap boots
Max is a new worker at a busy factory. The factory rules say that workers must wear a
helmet, hearing protection, appropriate clothes and safety boots at all times in the
factory. The employer told Max this during his induction and reminded him a few times in
his first week.
In his second week on the job, Max forgot to wear his safety boots. He went to his
workstation and began working, but his supervisor saw him and sent him home. Not only
that, he also got a written warning.
Max was angry, but the supervisor (rightly) said: Its for Maxs own safety.
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Do pre-start checks
We usually do pre-start checks on machinery and equipment in workplaces to make sure
that they are safe and ready for work. Often, the employer develops checklists for people
to follow when starting up machinery, vehicles or equipment.
Lets look at some examples of pre-start checks.
Example 1: Work station prestart checklist
Safety point
Is access to your workstation free of obstacles?

Is the height of the chair set so that the middle row keys (AL) are at the
same level as your hands and forearms?
Is your screen set at arm's length, with the top of the screen at eye level?
Is your workstation positioned so that it reduces glare and reflection?
Can you use your mouse easily?
Is it easy to get all materials you need for work?
Do you have footrests where you need them?
Example 2: Vehicle* pre-start checklist

Safety point
Is the vehicle in neutral or park (automatic)?

Has a mechanic checked and/or fixed the brakes recently?
Does the park brake work?
Does the reversing alarm* work (if the vehicle has one)?
Are the seat belts in good condition?
Are the windscreen wipers in good condition?
Are the headlights and fog lights (if the vehicle has them) working?
Are the brake lights working?
Does the vehicle have reflectors?
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*A vehicle is anything you can drive such as a car, truck, bus or forklift
*Reversing alarm is a sound the vehicle makes to warn people that the vehicle is
reversing (going backwards)
Do you know of any pre-start checks that people do in your workplace?
Learning activity: Do pre-work and equipment checks
Consider your workplace or a workplace you know. Answer the following questions:
Do you need to do pre-work or equipment checks in your workplace?
What checks must you do?
How must you do the checks? What tools or checklists must you use?
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Follow emergency procedures

In addition to day-to-day safe work procedures, you will need to be aware of and follow
emergency procedures. It is often important for organisations to practise procedures
regularly because emergency procedures reduce the risk to people in potentially
catastrophic situations. Emergency procedures includes those for incidents, injuries and
evacuations. In addition, some people in the workplace have special responsibilities to
help or manage emergency procedures.
Incidents and injuries

Incidents and injuries may happen in many ways. Organisations should have policies and
procedures for possible high-risk incidents. The organisation should clearly communicate
these policies and procedures to employees and make them easy to access. For example,
the company can put up safety data sheets (SDS) where employees use hazardous
chemicals.
These sheets have instructions on how to manage them in case of an accident and who
to call if you need help.
Organisations should have reporting and recording procedures for incidents. These
procedures are important so that the organisation can learn from accidents and also
show that the organisation cares about improving safety. For serious incidents, such as
accidents where employees need to go to hospital, the organisation should have
procedures or processes to report to the state or territory authority or regulator.
Evacuation (fire, gas leaks or other major incidents)

The organisation must have procedures for emergencies, which can include:
medical emergency when someone must give first aid and/or call medical
personnel
fire
power failure
gas leak
bomb threat
flood or other extreme weather situations.
In each of these situations, all employees must follow the relevant procedures.
Workplaces often practise evacuating premises in case an emergency happens. Practise
can help in case the real situation happens because employees will already know the
procedures.
The organisation should arrange an emergency evacuation assembly place. All staff
should know where this particular place is and there should be signs that show where it
is.
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Case study: Evacuation procedure

ABC TAFE College is a large TAFE college in an Australian capital city.
At their main campus, ABC TAFE has 2,000 students. One Tuesday at 8.15 am (before
classes were about to begin), a 19 year old girl crashed her Dads car into the main
electrical power pole outside the TAFE. This pole carried power to the TAFE Colleges
main five-storey building. All the lighting and computer systems stopped working at ABC
TAFEs campus, except for the emergency exit signs.
Three months before, all wardens*, staff, teachers and students had practiced ABC
TAFEs evacuation procedure. Floor wardens activated the evacuation plan and
signalled for all teachers to take students to the nearby evacuation points. Teachers
took the attendance of their students and everyone stayed calm.
*See definition below.
People with special responsibilities

Some people have special responsibilities in case of incidents. These people include first
aid officers and wardens.
First aid officer

A first aid officer is a person who the organisation choses to help with emergency
treatment of injuries or illness to employees in the workplace.
If you want to be a first aid officer, you must hold a Statement of Attainment from a
registered training organisation (RTO) for at least one nationally recognised unit of
competency in first aid. Currently, these units are:
apply first aid
apply advanced first aid
manage first aid in the workplace
provide first aid in remote situations.1
If, at any point that you are responsible for organising first aid training, you should check
the up-to-date requirements for training, because they can change.
Wardens
All buildings or workplaces have wardens. They are the people who help manage
emergencies, especially evacuations from buildings or workplaces. Wardens are people
who work in your office or building and their role of warden is usually additional to their
regular work position.
The responsibilities of the wardens may vary during an emergency. They usually include
tasks like:
Safe Work Australia, 2012, First aid in the workplace code of practice, available online, Safe Work Australia,
viewed June 2015, <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/about/publications/pages/first-aidinthe-workplace>.
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managing an evacuation of people who are in a building to a safe place where
everyone meets (assembly point(s)). This includes visitors who may be in the
building at the time
helping the emergency services
using portable fire extinguishers in the building when it is safe to use them.
The fire wardens role, when the fire alarm sounds, is to check the area of the building
they are responsible for to make sure that no one is inside and report to the senior fire
warden or incident officer at their assembly point. Fire wardens dont fight fires or put
themselves in danger. They receive training from an approved training provider to make
sure that they can undertake their duties safely.
It is important to know who the warden is for your building or workplace. In an emergency,
it is important to quickly recognise the wardens. It is also important that emergency
services (police, fire, ambulance) can quickly identify who the wardens are. The use of
coloured safety helmets helps with this.
Wardens may include trained first aid people.
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Learning activity: Find the warden

Think about your own workplace or a workplace you know.
Find out who your wardens are and what their responsibilities are in an emergency.
Also, ask what colour helmet they have.
Do you have different wardens who do different tasks in an emergency?
Write down your results below.
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Section summary
This section covered skills and knowledge that you need to work safely to satisfy both
legal and organisational requirements. You should now be able to describe the WHS
legislative framework, follow organisational WHS policy and procedures, do pre-start
systems and equipment checks, and implement workplace procedures for responding to
emergencies.
Further reading
Dunn, C. E., 2012, Annotated Australian work health and safety legislation, CCH

Dunn, C. and Chennell, S., 2012, Part 2: Legal issues in workplace health and
safety, in Australian master work health and safety guide, CCH Australia Limited,
NSW.
Safe Work Australia, 2012, Emergency plans fact sheet, available online, Safe
Work Australia, viewed June 2015, <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/

SWA/about/Publications/Documents/657/Emergency_plans_fact_sheet.pdf>.
Safe Work Australia, 2011, Model codes of practice, Safe Work Australia, viewed

Safe Work Australia, 2011, Model Work Health and Safety Act, Safe Work
Australia, viewed June 2015, <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/

model-whs-laws/model-whs-act/pages/model-whs-act>.
WorkSafe Tasmania, Sample safe work procedures, WorkSafe Tasmania, viewed
June 2015, <http://worksafe.tas.gov.au/safety/safety_advisors/sample_safe_

work_procedures>.
Section checklist
Before you go on to the next section, make sure that you are able to:
follow safety procedures and instructions when at work
do pre-start checks and equipment checks that work procedures tell you to do
follow work procedures for responding to emergency incidents.
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Section 2 Follow Work Safety

Requirements
In this section, we focus on how to apply the requirements of legislation, policies and
procedures in the workplace. This section explains how to find the right person to report
problems to and identify hazards, follow procedures, report incidents, and recognise who
is responsible for different duties (duty holders) and what duties they are responsible for.
Scenario: Ace Accounting WHS duties
Remember that Ace Accounting employs Karen as a clerk in the Sydney tax returns
department. Karen needs to do this work in a safe manner to make sure that she and
other staff are safe. Sometimes this responsibility can include reporting hazards to her
supervisor or health and safety representative (HSR).
In addition to her regular responsibilities, Karen has some additional WHS duties.
She is now the volunteer First Aid Officer for her work group. She completed a
two day accredited course in emergency first aid. If an injury or incident occurs,
she must make sure that she completes an incident report (using the Ace
Accounting template) and reports the incident to the WorkCover Authority of NSW
if she needs to.
She also helps the HSR do regular safety inspections of the office.
To understand her WHS role in the organisation and do her volunteer WHS duties,
Karen needs to identify WHS duty holders. The duty holders include herself, other
workers, supervisors and managers and Ace Accounting.

