Implementing WHS Policies: A Legislative Guide

BSBWHS401A Implement and monitor WHS policies, procedures and programs to meet legislative requirements

Assessment Task 2: Work Health and Safety Project

Part A: Develop handouts

Handout 1: Legislation

Explain the purpose of Work Health and Safety legislation, including the function of a WHS Act, WHS regulation and WHS Code of Practice:

Purpose of WHS legislation The purpose of the WHS legislation is to ensure that the workplace is safe and secure for employees from any elements of danger that may occur in the workplace. This legislation provides the guidelines to design and implement workplace safety risk control tools for the organizations to follow.

Function of WHS Act, WHS regulation and WHS Code of Practice • Design OHS policies and procedures

to ensure staffs’ rights
• Design OHS guidelines for the organisations to follow
• Design the modelling practical codes as the guidelines
• Inform the organisations with all the relevant OHS issues and concerns
• Ensure the OHS culture and awareness among the organisations

Provide an overview of NSW WHS legislation including name of Act, regulations and examples of code of practice.
Name of NSW WHS Act, regulations It is called the Work Health and Safety Act. In this Act if you are a business or an employer they have to comply with the Act and its guidelines that it sets. Some of the regulations that the Act has are:
• Competency requirements for general diving work
• Protective structures on earthmoving machinery
• Concrete place booms on towers
• Combustible liquids
Examples of code of practice • Abrasive blasting
• Confined spaces
• demolition work
• excavation work
• First Aid in the workplace
• Hazardous manual tasks

Outline key roles and responsibilities under WHS legislation
Employer roles and responsibilities under WHS legislation The main role of the employer is to maintain a working environment that is safe and free from risk to health.

Employees roles and responsibilities under WHS legislation The role and responsibilities of employees in the workplace are

• Reasonable care for their own health and safety

• Care for the health and safety of others that may be affected by their acts or omissions

• Cooperate with OHS requirements on any omissions that the employer may have.

Include at least 3 references for further sources of useful information

1. Work safe website

2. Safe work Australia website

3. Australia.gov.au

Handout 2: Identifying hazards and risk control in the office environment

Process of identifying hazards and risk control

• Checking the workplace to see how tasks are performed

• Consulting with employees about the health and safety issues experienced at

work
• Evaluating records of workplace incidents, near misses and employee complaints
• Examining data with regards to the threat and uncertainty to a particular industry or type of work that is being performed
Provide 5 common examples of hazards that may occur in an office environment
1. Improper lighting
2. Glare from the display screen
3. Incorrect use of office furniture
4. Air quality and ventilation
5. Electrical Hazards

