WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY Legisation Don t earn safety by accident Work Heath and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) (WHS Act) and the Work Heath and Safety Reguations 2011 (Cth) (WHS Reguations) outine the requirements of the empoyer to provide a safe working environment for its empoyees and to provide a necessary protective equipment and training. Codes of Practice provide practica guidance on how to meet the standards set out in the WHS Act and the WHS Reguation. Encourage other empoyees to work in a heathy and safe manner. Participate in training. Report or rectify any unsafe conditions that come to their attention. Not pace at risk the heath and safety of any person in the workpace Each empoyee has the responsibiity to: Foow a safe work practices, procedures, instructions and rues. Work in a manner that ensures the heath and safety of him or her and others. Nor wifuy interfere with anything provided in the interests of heath and safety Use protective equipment in a manner in which he or she has been propery instructed ccording to Safe Work Austraia the tota economic cost of work-reated injuries and inesses for the 2008 09 financia year is estimated to be $60.6 biion doars, representing 4.8 per cent of GDP for the 2008 09 financia year. In the 2009-2010 financia year, 216 peope died as a resut of work reated injuries. 1
Empoyer Responsibiities Let s keep this simpe. The first step is to identify the potentia risks for peope to have an accident in your business: Most ikey this ist wi incude some of the foowing: Manua handing (reams of copy paper right through to heavy equipment covered here) Eectrica Safety (a things that pug in) Chemica safety (ceaning products) Working in the heat (very reevant to anyone working outside up North) Working at heights (step adders to cranes it s a a potentia fa) Use of machinery (photocopiers to chippers) Then we can get a itte more exotic up here with snakes, jeyfish, and crocodies a potentia workpace heath and safety risks. And Then Once you have ascertained a the different ways peope can poison, stab, strain, break and eectrocute themseves in your business then put together some simpe guideines on how to avoid these workpace foibes. These guideines can be in a number of forms, and wi probaby depend on the nature of your business. The key is to not et WH&S overwhem you. Work through it step by step. Simpy, WH&S is about 1. Risk Identification 2. Putting in a contro measure to either eiminate the risk or to contro the risk 3. Make sure that staff are aware and trained in risks As soon as you see a mistake and don t fix it, it becomes your mistake 2
Frequenty asked questions Shoud we nominate someone to ook after workpace heath and safety? Yes. Whether your business is arge or sma you shoud have someone who is responsibe for workpace heath and safety at a senior eve (if you are a sma business this may be you). They wi be responsibe for: Ensuring that new staff inductions are being competed, Existing staff are reguary being updated and refresher trained on WPHS issues Accident and near miss forms are being competed and reviewed PPE is provided and being worn by staff Risk assessments are reevant and up to date Staff are foowing company safe work practices NOTE: The WHS Act paces the primary duty of care and various other duties and obigations on a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU). A PCBU must ensure the heath and safety of workers, customers and visitors by, so far as reasonaby practicabe, eiminating or minimising risks at the workpace. How often shoud we train staff on workpace heath and safety issues? Make sure WPHS is covered during the induction of new staff If your WPHS processes change If there is an accident or near miss and a resut of the investigation is retraining of staff And then Conduct short (i.e. 5 10 min) refresher training at staff meetings on reevant WPHS issues these may be weeky or monthy depending on your business. i.e. Reminding staff to wear sunscreen when working outside, correct manua handing tips, correct use of chemicas, how to avoid paper cuts For those of you that have a WPHS manua or Empoyee handbook (and this shoud be a of you as you are good empoyers!) we recommend that you redistribute copies and get staff to sign off on it on an annua basis And don t forget to document, document document. What training was conducted and who attended, date and time - you never know when these records wi save your bacon in an investigation If someone has an accident do we have to notify WorkCover? If the empoyee requires medica attention then yes you must odge a WorkCover caim (ok the bandaid for the paper cut probaby non reportabe - but make sure it doesn t get infected). When work cover caims are odged they can be for medica expenses ony or for medica expenses and oss of wages. Some empoyers choose to continue paying w a g e s rather than go through work cover to keep their premiums down and there is no issue with that. Wi my Workcover premiums automaticay go up if we have Workcover caims? No - needess to say there is a very compex systems used to cacuate premiums and uness you hod a doube degree Better a thousand times carefu than once dead 3
Frequenty asked questions in math and statistics or work for WorkCover you wi probaby not understand it. However it is based on your industry average so if you ony have a few sma caims that fa beow the industry average threshod it is unikey that your premiums wi go up. I have an empoyee who refuses to wear PPE - if they get an injury wi I have any iabiity? Once again no surprises here that the answer is yes - even if they have been provided with PPE and trained to wear PPE, if they do not wear it and have an injury then it wi be covered by Workcover. Furthermore if you as an empoyer knowingy aow staff to work without wearing PPE or foow correct safety standards then you coud be found negigent. If a staff member does not foow your safety standards you need to performance counse them which may resut in the termination of empoyment (ok speak with us before you do this!). Can I ask an appicant if they have any pre existing injuries before empoying them? Yes but there is a few essentia points to remember here before empoyment is offered: 1. You must ist the physica aspects required in the position in writing (ie ifting, twisting, sitting, working outdoors) 2. You can ony ask if they have a pre existing medica condition that woud prevent or be aggravated by these tasks We recommend a good appication form that appicants must compete before being interviewed to cover this. Accidents hurt - safety doesn t 4
