Implementing WHS Requirements and Procedures

The provided content discusses various aspects related to Work Health and Safety (WHS), specifically focusing on the requirements covered under the Cert IV WHS program. It outlines different requirements such as maintaining proper records of hazards, conducting regular inspections, implementing training procedures for staff, and adopting consultation procedures. The importance of adopting these measures in organizations is also highlighted, emphasizing their role in preventing risks and preparing individuals to deal with emergency situations.

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Cert IV WHS program
Combination of units
13-Mar-18
(Student Details: )

Cert IV WHS program
Introduction
Workplace health and safety or WHS, refers to the evaluation and the mitigation of risks, which
have the capability of having an impact on the welfare, the safety and the health of individuals at
workplace. WHS includes the welfare of all the people at workplace, which includes consumers,
contractors, visitors, suppliers, volunteers, consumers, and the employees (Department of
Industry, Innovation and Science, 2018). This discussion presents the various facets of WHS
norms in Australia.
Compliance with WHS laws
In Australia, the WHS laws are present at both commonwealth level and state level. The Work
Health and Safety Act, 2011 has similar provisions as the state level Work Health and Safety
Acts. Along with this, there is a need to follow the Work Health and Safety Regulations, 2011.
The workplaces are required to comply with these laws and make proper arrangements for safety
at workplaces, which includes guidance on safe working, guidance on how to deal with
emergency and the duties of the employees, where they do not put themselves or others in danger
(Archer et al. 2014).
Implementation of environmentally sustainable work practices
This aspect is related to the duty imposed on specified areas of work and on such groups or
teams which lead such area of work. It relates to the knowledge, techniques and processes which
are required for the implementation and monitoring of such practices, which can be deemed as
environmentally sustainable ones. These include the identification of areas for improvement,
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developing the plans for improving, and the implementation and monitoring of the improvements
in environmental performance. The individuals responsible for WHS implementation in the
workplaces have to integrate environmental efficiency management procedures and policies in
any company. This involves identifying the environmental regulations which could apply on the
company, analysing the procedures for assessing compliances related to sustainable and
environmental regulations, and various other investigative practices. This is followed by setting
the targets for improvements, implementation of the strategies required for performance
improvement and monitoring the performance (Training, 2018a).
WHS hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control
A key part of WHS is the identification of possible hazards, assessing the risks and controlling
such identified risks. Every organization has to ensure that there is a formal process for the
hazard identification, and for assessing and controlling risks, in order to manage the workplaces
in effective manner, along with the safety hazards. It is not a onetime process and has to be taken
as an ongoing process (Western Sydney University, 2015). By indulging in such acts, the hazards
at workplace can be identified, the risks which can be born from such hazards can be assessed,
the control measures required to minimize or eliminate the risk levels can be determined, and the
effectiveness of such control measures can be monitored and reviewed. This is quite a detailed
process and is necessary to be undertaken in a careful manner. The significance of this aspect is
increased as it helps in contributing towards the implementation of emergency procedures, which
are requisite for avoiding the hazards from taking place (Stoll, McGill and Ritchie, 2013).
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Cert IV WHS program
(Source: Western Sydney University, 2015)
WHS management system
In order to contribute towards the implementation and the maintenance of the WHS management
systems, there is a need to contribute towards the development and the promotion of WHS
policies. This requires applying the knowledge of different elements of WHS policy, so that it
can contribute towards the promotion and development of this policy, based on the work area
and job role. There is a need to make proper contributions to the WHS management system
planning, where the knowledge of WHS legislations has to be used to identify the duty holders
based on their area of work, and in planning based on such job roles. There is also a need to
make contributions to the implementation, evaluation and improving of these systems. This is
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Cert IV WHS program
because this is the stage which allows for the proper work related health and safety measures to
be adopted in the companies (Training, 2018b).
Responding to incidents
It is crucial that the individuals in workplace are aware of the manner in which the incidents at
workplace have to be dealt with. This is to be done based on the legislative and the other
requirements. The individuals at workplace need to be aware of the process which is required to
assist in the implementation of the initial incident response procedures. So, they need to be
trained on how to provide the first aid and how any incident is to be notified, reported and
documented. There is also the requirement of collecting the WHS information and the data
which is relevant to any investigation. The incident investigations have to be properly assisted
with, and there is a need to implement the recommended measures and the actions which are
born from the investigations (Training, 2018c).
Claims management, rehabilitation and return to work programs
Another important aspect of WHS is the assistance in managing of claims. The compensation
claims of workers have to be processed as per the procedures and policies of the company, and
there is a need to fulfil all the requirements under the law and the compensation requirements for
workers (CCH Australia, 2007). The claimants have to be advised on their claims being accepted
or not. There is also a need for assisting in the planning and implementation of a successful
rehabilitation program for affected worker. This rehabilitation program has to be properly
monitored and evaluated. This process is not easy as it sounds. Planning and implementation of a