In order to follow work safety requirements, you must be able to:
identify who you need to report queries and concerns about safety in the workplace
to.
identify current and possible hazards in the workplace, report them to the right duty
holder, and record them according to workplace procedures
identify and implement WHS procedures and work instructions
identify and report emergency incidents and injuries to the right duty holder
according to workplace procedures
identify WHS duty holders in own work area and their duties.
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Identify designated persons

As an employee, one of your WHS responsibilities is to help to keep a workplace safe by
reporting hazards or raising concerns about health and safety. You need to report these
concerns to designated persons (the right duty holder) in your organisation.
Health and safety representatives

Health and safety representatives (HSRs) play an
important role in work health and safety. They are an
important communication link between employees and
management. One or more work groups elect a HSR for
a three-year period and the HSR may choose a deputy
HSR to help them. A work group may elect more than
one HSR if it is necessary.
Work group
A grouping of employees who
share similar work health and
safety concerns and conditions,
usually because they have
similar work tasks and/or work
in the same office or work
space.
Under WHS law, employers must allow workers to be represented by an HSR if they (the
workers) choose. Work groups elect HSRs to represent the worries of employees who
share similar work health and safety worries and conditions. HSRs can do the following
things:
Routine inspections of the workplace or inspections resulting from a reported
hazard or incident
Accompany state regulator inspectors during visits
Get access to WHS information on activities and workers
Investigate WHS complaints that workers make.
HSRs can take health and safety complaints and worries from employees to
management. This is really important when employees believe that control measures for
hazards are not going to keep them safe. Employees may talk about these worries at
health and safety committee (HSC) meetings (we describe health and safety committees
in more detail on page 46). Management will then tell employees about the results and
decisions of these meetings. This process forms an important part of consultation, which
we will talk about in more detail in Section 3.
If a HSR has completed approved training, then they can also issue provisional
improvement notices (PINs). A PIN is an order to an employer stating that they have to fix
a health and safety issue in the workplace.
Safety advisors
WHS advisors are full-time staff or consultants who give advice and guidance for
implementing WHS in the workplace. WHS advisors will provide information on various
WHS matters including reporting options. Safety advisors may also include external safety
consultants with specialised WHS expertise.
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WHS managers
Larger organisations employ WHS managers to manage health and safety and WHS
systems. WHS managers should consult with workers directly, though their
representatives, and through consultative arrangements such as HSCs. WHS managers
may receive and respond to queries and complaints, from either direct reports or anyone
in the organisation, depending on the reporting procedures.
Supervisors, line managers and team leaders

Direct supervisors, line managers and team leaders are responsible for their workers
safety and, as officers of a PCBU, they have a duty of care to make sure everyone follows
safety policies and procedures. Direct supervisors might receive and respond to queries
and complaints relating to health and safety, depending on the reporting procedures.
Learning activity: Identify designated persons
Think about your own workplace or place of learning. Review relevant policies
and procedures.
Find out who you can contact to:
lodge a complaint (tell a complaint to)
make an enquiry
report a hazard.
Identify hazards
You will need to identify and categorise hazards to participate in work health and safety.
Organisations use identification and categorisation to decide on how to eliminate or
control the hazard. Hazards may take many forms. We can often categorise them into
physical hazards, psychosocial hazards, mechanical hazards, chemical hazards, sources
of energy, and environmental hazards.
Lets look at these six types of hazards in more detail.
Follow Work Safety Requirements
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Physical hazards
They are many types of physical hazards, but
some common ones in an office environment
include:
mess
fluid spills (such as coffee or water)
poor manual handling poor ergonomics.
Mess and spills

Mess and spills are a major cause of workplace accidents. A clean workplace is a safe
workplace. Housekeeping procedures, as discussed in Section 1, are a good way to
control mess.
Tip: 5S your work area
Mess and poor housekeeping can make someone trip or fall and these are common
causes of injuries in the workplace. Programs such as 5S can reduce these types of
injuries.
5S is a systematic way to organise your workplace organisation where employees need
to:
Sort remove any unnecessary items from the work area.
Set in order organise the things that you need (a place for everything and
everything in its place).

Shine clean and paint the work area.
Standardise develop standard procedures for the work area.
Sustain have rosters, checklists, responsibilities for work areas so that you
dont go back to bad old habits.
Learning activity: Research 5S

There is plenty of information on the internet about 5S. Find some 5S techniques for
organising your workstation. List the things you would do to 5S your desk.
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Manual handling
Manual handling is when you lift and move boxes or other equipment yourself rather than
using special equipment to help you move items (like moving heavy items with a forklift).
Manual handling is a common workplace task and poor manual handling is a common
cause of injury. It can involve lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing, pulling and so on.
You probably know someone that has an injured back or shoulder because they didnt lift
or carry a box, product or stock correctly at work.
Tip: How to lift, carry and lower
When lifting you should use good lifting techniques:
Get as close to the load as possible. You need to centre yourself over the load
and stand with your feet apart (your feet should be in line with your shoulders).
Tighten your stomach muscles. This helps to support your back.
Put your hands on the load firmly and pull the load near you. The further away the
load is from the body, the heavier it will feel.

Bend your knees. Bending your knees is the most important thing you can do
when lifting moderate to heavy objects. The advice is to squat down like a
weightlifter, keep your back in its natural arch, and let the legs do the lifting. The
leg muscles are much more powerful than the smaller muscles in your back.
Move it slowly and smoothly and lift straight up; do not move it too quickly and
suddenly.
Do not twist or turn your body while lifting. Keep your head up and just look
straight ahead. Hold the load close and keep it steady.2
Poor ergonomics
Ergonomics is a word used to describe how people function in their workplace. It is
necessary that any workstation is ergonomically correct when we use or introduce any
screen-based equipment such as portable computers.
Tip: Set up your workstation
Try following this advice for setting up your workstation:
Adjust the height of the chair so that the keys (AL) are in line with your hands
and arms.
The screen should be at a distance that allows you to focus easily. Usually this is
about an arms length, with the top of the screen at eye level.
Wrists should be held in a neutral or straight position. If you bend them up or
down, it can cause injury.
Adapted from: Washington University, Resources directory, Environmental health and safety, viewed June
2015, <http://ehs.wustl.edu/resources/EHS%20Documents/Back%20Safety%20and%20Lifting.pdf>.
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Position the workstation so that you reduce glare and reflection. You should put
your monitors in a place where they are 90 degrees to the window.

If this is not possible, you can put an anti-glare filter over the screen.
Add a mouse, keyboard and monitor to your laptop if you use it a lot.
When you look at a hard-copy source document, always use an adjustable
document holder.
When using a mouse, consider the following tips:
Hands should be in a relaxed position over the mouse and the keyboard.
Place your mouse right next to your keyboard.
Move the mouse across the mouse pad surface with your wrist and arm together,
not just the wrist.

Allow your fingers to rest (flop) over the mouse. Do not hold fingers above the
buttons ready to strike. Keep your hand off the mouse when not using.
Take your hand off the mouse every 5 to 10 minutes and stretch your arms and
shake your fingers.

Keep your mouse close. Beware of over-reaching.3
Mechanical hazards
Mechanical hazards include machinery, parts, tools, objects and materials that employees
use in the work process that can lead to injuries. Such hazards have the potential to cut,
rip, tear, crush, penetrate and fly through the air or cause sudden impact.
Some general guidelines to consider when avoiding mechanical hazards include:
Wear proper eye, hand and foot protection
Always use PPE like face shields, safety glasses, and/or goggles
when you need to
Dont wear loose items such as rings, necklaces, bracelets, long hair,
loose clothing, neckties, scarves, earrings, and beards
Watch out for sharp objects, pinch points and moving objects
Obey all safety signs

Always use safety devices on equipment
Example: Forklift injuries in Australian workplaces
Adapted from: The Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors, (IEHF), Office work, The learning zone, viewed
June 2015, <http://www.ergonomics4schools.com/lzone/office.htm>.
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Forklifts are a major cause of injury and death in Australian workplaces. This doesnt
need to be the case. Risk assessments and safe working procedures could greatly
reduce the number of forklift injuries.
For example, in one situation, a forklifts mast (in front of the front window) hit a beam,
which made the forklift fall on its side and crush the driver, who later died. The
investigation found he was not wearing a seatbelt and suffered injuries to his head and
upper body. The investigation told the court that the company had bought the forklift
recently and they hadnt done a full risk assessment of it. Its mast was 10 cm too high
to clear the beams at the workplace. The employer was aware of this because the same
beam had been hit the day before.4
Psychosocial hazards
An often overlooked, yet surprisingly common, type of hazard is psychosocial hazards. This
includes things like:
Drug and
alcohol abuse
Fatigue
Bullying and
harassment
Stress and
overwork
Stress and overwork

Stress can be caused by conditions in the workplace. In some cases, job stress can be
disabling.
Violence and bullying

Bullying can happen between co-workers, clients, customers, contractors and others from
outside the workplace. It can also happen with employers and managers in positions of
authority.
Workplace bullying (and any associated violence) is a serious health and safety hazard. It
is often characterised by:
unreasonable demands and impossible targets
threatening verbal abuse
malicious gossip and/or rumours about the person
cruel or humiliating initiation rituals (very common for some apprentices)
mandatory overtime, unfair rostering or allocation of work or training
interference with personal belongings or locker and desk area
sabotage of work.
Adapted from: J. Alder, 2007, Forklift death leads to $200,000 fine, Safety culture, viewed June 2015,
<http://www.safetyculture.com.au/news/index.php/06/forklift-death-leads-to-200000-fine/>.
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Sexual harassment
Tip: Dealing with bullying
All employees have the right to respect and to a safe and healthy environment at work.
If bullying is happening in your workplace, there are ways to deal with it, including:
talking about it openly with fellow workers
holding a meeting, even away from the workplace if necessary
involving the workplace HSR, HSC or other delegates
contacting the union if a union member needs help
contacting senior management and human resources representatives.
The federal Sex Discrimination Act (1984)defines sexual harassment as: any unwelcome
or unwanted sexual behaviour which makes a person feel offended, humiliated and/or
intimidated, where that reaction is reasonable in the situation.
Sexual harassment in the workplace more frequently involves men harassing women,
although sometimes women harass men. Sexual harassment can involve activities such
as:
touching and/or kissing that the other person doesnt want
showing pornographic images in the workplace
sexual suggestions and asking for sexual favours
inappropriate sexual comments and/or jokes of a sexual nature.
Example: The costs of sexual harassment

In the case of Tan v Xenos (2008), a third year neurosurgery trainee at Monash Medical
Centre, Dr Tan, was successful in her claim of sexual harassment against Mr Xenos.
In this incident Mr Xenos allegedly approached Dr Tan from behind in his office while
she was not looking, turned her around and embraced her. He also allegedly kissed her
on the lips, touched her inappropriately and indecently exposed himself to her.
The court found that Dr Tan was a believable witness in her case against Mr Xenos and
it ordered him to pay $100,000 in compensation costs.
Substance abuse
Substance abuse (using drugs and alcohol) amongst employees is a huge problem in the
workplace. This is because an employee that abuses drugs or alcohol is a risk to
themselves and also to others.
Substance abuse can result in the employee being absent. It can reduce their productivity
and ultimately contribute to bad morale in the workplace if other staff members have to do
their work for them. Drug and alcohol testing in Australian workplaces is now common in
many industries, especially in larger organisations. Intoxication presents really serious
safety concerns. In some cases there is specific legislation authorising mandatory testing
in aviation, for example. Many workplaces have policies and procedures to deal with
workers who use drugs or alcohol. Follow Work Safety Requirements
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Chemical and biological hazards