Hazard and Risk For those of you that ike detais: What is a Hazard? When we refer to hazards in reation to occupationa safety and heath the most commony used definition is A Hazard is a potentia source of harm or adverse heath effect on a person or persons. The terms Hazard and Risk are often used interchangeaby but this simpe exampe expains the difference between the two. If there was a spi of water in a room then that water woud present a sipping hazard to persons passing through it. If access to that area was prevented by a physica barrier then the hazard woud remain though the risk woud be minimised. What is Risk? The most commony used definition is risk is the ikeihood that a person may be harmed or suffers adverse heath effects if exposed to a hazard. Categorising Risk The eve of risk is often categorised upon the potentia harm or adverse heath effect that the hazard may cause, the number of times persons are exposed and the number of persons exposed. For exampe exposure to airborne asbestos fibres wi aways be cassified as high because a singe exposure may cause potentiay fata ung disease, whereas the risk associated with using a dispay screen for a short period coud be considered to be very ow as the potentia harm or adverse heath effects are minima. What are Contro Measures? Contro measures incude actions that can be taken to reduce the potentia of exposure to the hazard, or the contro measure coud be to remove the hazard or to reduce the ikeihood of the risk of the exposure to that hazard being reaised. A simpe contro measure woud be the secure guarding of moving parts of machinery eiminating the potentia for contact. 1. Eiminate the hazard Eimination of the hazard is not aways achievabe though it does totay remove the hazard and thereby eiminates the risk of exposure. 2. Substitute the hazard with a esser risk Substituting the hazard may not remove a of the hazards associated with the process or activity and may introduce different hazards but the overa harm or heath effects wi be essened. 3. Isoate the hazard Isoating the hazard is achieved by restricting access to pant and equipment or in the case of substances ocking them away under strict contros. 4. Use engineering contros Engineering Contros invove redesigning a process to pace a barrier between the person and the hazard or remove the hazard from the person, such as machinery guarding, proximity guarding, extraction systems or removing the operator to a remote ocation away from the hazard. 5. Use administrative contros Administrative contros incude adopting standard operating procedures or safe work practices or providing appropriate training, instruction or information to reduce the potentia for harm and/or adverse heath effects to person(s). 6. Use persona protective equipment Persona protective equipment (PPE) incude goves, gasses, earmuffs, aprons, safety footwear, dust masks which are designed to reduce exposure to the hazard. 5
Workcover Information Serious Incident Notification I have had a serious incident, what do I do? The Work Heath and Safety Act 2011 and the Safety in Recreationa Water Activities Act 2011 set out what sort of incidents are notifiabe to WHSQ. An incident is notifiabe if it arises out of the conduct of a business or undertaking and resuts in the death, serious injury or serious iness of a person or invoves a dangerous incident. When is an injury or iness serious? The Work Heath and Safety Act 2011 and the Safety in Recreationa Water Activities Act 2011 set out that a serious injury or iness of a person is: an injury or iness requiring the person to have immediate treatment as an in-patient in a hospita immediate treatment for the amputation of any part of his or her body a serious head injury a serious eye injury a serious burn the separation of his or her skin from an underying tissue (such as degoving or scaping) a spina injury the oss of a bodiy function serious acerations medica treatment (treatment by a doctor) within 48 hours of exposure to a substance any infection to which the carrying out of work is a significant contributing factor, incuding any infection that is reiaby attributabe to carrying out work with micro-organisms that invoves providing treatment or care to a person that invoves contact with human bood or body substances that invoves handing or contact with animas, anima hides, skins, woo or hair, anima carcasses or anima waste products the foowing occupationa inesses contracted in the course of work invoving the handing or contact with animas, anima hides, skins, woo or hair, anima carcasses or anima waste products Q fever Anthrax Leptospirosis Bruceosis Hendra virus Avian infuenza Psittacosis What is a dangerous incident? A dangerous incident is an incident in reation to a workpace that exposes a worker or any other person to a serious risk to a person s heath or safety emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to: an uncontroed escape, spiage or eakage of a substance an uncontroed imposion, exposion or fire an uncontroed escape of gas or steam an uncontroed escape of a pressurised substance eectric shocka the fa or reease from a height of any pant, substance or thing the coapse, overturning, faiure or mafunction of, or damage to, any pant that is required to be authorised for use in accordance with the reguations the coapse or partia coapse of a structure the coapse or faiure of an excavation or of any shoring supporting an excavation the inrush of water, mud or gas in workings, in an underground excavation or tunne the interruption of the main system of ventiation in an underground excavation or tunne. Who is responsibe for notifying? A person conducting a business or undertaking is required to make the notification immediatey after becoming aware that a notifiabe incident arising from the business or undertaking has occurred. I ve aready notified WorkCover or my workers compensation insurer, why do I need to notify WHSQ? An injuries caim to WorkCover Queensand (WorkCover) or your workers compensation insurer is not the same as notifying WHSQ of an incident, however if you insure with WorkCover, you can do both at the same time. WorkCover and other workers compensation insurers have a different roe to pay from WHSQ foowing a workpace incident. WHSQ investigates the cause of the incident and how simiar incidents can be prevented in the future. WorkCover and other workers compensation insurers provide financia compensation to peope injured in the course of their empoyment. WHSQ is the workpace heath and safety reguator in Queensand. It uses notified incident information to investigate workpace incidents and contraventions of the Work Heath and Safety Act 2011. This information is aso used to deveop programs that identify soutions to workpace safety issues across a industries. Notification to WHSQ is in addition to any workers compensation caim made to WorkCover or sef-insured businesses. Do I need to keep a record of the incident? The person conducting a business of undertaking must keep a record of each notifiabe incident for at east five (5) years from the date notified to WHSQ. 6