Work and Safety

1. Workplace Health and Safety

Work, Health and Safety (WHS), also referred to as ‘Occupational, Health and Safety (OH&S), involves the management of risks to the health and safety of everyone in your workplace. This includes the health and safety of anyone who you are responsible for at the college – including any visitors, work colleagues and all students on the campus.

2. Objectives of Work, Health and Safety Acts and Regulations

The Act is designed to provide a broad framework for improving standards of workplace health and safety so as to reduce work-related injuries and illnesses. It allows duty-holders, eg, trainers, to determine their approach to achieving compliance with the Act.
The aims of the Act are to:

• Secure the health, safety and welfare of students, trainers, college employees and other people at the workplace
• Protect the college stakeholders from the health and safety risks of business activities and whilst on the college campus
• Eliminate workplace risks at the source and
• Involve employers, employees, students and the organisations that represent them in the formulation and implementation of health, safety, and welfare standards

 

3. Organizations Commitments Towards Providing WHS

a. Eliminate potential hazards.

Keep the college campus free from recognized physical and chemical hazards and make sure it follows OSHA standards, rules, and regulations.

b. Ensure all staff and students are properly trained.

The organization must provide all trainers and students with safety training using language they can understand. This training should be given to all new workers and students, with refresher courses offered to (or required) for existing workers and students within the college.

c. Ensure all staff and students have the proper equipment.

Make sure all staff and students have and use safe tools and equipment and
properly maintain this equipment.

d. Provide visual safety aids and messages.

Use color codes, posters, labels and/or signs to warn all staff and students of potential hazards. Additionally, place OSHA posters in all work and recreational areas. Use digital signage to broadcast safety information, updates, and messages. Visual aid displays that reminds staff and students to stay safe.

e. Create a safety committee and hold monthly safety meetings.

Establish a workplace health and safety committee made up of staff and students from different departments, consisting of senior management to training room staff members. The committee should meet at least once a month and keep all stake-holders informed about safety topics, inspections, injury/illness statistics, and other safety-related issues.

f. Make safety an enjoyable activity.

One way to help incorporate safety into college culture is to make learning about safety an enjoyable exercise. Use your workplace digital signage to create safety-themed trivia, quizzes and videos of safety issues. Friendly competition including prizes, and chances for college-wide recognition are great motivators. By adding a little ‘fun’, there is a greater chance that staff and students will stay engaged, retain the information and help prevent accidents.

4. Definition of Hazard

A hazard is anything or any form of activity that can cause harm, e.g., stress, electricity, chemicals, working on a ladder, noise, a bully at work, etc.

5. Potential hazards in different settings

The following are examples only:

a. Classroom

Dirty or oil leaking on floors, blinking light tubes, loose ceiling or floor tiles, audio-visual equipment not secured correctly, aisles and walkways cluttered and obstructed not allowing easy throughfare, broken desks and chairs, shelves overloaded and heavy items stored on top, etc.

b. Restaurant

(same as classroom) including any items that cause a trip or fall, fire hazards, chemical hazards, Hot oil, hot cooking surfaces, faulty machinery, electrical hazards, hose laying across walkways, etc.

c. Office Environment

(same as above) poor workstation set-up, poor lighting, poor layout of furniture and equipment, poor housekeeping, electrical hazards, and equipment hazards.

6. Implement consultative mechanisms in managing WHS

Consultation mechanisms in managing WHS risks at the college is important to make sure that you have a safe place. It also ensures that your place of education is operating in accordance to WHS procedures, legislation and regulatory requirements. It is important to facilitate participation of the teaching/learning teams in managing college area hazards as well.

7. Possible Major Causes of WHS Failures

a. Disregarding Safety

Stakeholders choosing not to follow the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) instructions, training, directions or the general safety protocols, policies and procedures as stipulated by the college.

b. Messing Around

Carelessness and/or fooling around in the college. Stakeholders playing safety pranks on other stakeholders could have severe consequences.

c. Fatigue

Tired stakeholders often put their well-being and safety at risk when they are tired. Their reactions and motor-skills are not operating at full potential, they will often make mistakes, forget to close desk or filling cabinet drawers (tripping hazard)

d. Speed working

Conducting work at a faster than prescribed pace will eventually and inevitably lead to mistakes. These mistakes could cause harm to other stakeholders. An example is student or trainer rushing through the college and not noticing that the filing cabinet drawer is open.

e. Poor training

One of the main causes of safety issues in the college. Poorly trained staff and students are a danger to themselves, other staff, plant and equipment and the costs could be many times more than the initial cost of effective training at the beginning.