Chemical and biological hazards are a very common type of workplace hazard. Think of all
the chemicals that you keep at home. At work you need these and usually many more.
Cleaning agents (acids, bases and solvents)

Strong effects of exposure* to these chemicals can include extreme respiratory irritation
(problems breathing) and immediate and severe eye damage. Skin, eye, or lung exposure
to concentrated solutions will cause immediate, severe, penetrating burns.
Exposure* to less concentrated solutions may have equally serious effects, but you might
not experience the symptoms until 24 hours later. The key rule is if you are exposed to a
dangerous chemical find medical advice immediately, even if you do not feel pain.
*EXPOSURE to chemicals usually means getting the chemical on your skin or accidentally
drinking it, or breathing chemicals that are dangerous to breath in
Dusts and vapours

Dust (which is very small) and vapours (which you cant see) are less obvious dangers. It is
important to work in ventilated areas. If possible, try and eliminate dusts as much as
possible all. For example, instead of a highly volatile compound powder that produces
dust, use something strong and solid. Many dusty powders are also available in brick,
pellet, paste, flakes, oil dampened powders, and other forms that create less dust when
you touch or move them, and reduce the chance of breathing in the dust.
These materials can be more expensive to purchase, but they are safer for workers to
touch or move and can be cheaper when you think about other costs, such as the cost of
ventilation to control dust.
Another commonly used WHS work practice is to always use a vacuum cleaner (never
sweep) when you cleap up dust that has come off a chemical compound.
What is an SDS?
An SDS is a safety data sheet. Until recently, these were called material safety data sheets
(MSDS). WHS laws require manufacturers to prepare safety data sheets (SDS) before a
hazardous substance is supplied to another person to use at work. The SDS must include
the following information:
Recommended uses
Precautions for employees to followfor safe use
Chemical and physical properties

Description of each ingredient in it
Emergency and general contact details of the manufacturer
Relevant health hazard information
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Tip: SDS for cleaning fluids

Always read carefully the SDS for cleaning fluids.
It is common for people to have reported different adverse reactions to breathing in
cleaning fluids. It has also been reported that some workers have accidentally drunk
cleaning fluid and needed medical help. So please take care and read the SDS!
Sources of energy
Sources of energy include electrical energy and radiation.
Electrical
Electricity is an invisible hazard that can kill in seconds. Far too many electrical-related
accidents seriously injure or kill workers each year.
Example: Its not enough to tag
Many organisations always test and tag all electrical equipment to
prevent electrical hazards.
Employees at this workplace thought that this situation (see photo
to the right) was okay because someone had checked and tagged
all the cables.
However, when they did a safety inspection and gave more careful
thought to the hazards, they concluded that it was unsafe to boil
water on top of an electrical device!
If a workmate is suffering from an electric shock and is still touching the electrical
equipment, do not touch the person, and turn off the power.
Radiation
You cant see radiation. It is particularly hazardous because we need special equipment to
find it. We cant use our eyes, ears or nose. Training and continuous care are needed to
make the rules for its safe use.
Workplace radiation sources can include:
medical equipment (X rays, CAT scanners, MRIs)
wastes
electrical equipment (such as computer screens)
communication equipment
nature (such as sunlight).
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Environmental hazards
Environmental hazards can have very serious consequences, but we often forget about
them. They can include hazards such as:
Poor lighting
Excessive noise
Weather
Noise
If employees regularly experience too much noise they can lose their hearing. It doesnt
happen immediately but if an employee experiences too much noise their hearing will
slowly get worse and worse until they cant hear anything. This type of hearing loss is
permanent and there is no way to repair it to make their hearing normal again.
In many situations PPE can be worn (like ear plugs/ear muffs) to try to reduce noise. An
organisation can also check noise levels. They can also check and assess the risk of
hearing loss.
Example: Isolating the photocopier
Jemma recently moved to a different office. The photocopy machine is next to her work
area. It is quite old and people use it a lot. She has complained to her supervisor
several times about the continuous noise coming from the photocopier. On days when
the photocopier is really busy, she gets headaches.
She felt that her supervisor was not listening to her and finally contacted the health
and safety advisor and completed an incident report. The advisor told Jemma that she
should have done this much earlier.
Someone moved the photocopier to a separate room. Jemma was very happy with this.
Lighting
Not enough lighting or too much glare can cause eyestrain or headaches. Fluorescent
lighting, which many offices have, can irritate some people when they spend a long time in
the office.
Learning activity: Identify and group hazards
Look at your workplace or your classroom. Find as many hazards as you can. Group the
hazards into the six types.
Physical
hazards
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Psychosocial
hazards
Mechanical
hazards
Chemical
hazards
Sources of
energy
Environmental
hazards
Report and record hazards

In addition to following procedures or report hazards you find when you do your day-to-day
tasks, your duties may include more formal reporting. You will need to follow WHS
procedures to report hazards to designated persons.
Reporting is an important part of organisational systems for managing WHS risks.
Normally the people in the list below can identify WHS problems:
employees in the relevant work groups
management
visitors
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authorities
staff who attend WHS or HSC meetings.
Employees, management and/or authorities can then discuss the problems together and
take appropriate actions such as updating policies or procedures. It is important that staff
report information on hazards to the right people and record it so it is easy for a
responsible officer to assess WHS risks and respond to them to create a safer workplace.
Templates and forms, which staff use to check compliance in the workplace, may also
require you to suggest solutions to particular hazards to reduce risk to health and safety.
You may need to identify hazards on a form and list your suggestions to reduce or
eliminate the hazard. You may also need to discuss with relevant employees on
implementation of action to reduce or eliminate the hazard.
Templates and forms include hazard reports and WHS risk registers. There is an example
of a risk register in the Appendices of this Student Workbook.
Learning activity: Report and record hazards

Look at your workplace or your classroom. Review reporting and recording procedures
for WHS hazards and risks.
What procedures are there?
What templates and forms do you need to record WHS hazards and risks?
What must you do to report and record hazards?
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Follow Work Safety Requirements
Conduct safety inspections or audits

An important part of any WHS monitoring system is regular safety inspection. Safety
inspections directly contribute to health and safety improvements by helping workers to
identify and reduce or eliminate hazards. In addition, if workers do safety inspections in
their own place of work, they can follow the WHS laws to make sure they are responsible
for their own safety.
An elected WHS representative or other designated person can do safety inspections in
the workplace. Inspectors from regulatory authorities can also do safety inspections but
only after a serious violation, accident or if an employee has complained to the regulatory
authority.
Generally, the inspector uses a checklist during inspections to make sure that the
organisation has all the requirements of a safe workplace, such as correct signs, absence
or control of hazards, or access to procedures. There is an example of a safety inspection
checklist in the Appendices of this Student Workbook.
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Tip: online safety inspection tools

There are a number of apps that may be of use to monitor work health and safety hazards:
App name
iAuditor2
Accident
Report Form
First Aid Form
Safety
Checklist for
Roadworks
Function, use
WHS audit Template for
iPhone and iPad.
Link
<http://www.safetyculture.com.au/iAuditor/>
<http://www.gocanvas.com/mobileFirst Aid Observation and formsapps/1638-Accident-Report-FormReport Form for

Safety-Link>
Apple, Android,
Blackberry and
Windows devices.
For anyone who attends
and gives first aid at the
scene of an accident or
illness; for
Apple, Android,
Blackberry and
Windows devices.
Examines an existing or
future road and traffic
project, or any project
that interacts with road
users; for
Apple, Android,
Blackberry and
Windows devices.
<http://www.gocanvas.com/mobileformsapps/1640-First-Aid-Form-Safety-Link>
<http://www.gocanvas.com/mobileformsapps/1630-Safety-Checklist-forRoadworksSafety-Link>
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App name
Workplace
Inspection
Form
Health and
Safety Work
Observation
Safety
Inspection
General
Safety Audit
Ergonomics
Function, use
Workplace inspection
form for Apple,
Android, Blackberry
and Windows devices.
Form for
supervisors/managers
to record workplace
health and safety
observations and
employee actions; for
Apple, Android,
Blackberry and
Windows devices.
General work
environment safety
inspection form for
Apple, Android,
Blackberry and
Windows devices.
Ergonomics safety
audit form for Apple,
Android, Blackberry
Link
<http://www.gocanvas.com/mobileformsapps/1604-Workplace-Inspection-Form>
<http://www.gocanvas.com/mobileformsapps/3025-Health-and-SafetyWorkObservation>
<http://www.gocanvas.com/mobileformsapps/3049-Safety-Inspection-WorkEnvironment-General->
<http://www.gocanvas.com/mobileformsapps/4810-Safety-Audit-Ergonomics>
Learning activity: Do a safety inspection

Choose an area at work, at home or at your place of learning and use the WHS
inspection checklist supplied in Appendix 7 of this Student Workbook to conduct a
safety inspection. Record your results on the checklist.
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Report incidents
When an accident or incident happens you must make sure you report it to the
designated person in your workplace and follow procedures for recording details.
Remember that designated persons at your workplace may include:
designated health and safety officers
managers
elected health and safety team leaders representatives (HSRs)

other persons authorised or
supervisors nominated by the organisation.
You may need to complete an incident report form for yourself or as a witness for another
person. If someone is injured in a workplace accident, and you are responsible for
recording details, you will need to follow procedures to record the incident.
Note that you (acting on behalf of your employer) may have a responsibility to report
serious incidents to your state or territory Work Cover authority or regulator.
Learning activity: What information do I need?
If you have an accident, you need to fill out an incident report that includes:
your name and job title
the date and time of your injury or illness
your exact location when you were injured or became ill
how the injury or illness happened
the nature of the injury or illness and what parts of your body were affected
any witnesses to the injury or illness
the date you notified your employer.
Have a look at the Incident Report Form in Appendix 6. Now go to your local workplace
health and safety authority website.
Make notes on what your state safety authority tells you to do if ever you need to report
an injury that happens at work.
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Learning activity: Fill out an incident report