Choose one of the common hazards that you have identified and include a simple step-by-step procedure for dealing with that hazard (risk control), using diagrams to illustrate each step where possible
Electrical Hazards
• Take caution to the electricity dangers that are in the area that may cause fatal damage to you or any employee that you are working with
• Ask the owner to provide a summary of the history use of the equipment.
• Check the tags before use and inspect the equipment visually before use
Handout 3: WHS Consultation
Identify and describe realistic ways in which the office team could contribute to work health and safety issues
(Students please re-word the following points and provide detailed explanation)
1. Create advanced schemes to encourage employees to undertake WHS problems: staff meetings can be organized in which employees can be encourages to tackle the issues at hand: this encourages employees to discuss issues in regards to the health and safety of the workplace
2. Diagnose major staff in the opening and upkeep of cooperative preparations: selecting staff that are responsible for the day to day maintenance and responsibility of equipment at work and employees in the workplace.
3. Evolve procedures for the implementation of discipline: Constantly updating the tasks and regulations that employees undertake to keep staff up to date and competitive in the area of health and safety in the work place
4. Pinpoint and record material goods significant to start and preserve cooperative arrangements: identifying key areas that are necessary to the continued growth and establishment of safety in the workplace
How feedback will be actioned
(Students please re-word the following points and provide detailed explanation)
• Analyze how imperative it is to employees about sorting out workplace WHS issues: present employees at work with videos and other forms of media the dangers of not taking caution to dangers in the workplace
• Exercise meeting procedures to provide an engaging environment for a group in handling work area hazards: ensuring employees participate in coming up with new ideas about how to improve the safety of the working environment they work in.
• Quickly address any problems that have been raised through consultation, according to organisational consultation procedures and WHS legislative and regulatory requirements: efficiently dealing with issues that need special attention quickly
• Quickly documenting and informing team members about the outcomes of consultation over WHS issues: documenting information to relevant team members about the consultation over WHS problems and solutions
Part B: Prepare an Agenda
AGENDA TEMPLATE
TO: [e-mail]
FROM: [e-mail]
SUBJECT: Workplace Health and Safety and workplace behavior
DATE: 05/05/2016
Meeting topics to be addressed
1. 9am – 9.15am Meeting introduction and welcome
2. 9.15am – 9.30am Work Health and Safety legislation, including the function of a WHS Act, WHS regulation and WHS Code of Practice
3. 9.30am – 9.45am Identifying hazards and risk control in the office environment
4. 10.am – 10.30am WHS Consultation
5. 10.30am – 11.am Group discussion
6. 11.am – 11.15am Meeting closure
Part C: WHS meeting and identifying training needs
Appendix A
Hazard Inspection Checklist
Item Comments in relation
to meeting room
inspection Recommended Corrective Action How would this risk be controlled in the future to make sure it doesn’t happen again?

Is the floor space free of debris? What hazards did you find on the floor space?

Debris and liquid that could cause fatal injuries. Bringing out warning signs to alert other staff members of the dangers in the workplace Concealing the area to ensure that people working in the area clean a mess without the hassle of worrying about other people

Is the area clear of electrical lead/network cables? What hazards did you find with electrical lead/network cables? Incorrect power flows to machinery Read the recommended use of cables for the appropriate machine Training staff about the code violations for the operation of machinery

Are waste paper bins free of hazardous materials e.g. broken glass What hazards did you find with the waste paper bins? Not putting waste in the correct bins Train people so that they can understand the way waste is supposed to be thrown away Create signs that are visible and understandable to other employees that may forget the use of bins

Is there sufficient ventilation? What hazards did you find with the ventilation? Vents were not clean Provide other means of ventilation like windows if it’s not safe to use the inbuilt ventilation systems. Half yearly cleaning of ventilation by service

contractors
Are the lights working effectively? What hazards did you find with the lights? Wrong use of light bulbs. Checking the correct voltage for the lighting in the offices Half yearly checks by contractors/management on how efficient the light is in an office
If air-conditioned, is it working effectively? What hazards did you find with the air-conditioner? Too much electricity being used Check to see that the air conditioner is clean and running undisturbed so that it saves electricity cost and fire warnings Check the size of the air conditioner is adequate for the room being used.
Are there any sources of excessive noise? What hazards did you find with the noise? Hearing impairment Use personal hearing protection e.g. ear muffs Change or modify equipment that is in use.

Signed: Masimba Mazimbe
Date of inspection: 10/05/2016
Briefly discuss the purpose of the meeting as outlined in the agenda forwarded to staff prior to the meeting.
The purpose of the meeting is to update and consult employees about the general health and safety at work .
Distribute each of the handouts with staff.
I will use the following method to distribute each of the handouts with staff:

• Staff meeting
Discuss each of the handouts with staff.
• Handout 1 – Legislation: In regards to legislation there is an obligation in which the employer has to make sure that it is reasonably practicable that works are not exposed to any harm at work. So for instance, workers who work at a factory have been provided with safety equipment that does not cause any damage to any employees at work.

• Handout 2 - Identifying hazards and risk control in the office environment: Hazards at work vary depending on the role of that the employer provides. Some common examples of hazards are
• Poor lighting
• Ergonomic hazards
• Manual handling exercises
• Slip, trip and fall hazards
• Electrical hazards