8. Written (or electronic) records of workplace incidents/accidents

Reporting and recording all incidents and accidents are a legal requirement. The Incident/Accident Report keeps a record for the enforcing authorities of occupational health and safety (HSE and local authorities) about serious incidents and even cases of disease. This allows the necessary authorities to identify where risks are occurring, how risks happen and whether they need to be investigated further.
It also allows the Health and Safety Executive/s (HSE) and the local authorities to target their work and provide better advice on how to avoid work-related deaths, injuries, ill health and accidental loss in the future.
Information on accidents, incidents and ill health can be used as an aid to risk assessment and to help to develop solutions to potential risks. Records also help to prevent injuries, ill health and control costs from accidental loss.

• Fear of Rejection
• Don’t want to sound ‘pushy’
• It’s up to the customer to buy
• Don’t care about closing the sale
• Don’t know how to close the sale
• My job is to only to tell them about the product

 

9. Definition of Safety Committee

The main functions of the health and safety committee are to:

• Facilitate co-operation in developing and carrying out measures to improve the safety of workers.
• Help develop health and safety standards, rules, and procedures.

 

10. Procedures to promote organizational consultation in the workplace, to promote safety.

• Conducting regular Staff Meetings
• Conducting regular ‘Toolbox’ meetings
• Establishing Health and Safety Committees
• Electing Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs)

 

11. The concept of WHS records.

Keeping records of the activities within the workplace makes managing health and safety easier. Collating information on the effectiveness of an organisations health and safety system will require the review of records relating to the key performance indicators such as records of training, induction and all injuries.
All records relating to health and safety in the workplace must be retained by the organisation. Many organisations choose to store these electronically.
Health and safety records can include:

• Register of Injuries
• First Aid and Medical Records
• Safe Work Method Statements
• Standard Operating Procedures
• Training and Induction Records
• Organisational Code of Conduct
• Register of Hazardous Substances
• Safety Inspection and Audit Reports
• Copies of Completed Incident Reports
• Health and Safety Policies and Procedures
• Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation
• Hazard Identification and Risk Assessments
• Hazardous Substances Material Safety Data Sheets
• Workplace Health and Safety Committee Meeting Minutes
• Equipment Records including Inspections, Maintenance and Repair.

 

12. Risk Management Process

The Risk Management Process is a framework for the actions that need to be taken to minimize risks. There are five (5) basic steps to manage risk and these steps are referred to as the Risk Management Process –

• Identifying the risk/s
• Analyzing the risk/s
• Prioritizing the risk/s
• Solving the risk/s
• Monitoring the risk/s

 

Risk management should be considered as an important college practice as it helps you to identify, evaluate, track, and mitigate the risks present in yourcollege environment.
Risk management is practiced by colleges of all sizes. Small colleges do it more informally while larger enterprises codify it rather strictly.
Ideally, Risk Management Processes are created BEFORE new processes or activities are introduced into the college and to existing processes or activities, including when equipment changes take place, eg, new printers or computers are installed, or new information concerning harm becomes available.
When hazards are identified a sensible safety plan can be made available to minimise incidents or accidents to all stakeholders.

13. Hierarchy of Controls

The following diagram highlights the control levels when deciding on solving a risk that has appeared.

14. Definition of ‘Personal Protection Equipment’ (PPE).

Personal Protective Equipment, (commonly referred to as “PPE”), is equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that could cause injuries and illnesses at the college. These injuries and illnesses may result from contact with chemical, radiological, physical, electrical, mechanical or other workplace hazards.
PPE includes items such as gloves, safety glasses, safety shoes, hard hats, earplugs or muffs, respirators, coveralls, vests and full body suits as required.

15. Activities included in an Organization’s WHS policies, procedures and programs:

Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) –

HSRs are an elected representative selected by a work group to represent them in resolving specific WHS matters for their workgroup. They have a wide range of functions and with appropriate training, they can issue improvement notices and cease work where it is unsafe to continue.

Health and Safety Committees (HSCs) –

Health and Safety Committees (HSCs) are a group of trainers, managers and students who meet to develop and review WHS policies and procedures for the college. It is created at the request of a HSR or where 5 or more members of the college group request it.

Other agreed arrangements –

• Staff and students may choose to have other arrangements for consultation between the group and the PCBU. These are often more direct methods of consultation.
• Staff and students are given a chance to express their views, raise issues and contribute to decision making processes on WHS matters.
• The views of Staff and students are taken into account and recorded.
• Staff and students are advised of the outcomes of consultation.
• Staff and students may be represented by their union.
• If Staff and students are represented by an HSR, consultation must involve that HSR.