Sophie works in a busy accounting firm. She sits with her back to the door and has to
turn around to see anyone who comes into her office.
On 24 January, just before she finished at 5 pm, she turned around strongly than usual
when you walked into her office. She lost her balance and fell onto the floor. When she
fell, she landed on her right elbow. When she sat up, she was very pale, her elbow
looked funny and she could not move her lower arm. Someone took Sophie to hospital
that evening.
You are responsible for reporting and recording the incident. What will you do?
An incident report form is in Appendix 6 for you to use.
Identify WHS duty holders

As we talked about before, Acts show us the obligations of duty holders such as
employees or staff with WHS responsibilities in the workplace. Legislation also defines the
idea of duty of care, meaning that all employers and employees have an obligation to
make sure their workplace is safe.
Duty holders
A duty holder is a term in the WHS Act that refers to any person that has one or more
health and safety responsibilities under the WHS Act. This includes all workers that a
PCBU employs, and manufacturers, importers, suppliers or installers of products that are
used at a workplace.
PCBUs
A PCBU is a person conducting a business. Under the WHS Act, a person may be an
individual or an organisation. A person may be an owner-operator, such as a sole trader,
or, in the case of corporations, many people together. A worker or officer of a company is
not a PCBU.
Officers
Under the Act, managers and supervisors are responsible for the workplace health, safety
and welfare (the good conditions and fortune) of those who work for them. Typical
responsibilities of officers include:
consulting with staff about health and safety
making sure that they give an induction to new staff in work health and safety
creating safety goals and objectives for their area of responsibility
telling employees about the organisations policies and procedures
investigating accidents, injuries and incidents affecting WHS in their area of
responsibility and taking all necessary steps to fix any problems

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preparing and submitting regular reports on health and safety when they need to
helping or working together with the safety manager on workplace inspections,
audits and risk assessments which they are responsible for

doing workplace inspections, audits and risk assessments appropriate to their area
of responsibility
motivating employees to use good health and safety practices.
Scenario: Ace Accountings PCBU and officer duties

As a PCBU, Ace Accounting and officers of Ace Accounting comply with Victorian and
NSW WHS legal frameworks in the following ways:
All new employees do basic training in first aid and participate in a WHS
induction in which they talk about working safely in an office environment.

They only keep a small number of hazardous chemicals on site which they store
in a well-ventilated, secure space.

Office equipment, such as photocopiers are in places where there are not many
people walking.
Computer cords run safely behind desks, not where people walk
Exit signs and fire/evacuation procedures are in the right place.
Management encourages employees to report incidents or hazards and elect
health and safety representatives to represent employee WHS worries to

management and WHS authorities and regulatory bodies.
Workers
Workers have some responsibility for work health and safety. Under the WHS Act, workers
must:
take reasonable care for their own health and safety
take reasonable care for the health and safety of other staff (what they do or dont
do can affect other people)

comply with instructions that the PCBU gives which complies with the Act
cooperate with their employer when their employer takes action to comply with the
WHS Act or Regulations

do any other duties (such as HSR duties) that the worker is responsible for under
the Act.
Under the WHS, workers may decide to form a work group, represented by a health and
safety representative (HSR) for consultation with management. We will talk about
consultation in more detail in the next Section.
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Duty of care
Duty of care means that one party is responsible for the care and protection of another
party and responsible for any negligence (not taking enough care) in their organisation.
Duty of care is the standard of care that a sensible person would use in a situation when
he or she protects the safety of other people (including the general public). If a person is
not watchful, attentive careful and prudent, their actions are negligent.
An employers duty of care under the various WHS Acts means that they must:
provide and keep a working environment that is safe and has no risks to health as
much as is reasonably practicable.

An employees duty of care under the various WHS Acts means that they must:
take reasonable care for their health and safety
take reasonable care for the health and safety of other people in the workplace
(what they do or dont do can affect other people)

cooperate with his or her employer when their employer takes action to comply
with a requirement of the WHS Act or the Regulations.
Learning activity: Duty holders

Think about your workplace or a workplace you know. Who are the duty holders who
have responsibility for making sure staff comply with WHS legislation?
Think about the Ace Accounting scenario. What duty holders exist for Karen to identify?
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Section summary
This section talked about skills and knowledge you need to follow the WHS laws, policies
and procedures in the workplace. You should now be able to identify designated persons
for reporting issues, identify hazards, follow WHS procedures, report incidents, and
identify duty holders and their duties.
Further reading
Dunn, C. and Chennell, S., 2012, Part 4: Understanding health and safety risks in
Australian master work health and safety guide, CCH Australia Limited, NSW.
Dunn, C. E, 2012, Annotated Australian work health and safety legislation, CCH


Safe Work Australia, 2011, Model Work Health and Safety Act, Safe Work
Australia, viewed June 2015, <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/

model-whs-laws/model-whs-act/pages/model-whs-act>.
Section checklist
Before you proceed to the next section, make sure that you are able to:
identify designated persons for reporting queries and concerns about safety in the
workplace
identify current and possible hazards in the workplace, report them to designated
persons, and record them according to workplace procedures
identify and implement WHS procedures and work instructions
identify and report emergency incidents and injuries to designated persons
according to workplace procedures
identify WHS duty holders in your own work area and their duties.
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Section 3 Participate in Consultation

The focus of this section is on consultation: This is the communication between employees
and employers about areas of concern. Participation in WHS consultation means
cooperation and communication to improve work health and safety. Section 3 talks about:
contributing to meetings and other consultative activities; telling problems to designated
persons; and taking action to remove hazards and reduce WHS risk.
Scenario: WHS consultation at Ace Accounting
As an office worker, Karen is just one of a number of WHS duty holders at Ace
Accounting. According to the WHS Act, everyone, from the top (senior management) to
the middle (line managers) to the bottom (workers), has a responsibility to contribute to
a safe workplace. People may have different duties, but everyone has some health and
safety responsibilities.
One of the ways the WHS Act encourages involvement and a shared sense of
responsibility is by making consultation compulsory. Officers of a PCBU must consult
with workers on WHS issues that may affect them.
For Karen, this means she has a responsibility to report problems and hazards to
designated persons. In addition, she needs to participate in discussions about safety
and be involved in team WHS meetings.
Karens additional WHS duties (as a first aid officer and helping the HSR conduct safety
inspections) also mean she may need to participate in discussions with her HSR and
supervisors about safety and risk management. She may also need to attend meetings
of the Ace Accounting Health and Safety Committee (HSC). She may also need to
communicate managers decisions about safety and consult with members of her own
work group.

In order to participate in consultation, you must be able to:
contribute to workplace meetings, inspections and other WHS consultative activities
talk about WHS problems with designated persons according to organisational
procedures
take actions to eliminate workplace hazards and reduce risks.
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Participate in consultation
As previously discussed, the law requires employers to consult with employees on WHS in
the workplace. Consultation can take many forms such as:
formal and informal meetings
health and safety committees
health and safety representatives attending management meetings
other committees (for example, planning and purchasing)
early response to employee suggestions, requests, reports and concerns
communicated to management
counselling/disciplinary processes.
Workplace consultation is important, not only because it builds a culture of safe behaviour
where employees have the power to create their own safe work environments, but also
because it is mandatory by law.
Consultation aims to win the support of employees by providing good safety information
and by giving all employees the opportunity to say their opinion about safety issues and for
management to think about employees opinions when they do safety planning.
Involving the right people in consultation

Employers should always involve as many people as possible in consultation to make sure
that they hear everyones concerns . However, there are some key people and groups that
should always be involved in consultation.
The basic framework for consultation on health and safety problems is:
1. work groups
2. health and safety representatives (HSRs)
3. health and safety committees (HSCs).
Work groups
Work groups are teams of workers (or whole workforces in small organisations) which
choose health and safety representatives (HSRs) to represent them in health and safety
matters.
HSR
Work group
Work group
Work group
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Work groups are made up of Workers who share similar working conditions in a workplace.
For example the same workplace might have different work groups for day workers and
night workers if the risks that each group experiences are different enough.
Work groups should make sure that they have chosen an HSR that they think will
represent their concerns. Management and HSTs should consult specific work groups
when there is a health and safety concern that exists in their work area or work tasks.
Health and safety representatives (HSRs)

HSRs represent the WHS concerns of their designated work groups. An HSR should make
sure that they are thinking about the concerns of the workers who have chosen them to be
the HSR when they are doing their tasks (if you want to review the tasks of an HSR, see
page 25).
An HSR can consult with a work group or individual workers and take their health and
safety complaints and concerns to management. This is especially important when
employees believe that control measures for hazards are inadequate.
HSRs are an important communication link between employees and management.
Health and safety committees (HSCs)

HSCs are a way for employers and employees (or their representatives) to meet regularly
and work together to talk about and solve WHS concerns. The HSC will usually have
worker representatives (HSCs, union representatives), managers and health and safety
professionals (WHS managers and advisors). HSC meetings should involve consultation to
make sure that meetings discuss the health and safety issues that concern workers.
Health and safety committees may meet to develop policies and procedures that improve
health and safety outcomes, and meet the needs of business, for example to minimise
cost and maximise productivity.
A committee meeting may include the following activities:
review of the WHS objectives, targets and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators data
that shows how well the organisation , team or individual is doing)

review of incident reports and outcomes
employee interviews about WHS issues
identification of changes in the work environment
identification of new hazards
identification of changes in legislation
review of training outcomes
review of changes to policy
review of budget spending and where resource allocation.
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Ways for you to participate in consultation

There are many ways to be involved in consultation in your workplace. As a worker in a
work group, you may help to choose an HSR who will represent you in consulting on WHS
issues. You will be able to report health and safety issues to your HSR and also to your
supervisor. You should also use WHS meetings and toolbox talks (see Participate in
toolbox talks on the next page for a definition) as a chance to talk about any safety
issues. You may also have additional WHS duties where you will participate directly in
HSCs. For example a work group might elect you as a HSR or deputy HSR. You may also
participate in safety inspections.
When you participate, you will contribute to discussion about WHS issues and questions
that will be dealt with by the whole organisation. This consultation should result in safety
solutions that are effective, and that everyone supports.
Sometimes, however, the consultative process does not always result in quick action. You
may then follow appropriate processes to tell the responsible person about a problem and
make sure the organisation deals with it.
Participate in regular WHS meetings

