HEALTH AND SAFETY

Employers

Employers have a duty of care for the health and safety of their employees. In order to provide a safe working environment, employers need to identify possible hazards and risks and adapt OH&S policies and procedures to prevent accidents, injuries and illnesses.

An employer must guarantee that their business has (if applicable):

·         Safe premises

·         Safe machinery and materials

·         Safe systems of work

·         Information, instruction, training and supervision

·         A suitable working environment and facilities

This is achieved by understanding the Occupational Health and Safety Act and by:

·         Keeping up-to-date knowledge on health and safety matters

·         Understanding the operations undertaken by the business to foresee hazards and risks

·         Providing training and productive instruction for workers

·         Observing and monitoring safe practices during work operations

Employees

Workers also have a responsibility to work sensibly and follow correct procedures. Employees need to be aware of and understand OH&S policies and workplace instructions, especially when operating machinery. It is critical that workers have input into the monitoring and reporting of workplace safety.

Employees need to:

·         Take reasonable care and monitor their own health and safety

·         Take care that their actions do not negatively affect the health and safety of fellow employees

·         Comply with reasonable instruction in health and safety procedures

·         Alert their supervisor or OH&S representative about hazards or other safety issues

·         Abiding by these principles can greatly reduce the amount of sickness and injury in the workplace

OH&S practices

Some OH&S procedures that are common across all parts of Australia include:

·         Utilising all safety equipment provided when necessary

·         Following health and safety instructions given to you by supervisors or OH&S representatives

·         Using equipment, including machinery, properly

·         Participating in health and safety training and procedures

·         Being aware and understanding safety signs and symbols

Safety Hazards

There are a range of factors in the workplace that can potentially become a safety hazard to employees. These depend on the physical environment, nature of operations and employee compatibility. As either an employer or employee, you need to be aware of issues that may arise.
 

Psychosocial issues

Human interaction, behaviour and psychology can greatly affect one’s health and safety in the workplace. These would include things like bullying, fatigue, stress, violence, and alcohol and drugs.

Some workers may be more vulnerable than others to psychosocial stress, due to certain characteristics. These can include:

·         Having a non-English speaking background

·         Having different cultural or religious beliefs

·         Being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent

·         Being aged between 16–25

·         Having a disability or long-term illness or injury

·         Working on a temporary basis

Employers and employees need to be aware that these characteristics can cause difficulties in communicating and can lead to victimisation, bullying, and an adverse overall effect on health and safety in the workplace.

As an employer you will need to be aware of any unusual or changed behaviour in your workers. It is important to try and understand any underlying problems that may have caused these psychosocial issues. For this to occur you need to have strong channels of communication.

As employees it is important to inform your supervisor or OH&S representative of any unusual or changed behaviour in your fellow employees. Also be sure to inform your employer of any problems or issues that you may be facing that might affect your work or jeopardise your safety.
 

Chemicals

Chemicals include materials and substances that can adversely affect the health of workers. Some chemicals can pose an immediate risk to workers as well as the environment and are labelled as dangerous goods. Chemicals can also cause harm through exposure. These are usually classified as hazardous and can cause long-term effects to your health. The storage and handling of chemicals needs to be strictly monitored to ensure the safety of workers.
 

Carcinogens

Carcinogens are substances which may cause cancer. Carcinogens are listed as notifiable or prohibited and there are specific requirements concerning their use and regulation.
 

Manual handling and ergonomics

Manual handling includes any activity or task that may require physical exertion. These can include lifting, pushing, carrying or any other repetitive or awkward movements. Injuries resulting from manual handling are extremely common, but are preventable.
 

Noise

Constant exposure to loud or excessive noise can cause permanent hearing loss. Employers need to put in place control measures to ensure that worker safety is guaranteed when noise levels exceed a certain level.
 

Plant – machinery and equipment

Operating machinery can be extremely dangerous and can lead to injuries and even fatalities. Workers need to be thoroughly trained in how to operate and maintain plant. Any machinery and equipment needs to be kept in a safe and working condition. This is achieved through regular inspection and maintenance to keep up-to-date on the need for repairs and replacements.
 

Working environment

Some hazards can arise from the work environment. Issues may arise from smoking, confined spaces, sun exposure and temperature. It is up to the employer to identify and control hazards that could occur in the workplace.

Carrying out a risk assessment

As part of managing the health and safety of your business, you must control the risks in your workplace. To do this you need to think about what might cause harm to people and decide whether you are taking reasonable steps to prevent that harm.

This process is known as risk assessment and it is something you are required by law to carry out. If you have fewer than five employees you don’t have to write anything down.

A risk assessment is not about creating huge amounts of paperwork but rather about identifying sensible measures to control the risks in your workplace.

You are probably already taking steps to protect your employees, but your risk assessment will help you decide whether you have covered all you need to.

Identify the hazards

One of the most important aspects of your risk assessment is accurately identifying the potential hazards in your workplace.

A Good starting point is to walk around your workplace and think about any hazards (things that may cause harm). In other words, what is it about the activities, processes or substances used that could injure your employees or harm their health?