successful rehabilitation process required a lot of steps to be undertaken. This requires
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facilitation of consultation in between the rehabilitation provider and the treating doctor, along
with the other health professionals, as may be required. There is also a need of facilitating
regular feedbacks and communication in between the workers, provider and supervising manager
(Training, 2018d).
Effective management of contractors
This requirement revolves around the assistance in identification of the present contractor
arrangements for WHS. This not only requires the application of workplace knowledge to
identify the services which are supplied by the contractors, but also identifies the content which
is relevant to the contractor WHS arrangements, in addition to accessing the contracts and the
other pertinent documentation for contract, data and information, and helping in the
identification of policies, processes, procedures, activities, practices and systems which relate to
such arrangements. There is also a need for assisting with the evaluating contractor and making
improvements as are required, for such WHS arrangements (Training, 2018e).
WHS consultation and participation processes
There are different elements and criteria for this aspect. This involves the identification of the
parties which indulge in the WHS consultations and in the participation processes. For this, the
knowledge of codes of practices, procedures, polices, regulations and acts surrounding WHS are
required, in order to highlight the responsibilities, rights, duties and roles of the parties. There is
a need of making contributions to the consultation and participation processes of the WHS. This
is done based on the working area and the job role of an individual. Contributions also have to be
made to the processes in order to communicate and share the information and data related to
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WHS. The training requirements which are necessary for the effective participation and
consultation of WHS have to be identified and met with. Lastly, contributions have to be made
towards improvements in this participation and consultation processes of WHS. This particularly
requires the identification and the assessment of implementation and effectiveness of such
processes, and in developing, implementing and evaluating the measures which are required for
removal of such barriers (Training, 2018f).
WHS policies, procedures and programs based on legislative
requirements
It is of utmost importance that in carrying out the aforementioned aspects, the different policies,
procedures, and programs under the different WHS legislations are properly followed. These
include both the commonwealth legislations, and the state or territory legislations, including the
codes of practices. Along with the statutory law, there is a need to adhere to the common law
duties in order to fulfil the general duty regarding the care requirements. The workers, along with
the other individuals at workplace, have to be made aware of such regulations. They also have to
be given proper training and knowledge about the procedure of controlling risks, and
consultation procedures. Another requirement is that the WHS records need to be properly
maintained, particularly the ones related to hazards (Training, 2018g).
Conclusion
Thus, in the previous discussion, a range of aspects which revolve around the WHS under the
Cert IV WHS program were highlighted. Here, the different requirements which are covered
under the WHS requirements were briefed upon based on each heads of the Cert IV WHS
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program. It is important that the different aspects detailed above are adopted by the WHS
professionals. More so, it is crucial that the organizations adopt these aspects so that they can
have effective WHS policy in their organization, which not only helps in avoiding the risks, but
also prepares the individuals at workplace, on how to deal with emergency situations. With
proper training measures, not only the safety of employees can be ensured, but also the
legislative requirements can be met.
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References
Archer, R. et al. (2014) WHS: A Management Guide. Victoria: Cengage Learning.
CCH Australia. (2007) Australian Master OHS and Environment Guide. 2nd ed. North Ryde:
CCH Australia Limited.
Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. (2018) What is Workplace health and safety
(WHS)? [Online] Available from: https://www.business.gov.au/info/run/workplace-health-and-
safety [Accessed on: 13/03/18]
Stoll, M., McGill, C., and Ritchie, J. (2013) Work Health and Safety. Sydney, NSW: McGraw-
Hill Education Australia.
Training. (2018a) BSBSUS301A - Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work
practices (Release 2). [Online] Available from:
https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/BSBSUS301A [Accessed on: 13/03/18]
Training. (2018b) BSBWHS405 - Contribute to implementing and maintaining WHS
management systems (Release 2). [Online] Available from:
https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/BSBWHS405 [Accessed on: 13/03/18]
Training. (2018c) BSBWHS406 - Assist with responding to incidents (Release 2). [Online]
Available from: https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/BSBWHS406 [Accessed on: 13/03/18]
Training. (2018d) BSBWHS407 - Assist with claims management, rehabilitation and return-to-
work programs (Release 1). [Online] Available from:
https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/BSBWHS407 [Accessed on: 13/03/18]
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Training. (2018e) BSBWHS408A - Assist with effective WHS management of contractors
(Release 1). [Online] Available from: https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/BSBWHS408A
[Accessed on: 13/03/18]
Training. (2018f) BSBWHS403A - Contribute to implementing and maintaining WHS
consultation and participation processes (Release 1). [Online] Available from:
https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/BSBWHS403A [Accessed on: 13/03/18]
Training. (2018g) BSBWHS401 - Implement and monitor WHS policies, procedures and
programs to meet legislative requirements (Release 1). [Online] Available from:
https://training.gov.au/training/details/bsbwhs401 [Accessed on: 13/03/18]
Western Sydney University. (2015) Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Control
Procedure. [Online] Available from:
https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/12917/12917_Hazard_Identificat
ion,_Risk_Assessment_and_control_Procedure.pdf [Accessed on: 13/03/18]
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