WHS meetings may be formal and informal. WHS meetings can include HSC meetings but
may also be team meeting or briefings. These meeting will provide you with an opportunity
to discuss problems so that the organisation may deal with them appropriately.
Participate in toolbox talks

In some workplaces, such as a warehouse or a construction site, they have regular toolbox
talks for all workers (including office staff). Toolbox talks are short meetings to provide the
workers with up-to-date safety information. Usually they are run by the site manager,
supervisor or team leader.
These workplaces have toolbox talks as often as they need to. For example, in the
construction industry, a daily toolbox talk is suitable because hazards and risks change
every day (like weather changing all the time).
These workplaces usually use toolbox talks to share information with workers on safe work
processes and hazards to look out for. But they are also opportunities for workers to talk
about their safety concerns so that those concerns can be addressed.
Participate in inspections or audits

As part of your WHS duties, you may participate in safety inspections or audits as
discussed in Section 2. You need to record the results of safety inspections so that anyone
can view them and check them when they need to. You should record these results in the
way that organisational processes and procedures require. HSRs and HSCs can also look
at the results so that the whole organisation can consult with each other and discuss and
think of the best safety solutions for the workplace.
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Example: Resolving issues through consultation

The Ace Accounting staff in Sydney work similar hours under similar conditions. They
asked their manager to start a work group of all the workers at the Sydney office. The
work group elected one of the display staff as HSR.
Some of the responsibilities of the HSR were:
report hazards and issues that workers told them about to Ace Accounting
management
participate in HSC meetings with other HSRs, Ace Accounting managers and
senior management.
Several workers complained about the possibility of lifting injuries when they move large
boxes of tax files.
The HSR arranged a meeting to get more information and discuss options for dealing
with the hazard. The HSR then met with the HSC and discussed the problem with senior
management.
Coincidentally, the Melbourne office had also discussed lifting hazards. The HSC
decided to review and redevelop procedures with a focus group of workers.
Management told workers in all Australian cities about changes to procedures during
team meetings with workers. They had short training sessions in all offices to
demonstrate the new manual lifting procedures.
Escalating issues and complaints

Escalating is a word that describes when you take an issue (problem) to a higher level of
management.
Normally, the organisation identifies and solves WHS issues after employees tell them
about an issue in one of these ways:
WHS meetings
emails to or meetings with HSRs
contacting health and safety committees
contacting management
contacting relevant unions
contacting relevant WHS state government authorities, if management and WHS
representatives do not act on concerns

The relevant supervisor or HSR will then tell their manager and it will continue up levels of
management until the appropriate people know about the issue and resolve it. This
process of escalation follows organisational policies and procedures relevant to escalating
issues and dealing with WHS risks.
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The way employees escalate an issue depends on how serious the issue is and what the
policies and procedures are. If the policies and procedures dont result in the resolution of
the issue, you might need to find a different way.
For example, to report a hazard or complaint, you could:
1. Speak to your supervisor.
2. If no action is taken, then speak to your HSR.
3. If the issue is serious and you receive no assistance in dealing with it from your
workplace, then you can choose to contact the relevant WHS government or
statutory authority.
Note that, escalating the problem to your state or territory statutory authority may result in
an inspection of your workplace.
Learning activity: Consultation
Visit WorkCover NSW and download the document Work health and safety consultation,
cooperation and coordination code of practice at:
<http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/15202/whsconsult
ation-cooperation-coordination-code-of-practice-3568.pdf>
Read through Appendix A of the code of practice (Examples of consultation
arrangements).
Consider your workplace or a workplace you know.
What consultation methods do they use?
How effective are these arrangements?
How can you improve consultation in your workplace?
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Assess risk
As discussed previously, you may have special WHS duties in your workplace such as
doing safety inspections to identify risks to health and safety. Your duties may extend to
helping designated persons to formally assess risks.
Risk assessment is a process you can use to rate the level of risk of a hazard. When you
identify a hazard, you will need to assess the risk of the hazard. Assessing the risk then
allows you or others to determine the control that is needed to manage the risk. Multiple
controls or backup systems may be necessary to make sure that the most potentially
harmful situations do not happen.
Obviously, when you assess a risk, you need to think carefully about the risk that particular
hazards pose to your workplace. Risk assessment is a tool to make it easy to make a
decision, particularly when it is not clear to everybody what the risk is. If you are not sure,
follow the risk assessment process and ask an expert for advice when you need it.
The following method to assess risk is based on risk assessment models from the
National Safety Council of Australia and the international standard for risk management,
AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009.
The method that they use to rate the level of risk makes people think about two factors:
The likelihood is the risk constant, repeating or will the risk only happen once?
The consequence if it happened, how serious would it be?
Likelihood
The likelihood of a WHS risk is how often an incident is likely tohappen. Some hazards
could be a daily threat to safety, while others may occur rarely. A sample scale to rate the
risk likelihood appears below.
Likelihood
Description
Detail
Rare
Incidents may happen only in special circumstances.
Unlikely
Incidents will only happen in some circumstances.
Moderate
Incidents should occur at some time.
Likely
Incidents will probably happen in most circumstances.
Almost certain
Incidents will happen in most circumstances.
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Consequence
Incidents, whatever their frequency, have the possibility to cause different amounts of
damage (personal injury or damage to plant and equipment). So, when you do a risk
assessment you must think about the possible consequence of an incident. This chart is
an example of levels of consequences. It is important to remember that these levels of
consequences may be different in different organisations.
Consequence
Description
Detail
Potential $ cost
Insignificant
No visible impact (no injuries,

damage, pollution, etc.)
$0
Minor
May need minor first aid treatment

or the incident is only on-site.
Less than
$1,000
Moderate
The victim needs medical treatment

or the incident is on-site, but with
outside help.
Less than
$5,000
Major
The incident causes a great injury.

Work stops or the incident is not
contained on-site.
Less than
$50,000
A really big impact which effects the

victim permanently resulting in high
health costs, death, or
5
Catastrophic
$100,000+
disfigurement (a big change to how
a persons body looks such as losing
an arm).
To determine the level of risk or risk factor, the likelihood is multiplied by the
consequence.
Level of risk
Likelihood
Consequence
Risk assessment matrix

The risk assessment matrix shows the level of risk. Generally, as the risk score increases,
the need to put some immediate controls in place to provide a safe place of work
increases. In addition, the level of the effectiveness and reliability of the control you need
to use to manage the risk increases also You can figure out the level of control that you
need to use by using the hierarchy of control, which we will look at in more detail in the
next topic.
In the risk matrix, a score of 8 is the score at which a medium risk becomes a high risk.
When this happens you need a control or multiple controls immediately to remove or
manage the hazard.
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There are a number of combinations that result from the risk assessment model we are
using. For example, you can assess a hazard as having a high likelihood but low
consequence, such as a knife cut injury (moderately frequent, so a 3 on the likelihood
rating) resulting in a minor injury (a 2 on the consequence rating). This combination would
result in a score or risk factor of 6 on the risk assessment matrix.
The raw score in the matrix, however, still requires some additional assessment. For
example, in another combination, a hazard may be rare (1 on the likelihood scale), but
have a catastrophic consequence (5 on the consequence scale). This combination would
result in a raw score of only 5. As we will see below, however, an immediate control for
this type of hazard is necessary to ensure safety and compliance with the law.
Consider the risk assessment matrix below:
Likelihood
1
10
12
15
12
16
20
10
15
20
25
Now look at the following chart to determine the level of controls you need for the
assessed risk levels.
13
Low risk hazard. You may need controls at low level but not immediately.
46
Medium risk hazard. You should think about controls at a higher level more
urgently.
Possible high risk hazard. If severe, the law may require controls at the
highest possible level.
High risk threshold. Immediate controls are mandatory at the highest possible
level.
925
High risk hazard. Immediate controls or multiple controls are mandatory at

the highest possible level.
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Tip: Risk management apps

The following apps may be useful for risk management, particularly for identifying,
assessing WHS risk, and recording the results of assessment for use by others:
App name
Audit Health
& Safety Risk
Assessment
iJSA
Function, use
Health and Safety Risk
Assessment Audit for
Apple, Android, Blackberry
Job safety analysis,
including photos; for Apple
devices.
Link
<http://www.gocanvas.com/mobileformsapps/1628-Audit-Health-SafetyRisk-Assessment-Safety-Link>
<http://www.safetyculture.com.au/
ijsa/>
Learning activity: Assess risk

In the learning activity Do a safety inspection on page 38, you chose an area at home
or at work and used the checklist in Appendix 7 to do a safety inspection. For the
hazards you identified in that activity, use the risk matrix to assess the risk level for
each risk.
For each of the risks, do you need controls?
Are there any risks for which the model does not require controls?
Would you be comfortable doing nothing related to the risk?
What would a reasonable person do in this case?
What is your legal responsibility? Review Section 1, or ask an expert for advice, if
you are unsure.
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Take action: Eliminate or control risk

Once you have identified and assessed a hazard, you should take appropriate actions to
either eliminate the risk or reduce the risk to a reasonable level. Legislation, codes of
practice or guidance may tell what you must or should do. If standards or legislation dont
tell you what control you need, then you should think about an appropriate control.
It depends on your responsibilities - it may be your job to:
think of actions to reduce the level make or record recommendations on
of risk
reports
use the hierarchy of control
explain actions or decisions to workers.
Reduce the level of risk