When you work in a place every day it is easy to overlook some hazards, so here are some tips to help you identify the ones that matter:

·         Check manufacturers' instructions or data sheets for chemicals and equipment as they can be very helpful in explaining the hazards and putting them in their true perspective

·         Look back at your accident and ill-health records – these often help to identify the less obvious hazards

·         Take account of non-routine operations (e.g. maintenance, cleaning operations or changes in production cycles)

·         Remember to think about long-term hazards to health (e.g. high levels of noise or exposure to harmful substances)

There are some hazards with a recognised risk of harm, for example working at height, working with chemicals, machinery, and asbestos. Depending on the type of work you do, there may be other hazards that are relevant to your business.

Who might be harmed?

Then think how employees (or others who may be present such as contractors or visitors) might be harmed. Ask your employees what they think the hazards are, as they may notice things that are not obvious to you and may have some good ideas on how to control the risks.

For each hazard you need to be clear about who might be harmed – it will help you identify the best way of controlling the risk. That doesn't mean listing everyone by name, but rather identifying groups of people (e.g. 'people working in the storeroom' or 'passers-by'). Remember:

·         Some workers may have particular requirements, for example new and young workers, migrant workers, new or expectant mothers, people with disabilities, temporary workers, contractors, homeworkers and lone workers (see Your workers)

·         Think about people who might not be in the workplace all the time, such as visitors, contractors and maintenance workers

·         Take members of the public into account if they could be harmed by your work activities

·         If you share a workplace with another business, consider how your work affects others and how their work affects you and your workers. Talk to each other and make sure controls are in place

·         Ask your workers if there is anyone you may have missed

Evaluate the risks

Having identified the hazards, you then have to decide how likely it is that harm will occur, ie the level of risk and what to do about it. Risk is a part of everyday life and you are not expected to eliminate all risks. What you must do is make sure you know about the main risks and the things you need to do to manage them responsibly. Generally, you need to do everything reasonably practicable to protect people from harm.

Your risk assessment should only include what you could reasonably be expected to know – you are not expected to anticipate unforeseeable risks.

Look at what you're already doing and the control measures you already have in place. Ask yourself:

·         Can I get rid of the hazard altogether?

·         If not, how can I control the risks so that harm is unlikely?

Some practical steps you could take include:

·         trying a less risky option

·         preventing access to the hazards

·         organising your work to reduce exposure to the hazard

·         issuing protective equipment

·         providing welfare facilities such as first-aid and washing facilities

·         involving and consulting with workers

Improving health and safety need not cost a lot. For instance, placing a mirror on a blind corner to help prevent vehicle accidents is a low-cost precaution considering the risks. Failure to take simple precautions can cost you a lot more if an accident does happen.

Involve your workers, so you can be sure that what you propose to do will work in practice and won't introduce any new hazards.

If you control a number of similar workplaces containing similar activities, you can produce a 'model' risk assessment reflecting the common hazards and risks associated with these activities.

You may also come across 'model' assessments developed by trade associations, employers' bodies or other organisations concerned with a particular activity. You may decide to apply these 'model' assessments at each workplace, but you can only do so if you:

·         satisfy yourself that the 'model' assessment is appropriate to your type of work

·         adapt the 'model' to the detail of your own work situations, including any extension necessary to cover hazards and risks not referred to in the 'model'

Record your findings

Make a record of your significant findings – the hazards, how people might be harmed by them and what you have in place to control the risks. Any record produced should be simple and focused on controls.

If you have fewer than five employees you don't have to write anything down. But it is useful to do this so you can review it at a later date, for example if something changes. If you have five or more employees you are required by law to write it down.

Any paperwork you produce should help you to communicate and manage the risks in your business. For most people this does not need to be a big exercise – just note the main points down about the significant risks and what you concluded.

When writing down your results keep it simple, for example 'fume from welding – local exhaust ventilation used and regularly checked'.

A risk assessment must be 'suitable and sufficient', i.e. it should show that:

·         a proper check was made

·         you asked who might be affected

·         you dealt with all the obvious significant hazards, taking into account the number of people who could be involved

·         the precautions are reasonable, and the remaining risk is low

·         you involved your employees or their representatives in the process

Where the nature of your work changes fairly frequently or the workplace changes and develops (e.g. a construction site), or where your workers move from site to site, your risk assessment may have to concentrate more on a broad range of risks that can be anticipated.

Take a look at our selection of selection of example risk assessments. They show you what a completed risk assessment might look like for your type of workplace. You can use these as a guide when doing your own.

We have also developed online risk assessment tools, to help employers complete and print off their own records.

If your risk assessment identifies a number of hazards, you need to put them in order of importance and address the most serious risks first.

Identify long-term solutions for the risks with the biggest consequences, as well as those risks most likely to cause accidents or ill health. You should also establish whether there are improvements that can be implemented quickly, even temporarily, until more reliable controls can be put in place.

Remember, the greater the hazard the more robust and reliable the measures to control the risk of an injury occurring need to be.

Regularly review your risk assessment

Few workplaces stay the same. Sooner or later, you will bring in new equipment, substances and procedures that could lead to new hazards. So it makes sense to review what you are doing on an ongoing basis, look at your risk assessment again and ask yourself:

·         Have there been any significant changes?

·         Are there improvements you still need to make?

·         Have your workers spotted a problem?

·         Have you learnt anything from accidents or near misses?

Make sure your risk assessment stays up to date.