Controls will reduce the likelihood or consequence of a hazard. Two examples are:
If a general storage area was overcrowded causing a trip hazard, then putting soft
carpet in the storage area will reduce consequence of that type of hazard. If you
reduced the number of people working in the area, or made sure staff put boxes on
shelves, it would reduce the likelihood of an accident.
If a smoke detector failed, this could cause or contribute to a major incident. If you
replace the batteries and test the smoke detector each year, you reduce the
likelihood of failure. If you use fire-resistant materials in products, it reduces the
consequence of any fire that might happen.
The idea is to reduce the risk level (Likelihood x Consequence) to as low a number on the
risk matrix as possible. Take the example discussed above in relation to the risk matrix. A
possible knife cut injury (moderately frequent, so a 3 on the likelihood rating) could result
in a minor injury (a 2 on the consequence rating). This combination results in a risk score
of 6 on the matrix. By using personal protective equipment, the likelihood rating may be
reduced from 3 to 2, which reduces the score on the risk matrix to 4.
It is important to note that if one hazard is identified, it does not mean that one control
will adequately manage the risk. If there are more controls that you can use to manage
the risk, you must consider and use all of them, if possible and appropriate. For example,
if there are no smoke detectors in an office, this creates a hazard if there is a fire. After
you identify the hazard, installing a smoke detector may not be enough to reduce the risk
of fire injuries. So, the office may install a smoke detector, but also a fire extinguisher to
reduce the risk to an acceptable level.
It is also important to note that there may be alternative control measures to think about,
not only the normal responses to risk. Using common sense or finding out what is usually
done to reduce risk might not be enough. It is important to think about creative solutions
where the usual solutions may not be enough. Ask yourself if the alternative control can
be more effective in reducing risk. Not doing something about a hazard because it has
always been considered a necessary risk or not using inadequate control measures
because it has always been done that way is not enough to avoid prosecution for
negligence under various state or territory WHS Acts.
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Hierarchy of controls
The hierarchy of hazard control is the main tool that organisations can use to rank
possible approaches to reducing or removing a risk. The hierarchy is:
1
Elimination
The elimination of the hazard itself or associated risk.
Substitution
Use a less hazardous substitute.
Engineering control
3
Administrative control
4
Put a barrier (guard) around the hazard to reduce the

associated risks.
Provide procedures or instructions to control the use or
exposure to the hazard and so reduce the risk.
PPE (personal
Have a personal barrier by using protective equipment
protective equipment) to reduce the risk of injury to an individual.
The idea of the hierarchy of control is to first try to eliminate the hazard. If you cant
eliminate the hazard, try replacing the hazard with something less hazardous. If you cant
do this, then redesign the work environment using barriers or designated walk ways, for
example. Work your way down the hierarchy until you have identified a control at the
highest possible level.
Lets look at some examples of controls at various levels in the hierarchy.
Example 1: Hierarchy of control
Control type
Elimination
Remove or
substitute
Engineering
Administrative
controls
Description
Through better design or total elimination, the hazards are designed
out of the workplace or work method. For example, you secure or
cover a loose cable that may cause a fall. The hazard no longer exists.
You remove or substitute the hazard with a less hazardous piece of
equipment, material or substance. For example, you replace plug-in
drills with cordless drills. When you do this you reduce the hazard
associated with using drills in small spaces (such as dropping them)
because you dont have to deal with cords.
You protect people from the hazard by creating a barrier between the
hazard and the employee. If it is a dangerous chemical you can dilute
it, or if its a dangerous gas you can use exhaust ventilation. For
example, you can use a railing or if you already have one you can
make it higher to prevent falls or to prevent objects falling onto
workers from above.
You reorganise or redevelop work tasks to reduce the risk. For
example, you use new, safer, manual handling procedures. You can
support these procedures with training or by telling the relevant
people in the organisation.
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Personal
protective
equipment
(PPE)
This level of the hierarchy is usually the last resort. Personal

protective equipment puts a protective barrier on the employee. For
example, visitors wear helmets on construction sites to protect them
from the risk of injuries.
By applying the hierarchy of controls, you maximise the likelihood of a safe workplace and
provide the highest chance of complying with your WHS legal obligations.
Eliminating a potential risk or designing a solution is better than an administrative
solution such as training, putting up warning signs, or providing protective equipment, as
these controls dont rely on people following the procedures.
Lets look at an example of how to apply the hierarchy.
At Ace Accounting, employees need to keep customer tax records for five years. They
keep some customer account information in files in heavy boxes. Sometimes
employees must lift these boxes to store them on shelves. The shelves are in the
employee common area. There are two risks with these boxes:
Employees may get injuries when they lift the boxes
The boxes may fall from shelves.
Can you eliminate the hazard?

If not:
Eliminate the
hazard
Can you substitute less hazardous material or can you use equipment?
For example, could everyone use electronic files?
If not:
Can you use engineering controls (barriers, etc.) to reduce the hazard?
For example, could you keep the files in a closet with door closed?
If not:
Can you use procedures or instructions to control or reduce the
hazard? For example, could you use safe lifting or storage procedures?
If not:
Manage the
hazard
Can you use training or information to control or reduce the hazard?

For example, could you train employees on safe procedures or consult
with employees for their ideas on safe handling? Could you use safety
posters?
If not:
Can the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) reduce the
hazard? For example: Could you ask all employees to wear helmets
when entering file storage areas?
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Participate in Consultation
As we discussed earlier, when you assess risk, you may choose to use a combination of
these control measures on the hierarchy to manage the hazard/risk.
For each proposed control, it is important to look at the likelihood or consequence
associated with the risk again, calculate the risk factor again, and assess the risk again. In
this way, you will be able to determine if your proposed controls are enough or if different
or multiple controls are necessary to meet your ethical and legal obligations to make sure
you have a safe workplace.
Learning activity: Hierarchy of controls
In the learning activity do a safety inspection on page 38, you performed a safety
inspection using the checklist in the appendices. What hazards did you identify?
Assess the risk associated with the hazard. Apply the hierarchy of control to the
hazards you identified.
What controls would you implement? Why?
Make and record recommendations

When you have conducted a safety inspection or risk assessment for a particular hazard, it
is important to make recommendations that will improve safety. If you find and record a
compliance issue and you dont recommend solutions you could be at risk of prosecution
for negligence. Also, depending on your organisational responsibilities, you will need to
follow consultation, reporting and recording processes to make sure your
recommendations for the treatment of WHS risk are implemented.
Your workplace should have policies and procedures for consultation on WHS issues. As
discussed, these could include a requirement to tell or consult with HSRs or HSCs.
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It is important for you to make appropriate recommendations to these people to meet

legal and organisational requirements. The law may also require you to communicate and
consult with relevant employees on implementation of your proposed actions.
Templates used in the workplace to monitor compliance may also require you to suggest
solutions to particular hazards to reduce risk. You may need to identify hazards on a form
and list your suggestions to reduce or eliminate the hazard. These templates could include
hazard reports and WHS risk registers. There is an example of these in the appendices of
this Student Workbook.
Note that you may need to ask for the advice of WHS experts to make recommendation to
reduce risk.
Learning activity: Treating hazards
Watch the video BSBCMN311B: Workplace hazards on IBSAs YouTube channel at
<http://youtu.be/o62UH2W-90I>.
James Milliken is the national sales director of Polite Enterprises, a company focusing
on safety management and consultancy.
List the workplace hazards discussed in the video.
What measures did they take to deal with three of these hazards?
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What measures did they take to deal with hazards for pedestrians (people
walking) in and outside the warehouse?
Check your answers in Appendix 9 of this Student Workbook.
Communicate recommendations to workers

Depending on your WHS responsibilities, you may be responsible for explaining new
controls, processes or management decisions to workers. You may communicate to
workers using such methods as:
WHS meetings
Team briefings
Toolbox Talks
Note that laws or procedures may also require you to train workers on new processes or
procedures to make sure they have the skills and knowledge that they need to work safely.
Learning activity: Make recommendations
Consider the Ace Accounting scenario. Imagine that Karens work group and her HSR
has elected her to function as the HSR deputy.
Paper is always getting stuck in the photocopier and some employees have recently cut
themselves when trying to get the paper out.
Ace Accounting procedures require Karen to fill in a risk register and inform her HSR
and manager. Her manager must also sign the report.
Use the risk register in Appendix 8 to record the hazard and recommend controls to the
HSR and management.
Imagine Karen has reported the hazard and discussed her recommendations in an HSC
meeting. Based on the HSCs recommendations, management has Karens
recommended controls.
Think about how Karen could communicate the changes to her work group.
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What training, if any, might they need?
Section summary
This section discussed skills and knowledge you need to participate in consultation .You
should now be able to contribute to meetings and other consultative activities, tell
designated persons within the organisation about WHS problems, and take action to
eliminate hazards and reduce WHS risk, including risk assessment and implementing
controls.
Further reading
Dunn, C. and Chennell, S., 2012, Part 3: principles of managing workplace health
and safety in Australian master work health and safety guide, CCH Australia
Limited, NSW.
Dunn, C., 2012, Annotated Australian work health and safety legislation, CCH

Safe Work Australia, 2011, How to manage work health and safety risks, available

/633/How_to_Manage_Work_Health_and_Safety_Risks.pdf>.
June 2015, <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/modelwhslaws/model-cop/pages/model-cop>.

Safe Work Australia, 2011, Work health and safety consultation, co-operation and
co-ordination code of practice, available online, Safe Work Australia, viewed June
2015, <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/
Documents/624/Work_Health_and_Safety_Consultation_CoOperation_and_
CoOrdination.pdf>.
Standards Australia, 2009, AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk management principles
and guidelines.
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Section checklist
Before you proceed to the next section, make sure that you are able to:
contribute to workplace meetings, inspections and other WHS consultative activities
raise WHS issues with designated persons according to organisational procedures
take actions to eliminate workplace hazards and reduce risks.
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Glossary
Term
Act
Buy-in
Code of practice
Consultation
Control
Duty holder
Definition
An Act is a statement of the law that federal or state parliament
has made and covers a particular topic, for example, work
health and safety.
A positive workplace situation in which workers have accepted
and support a change as part of day-to-day work behaviour. An
organisation can achieve a good buy-in by consulting with
workers.
An approved industry code of practice is a practical guide to
achieving the standards that a relevant Act or Regulation
requires.
The sharing of information and exchange of views between
employees and employers. WHS consultation deals with health
and safety problems. Consultation may include participating in
decision-making on WHS issues.
A method which the organisation uses to reduce or eliminate
the risk associated with a hazard. For example, putting walls
around a hazardous workplace is an example of an engineering
control or redesign. See hierarchy of control for how we create
and check these controls.
A person with some level of responsibility for their own safety
and/or the safety of others under the WHS Act. Duty holders
may include PCBUs, officers, workers, contractors, visitors, etc.
Everyone in the workplace has some duty with respect to health
and safety. A duty hold cant give their duties to other people.
Duty of care
The general obligation to do whatever is reasonably possible to

do to do what you must do to make sure you and other people
in the workplace are safe.
Under the WHS Act, PCBUs and officers have a duty of care to
provide and keep a safe place of work for employees. Workers
have a duty of care keep themselves safe and other people
around them safe.
Employee
An individual who works for an organisation, under a contract of

employment or apprenticeship.
BSBWHS201 Contribute to health and safety of self and others 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council
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Employer
Enact
Hazard
Hazardous
substance
Health and safety

committee (HSC)
Health and safety

representative
(HSR)
Hierarchy of control
A person who employs persons.

To put into action. Enacting a law means that a government is
putting a law into action so that people and organisations must
follow that law.
A source or situation with a potential to cause harm to a person.
A product that can harm a persons health causing illness, injury
or disease. Examples include cleaning solvents and hairdressing
chemicals.
HSCs are a way for employers and employees to meet regularly
and work together to discuss WHS concerns, develop policies
and procedures that improve health and safety outcomes, and
meet the needs of business.
A person elected by employees to represent them on the health
and safety committee.
A method of deciding what is the best or most practical way to

reduce the risk of injury by an identified hazard. For example,
stopping the loud noises in a factory is better than handing out
ear plugs.
The hierarchy is:
1. Eliminate the risk.
2. Substitute a hazard with something that is less hazardous.
3. Engineer or redesign the workplace.
4. Use administrative controls such as procedures to reduce
the risk.
5. Use PPE.
Induction
When you start a new job, usually you go through what is called
an induction. An induction is when you are introduced to your
job; the tasks you are required to do, the culture of the
organisation and the policies and procedures you will be required
to follow.
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Legislation
Manual handling
Model WHS Act
Legislation is a collection of laws. Australian legislation, for

example, refers to the group of laws that apply in Australia.
The lifting, lowering and moving of objects by a person. Examples
include carrying boxes or house bricks.
A kind of template Act that Safe Work Australia developed for
consultation that came before the nationalisation of health and
safety legislation in Australia.
With the support of Commonwealth and state and territory
governments, the Commonwealth government created the
federal Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act in 2011, based on the
model Act.
PCBU
Person doing business. Under the WHS Act, a person may be
an individual or an organisation. A person may be an owneroperator, such as a sole trader, or, in the case of corporations, a
collective entity. A worker or officer of a company is not a PCBU.
Personal protective
Equipment that workers use to protect themselves from hazards
equipment (PPE)
in the workplace. This equipment can include safety boots,
gloves, goggles, aprons and sunscreen.
Place of work
The premises where employees work.
Plant
Any machinery, equipment or tools which workers use at work.

The WHS Act defines plant more specifically as:
any machinery, equipment, appliance, container,
implement and tool

any part of any of those things; and
anything connected to any of those things.
Premises
Prosecute
Includes any place (land, building, vehicle, vessel, aircraft, etc.)

where work takes place.
To take legal action against someone.
In the area of health and safety, a court could prosecute a
person or organisation for causing a health and safety risk, or for
failing to report or remove a risk that they know about.
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Provisional
improvement notice
(PIN)
Regulation
Regulator
A written order from a HSR to an employer asking them to fix a

health and safety problem in the workplace.
A document that is part of the WHS legislation framework that

gives information about how to safely do work under the
relevant Act. In work health and safety, the WHS Act helps form
regulations.
An organisation or person who oversees and enforces (including
prosecution) legislation. In work health and safety, the
regulator/s is different for each state.
For example, in South Australia, the regulators are SafeWork SA
and WorkCover SA.
Risk
The potential for danger arising from the presence of a hazard.
Risk factor
The level of risk associated with a hazard.
Risk management
RTO
Safety data sheet

(SDS)
The process of managing risks caused by hazards in the

workplace. Risk management involves hazard identification, risk
assessment and risk control.
Registered training organisation. RTOs are training providers
registered by ASQA (or, in some cases, a state regulator) to
deliver nationally recognised training and qualifications.
An SDS is a notice containing information about hazardous
materials and procedures for use.
Note: Safety Data Sheets used to be called Material Safety Data
Sheets.
Standard operating
procedures (SOPs)
A standard operating procedure is a procedure that is intended

as a standard to be followed in the same way by everyone.
Standard operating procedures ensure consistent safe
behaviour when performing a work task. SOPs may be endorsed
by standard setting bodies such as the International
Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).
Supervisor
The person chosen by the employer to organise and oversee the

work carried out by employees.
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Toolbox talk
Union
Warden
WHSMS
Work group
Work health and

safety (WHS)
A toolbox talk is a short safety talk that is given in the workplace

(not in a classroom) on a specific subject.
An industrial organisation that represents workers.
This person is designated at workplaces and with specialist
training. A fire warden is assigned to prevent and lead a
response to fire and other emergency events.
Work health and safety management system.
A group of employees who have similar work health and safety
concerns and conditions, usually because they have similar work
tasks and/or work in the same conditions and/or location. A
work group elects HSRs.
Keeping people safe and healthy at their place of work by
preventing accidents, injury and illness. Also known as
occupational health and safety (OHS).
Work health and

safety committee
A group where employer and employees can consult with each

other on workplace safety issues.
Work/occupational
health and safety
Acts
The legislation in each state of Australia which gives information

on the responsibilities and rights of employers and workers. It
also tells people about fines and penalties for breaking these
laws.
Workplace
Workplace inspector
Workplace stress
The place of work of the employer and any place where an

employee does their work.
An inspector from a safety regulator who makes sure
organisations and employees follow health and safety laws.
Pressure or tension from too much work that can lead to
physical or mental illness.
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Student Workbook
Appendices
Appendices
Appendix 1: Ace Accounting
Ace Accounting is a medium-sized accounting firm. Their main offices are in
Melbourne, Victoria but there are also offices in Sydney, NSW.
Ace Accounting mission:

To provide our clients with accounting and financial advice
that they need to achieve business success.
Company objectives:
Increase revenue with targeted marketing campaigns.
Control direct and indirect operational costs.
Keep the best service quality standards.
Show the Ace Accounting brand as a safe, ethical and environmentally
responsible company.
Keep highly trained and motivated staff.
Company operations:
In the two offices, workers perform the following work activities:
meet with clients in offices
prepare reports at work stations
manually lift paper and packages
use photocopier
keep work stations and kitchen clean.
BSBWHS201 Contribute to health and safety of self and others 1 st edition version: 1 2015 Innovation and
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Student Workbook
Appendix 2: Ace Accounting organisational structure

and WHS structure
Management structure
WHS structure
Board of
Directors
Board me
Chief
Executive
Officer
Chief
Financial
Officer
Chief
Operations
Officer
Melbourne
office
manager
Sydney office
manager
Manage
Health and
safety
committee
HSR - Sy
work g
HSR - Mel
work g
Note that each work group has a dedi

office has a fire/emergency warden a
Appendix 3: Ace Accounting WHS policy

Purpose
Ace Accounting recognises its responsibility to provide a healthy and safe working
environment for employees, contractors, clients and visitors. Ace Accounting is committed
to the continued good health and prosperity of its employees and to making sure that all
employees are safe from injury and health risks when they do work-related duties,
including home-based work.
Objectives
In order to make sure their workplace is a healthy and safe working environment, Ace
Accounting will:
do risk assessments and implement procedures to adequately manage any risks in
the working environment

provide written procedures and instructions for safe working practices
make sure there is compliance with all relevant legislation
keep safe systems of work including the work premises and environment
give appropriate support, instruction, training and supervision to employees to
make sure working practices are safe.
Relevant legislation
Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic)
Dangerous Goods Act 1985 (Vic)
Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (NSW).
Responsibility and authority

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is ultimately responsible for making sure that the
organisation creates, implements and keeps safe systems of work.
The senior management team is responsible for:
the effective implementation and regular review of WHS procedures
consultation with employees regarding health and safety problems and changes to
legislation and/or working practices which may affect their health, safety or
welfare.
providing and keeping a safe system of working practices
giving support, training and supervision to employees to make sure they follow safe
and healthy workplace practices, including relevant first aid training where they
need it
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Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd
the provision of adequate resources for employees to meet WHS commitments,
including an up-to-date first aid kit

Making sure there is a written agreement with home-based workers, which both a
member of the senior management team and the employee have signed. This
written agreement should give details about the home-based work arrangements
and compliance with Ace Accountings working from home policy and any relevant
federal and state legislation. The employee and senior manage should sign this
written agreement before the employee starts any home-based work.
Individual employees are responsible for:
following all WHS policies and procedures
making sure they report all potential and actual risks to the senior management
team
taking care to protect their own health and safety and also their colleagues at work
making sure they dont take drugs or alcohol because this can affect their own or
others health and safety.

encouraging others to follow healthy and safe working practices in the workplace
If they work from home they need to have a written agreement with management,
which both a member of the senior management team and the employee have
signed. This written agreement should give details about the home-based work
arrangements and compliance with Ace Accountings working from home policy
and any relevant federal and state legislation. The employee and senior manage
should sign this written agreement before the employee starts any home-based
work.
Policy implementation and review

Human Resources created and implemented this policy and they will review it regularly in
consultation with the senior management team and employees to make sure there is
compliance with legislation, industry standards and organisational changes.
Appendix 4: Ace Accounting evacuation procedure

Purpose
The purpose of this evacuation procedure is to make sure that all staff members respond
quickly to the evacuation siren and evacuate immediately and in an orderly way.
Procedure
If a person hears an evacuation siren they should:
1. follow all directions from the wardens as soon as they hear it
2. do not take personal belongings or bags because these may slow your departure
from the building
3. do not use lifts
4. do not run, push or overtake
5. gather together at the designated area
6. wait until fire brigade personnel say that the building is safe for people to return.
No one should return until this happens.
Evacuation wardens will:
1. determine nature of emergency and make sure that everyone has heard the alarm.
2. evacuate personnel via stairways from the danger area to the assembly point
3. direct all personnel to follow the evacuation procedure (see above)
4. check all areas including offices, toilets, change rooms, etc.
5. close all doors after checking the areas above
6. move to assembly point
7. check that all personnel are there
8. report to Chief Warden immediately if anyone isnt there.
Appendix 5: Ace Accounting manual lifting procedure

Purpose
The purpose of this manual lifting procedure is to make sure that all Ace Accounting
employees can safely lift items to perform work duties in the office.
Lifting procedure
1. Think about alternatives to manual lifting.
2. Evaluate ability to lift item safely.
3. Bend legs to lift. Keep back straight.
4. Keep load as close to body as possible.
5. Do not carry items over your head.
6. When you move items, make sure your way is clear and safe.
Procedure for incidents that occur due to lifting

1. Determine nature of incident.
2. Respond with appropriate actions such as giving first aid or calling for medical help.
3. Take steps to make sure the accident does not happen again.
4. Report incident to relevant WHS authority, according to what the legislation says.
You must report incidents where someone has a serious injury and/or goes to
hospital to the relevant workplace authority.
Appendix 6: Incident report

Note: All you need to complete all sections of this form. Tell the relevant person about
incidents within 12 hours of the incident to make sure the organisation does the
appropriate action.
Personal details
Family name:
Contact phone no:
First name:
(w)
(h - if injured)
Occupation:
Gender: M F
Staff employment status:

Full-time
Part-time
Contractor
Visitor
Casual
Division/Department:
Incident details
Date of incident:
Time of incident:
AM / PM
Location where incident happened:
Briefly describe what happened:
This incident resulted in:

Injury
No injury
Property damage
Near miss
Hazard identified
The incident was reported to (supervisor):

Name of Supervisor: ________________________________________ Date: _________
Injury/damage details
If there was an injury was sustained, what part of the body did it happen to or if there
was damage to property what was it?
Medical treatment
If there are MEDICAL EXPENSES or LOST TIME, you must complete a Workers
Compensation Claim form send it to WHSW and IM Services as soon as possible.
Do you intend to seek medical treatment?
Yes
No
Do you intend to lodge a claim for workers compensation?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Have you lost time from work?

(More than 1 complete shift)
If so, have you returned to work?
Yes
No
Do/Will you have medical expenses to pay?

Uncertain at this time
Were there witnesses?
If so, name of witness(es):
Employee signature:
Contact phone number:
Date:
If the doctor has given you a medical certificate please send it to: Fax xxxx xxxx or email:
xxx@xxx.xx.xx
Describe in detail what happened

It is the responsibility of the supervisor/line manager to complete this section in
consultation with the injured staff member.
Please describe the events and contributing factors that led to the incident:
How could you prevent this from happening again?

The Supervisor/Line Manager is to complete this section in consultation with the
injured staff member and the health and safety representative (if applicable).
Suggestions to avoid recurrence of this incident/accident:
Name of health and safety representative, if consulted:
Action plan
Note: From the previous section, list the actions required to prevent this happening again.
Action to prevent recurrence

(Do not leave blank)
Person
responsible for
action
Action taken
Sign-off
completed
(signature required)
Referred to Line Manager
Placed issue on local action plan
Consulted employees
Advised Senior Manager
Advised WHSW Services
CSR raised, referred to FMU
Feedback provided to affected person on outcome

Is rehabilitation required?
Rehabilitation consultant advised Date:
Yes
No
Name of Supervisor:
Signed:
Contact phone number:
Date:
Appendix 7: Safety inspection checklist
Criteria
N/A
Yes
No
Comments
EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
Are there details of designated
emergency persons details on a
sign on the wall, including the:
WHS/OHS health and safety
representative (HSR)
fire warden
first aid person?
Are there signs showing instructions

for calling emergency services?
Is a map of the workplace on

display?
Are there signs, which show

emergency evacuation
muster/assembly areas?
Have you inducted all staff and
trained them in emergency
procedures?
Are there signs on the entry and
exit doors and are they clear?
Are emergency exit routes and

aisles and corridors clear?
Are there fire extinguishers and are

they working?
Have you trained personnel on site

how to use fire extinguishers?
Did you stock the first aid kit

according to its contents list?
Do you replace first aid supplies

when they are used?
Criteria
N/A
Yes
No
Comments
HOUSEKEEPING
Is the washroom, toilet clean and

tidy?
Is the eating area (kitchen or lunch

room) clean and tidy?
Are floors clean, dry and in good

condition?
Are desks and work areas tidy?
Are there enough rubbish bins in the

work area so people can dispose of
rubbish during work?
Does someone clean the rubbish
regularly?
Are there enough recycling bins in
the work area so people can
dispose of recyclable products
during work?
Does someone clear the recycling

bins regularly?
Are aisles and areas around

workstations clear?
ERGONOMICS
Is furniture fit for purpose?
Do all office chairs have five

supports?
Is the furniture adjustable at
computer desks so that a worker
can have:
a straight back
forearms parallel to the floor
upper legs parallel to the
floor?
Criteria
N/A
Yes
No
Comments
Do workers have footrests where

they need?
Are there document supports?
Are computer screens in the right

position to avoid glare?
Are work stations and equipment in

the right position to:
reduce manual handling
reduce repetitive handling
improve workflow?
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
Are there labels and signs on all
chemicals, including liquid fuels,
and has someone stored them
correctly?
Are spill kits available?
Are safety data sheets (SDSs)

readily available for hazardous
substances?
Does someone keep the hazardous

substance register?
PPE (for hazardous areas)
Is safety signage accurate?
Are safety signs correct?
Do staff wear safety glasses when

they need to?
Do staff wear high visibility clothing

where they need to?
Criteria
N/A
Yes
No
Comments
OTHER
Appendices
Appendix 8: Risk register

Ace Accounting
Risk/hazard description
Type of risk
Risk
likelihood
Risk
Risk
consequence level
Controls
Person responsible
Appendix 9: Answers to selected activities

Learning activity: Forklift induction training
What does Michelle Eccles from Toyota say is the main problem forklift operators
encounter when driving forklifts?
Answer:
Lack of visibility.
During the forklift safety induction at Nover Michelle Eccles demonstrates some of the
features of the new Toyota 7 series forklift. What are the features of this forklift that
contribute to reducing safety hazards in the workplace and add to driver comfort?
Explain which safety hazard is reduced or prevented by each feature.
Answer/s:
All the hoses and cylinders are folded near the fork bars so when the driver has
to pick something up they have a lot better visibility through the carriage.
The wide-view mast gives operators better visibility.
Polycarbonate roofing protects forklift drivers from the rain.
Headlights and mirrors are inside the cabin so that there is no risk of the driver
knocking them off.
Operator restraint seats lock the drivers into the seat and make the driver more
comfortable.
Swing-down bottle bracket makes switching tanks quick and easy and helps to
prevent back injuries.
Learning activity: Treat hazards

List the workplace hazards discussed in the video.
Example answer:
Warehouse vehicles such as forklifts, trucks and staff cars. Other physical
hazards include reversing vehicles and vehicles travelling too fast on the
perimeter of the warehouse.
What measures did they take to deal with three of these hazards?
Example answers:
Hazard-unsafe pedestrian areas
There are shared zone areas, designated safe areas for pedestrians and
they installed mirrors to help show pedestrians oncoming vehicle activity
within the warehouse. Ground and walls will have signs to help everyone
understand this.
Appendices
Hazard-Unclear traffic signalling

They created a range of ground arrows for drivers to follow, so that all traffic
moved in one direction around the perimeter of the warehouse.
Hazard-Speeding vehicles
They created coloured speed humps d to slow traffic down as they drive
around the perimeter of the warehouse.
What measures did they take to deal with hazards for pedestrians in and outside
the warehouse? Example answer:
They did an on-site inspection. They marked shared zone areas and designated
safe areas for pedestrians. They installed mirrors to help pedestrian
awareness of oncoming vehicle activity in the warehouse. They constructed
Ground and wall signs to help people know about possible hazards.
They created speed bumps to slow vehicles down.

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Student

Contribute to health and

Part of a suite of support materials for the

BSB Business Services Training Package

Copyright and Trade Mark Statement

Published by: Innovation and Business Industry

First published: July 2015

and knowledge to solve authentic workplace tasks and problems.

Structure of the training program

CCH Australia Limited, NSW.

Australia Limited, NSW.

health and safety management, Pergamon, New York.

principles and guidelines.

3rd edn, WestOne, Perth.

Business.gov.au, viewed June 2015,

June 2015, <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/model-whs-laws/

online, Safe Work Australia, viewed June 2015,

Work Australia, viewed June 2015, <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/

online, Safe Work Australia, viewed June 2015,

available online, Safe Work Australia, viewed June 2015,

Zone, viewed June 2015, <http://www.ergonomics4schools.com/lzone/

online, WorkCover NSW, viewed June 2015, <http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/

June 2015, <http://worksafe.tas.gov.au/safety/safety_advisors/sample_safe_

Section 1 Work Safely

What skills will you need?

follow safety procedures and instructions when you are at work

follow work procedures for responding to emergencies.

Know the law

Key term PCBU

In most cases, if you follow the procedures at your work,

The WHS legislative framework

The WHS legal framework consists of several levels of documentation.

Standards and codes of practice

Workplace health and safety authorities

registering plant and plant designs.

New WHS laws

If not, is there a scheduled date for implementation?

Identify organisational WHS policies and procedures

workplace harassment policy emergency procedures

purpose or intent of policy

Ace Accounting WHS Policy (purpose)

WHS Policy 62 Manual handling (excerpt adapted)

An example of a full WHS policy can be found for Ace

A method used to reduce or

A procedure is a written instruction that describes the

What if I dont agree with a policy or procedure?

Health and safety

Learning activity: Policies and procedures

Participate in safety training and induction

Check your answers in Appendix 9 of this Student Workbook.

Follow safe work procedures and processes

Good housekeeping means all staff should check:

Organisational intranets and websites

Emails, memos and safety alerts

Follow the signs and warnings

Fire safety signs

First aid signs

Learning activity: Look for the signs!

fire safety signs

first aid signs

Check personal protective equipment (PPE)

Is access to your workstation free of obstacles?

Example 2: Vehicle* pre-start checklist

Is the vehicle in neutral or park (automatic)?