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WHS Laws and Management Systems

   

Added on  2020-04-07

25 Pages5234 Words164 Views
WHS Legislation and WHS Management SystemsStudent’s nameCourseUniversityDate1

Assessment 1:WHS/OHS legal Requirements The new work health and safety laws have been formulated to guarantee workers a safe and protected workplace. The WHS laws have harmonized the occupational health and safety laws in the country. The requirements include codes of practice, regulations, the modelWHS Act, enforcement policy, and national compliance.1 The model WHS Act helps companies to comply with the territorial requirements. The company should also consider theexplosive Act and work health and safety legislation.2B&C Risk register Based on the template, it is evident that the company experiences three major hazards that need redress. The leading hazards include noise, machinery and equipment, and manual tasks. These risks are evident in the company as employees suffer significantly. For instance, the hazardous manual task endangers the workers.3 This hazard causes repetitive forces and movement thus affecting the manual workers. The hazard can be controlled by applying the WHS plan. In fact, by redesigning and adjusting the working areas, the employees can find it comfortable to work. The Production officers should take the responsibility of adjusting and redesigning the workplace. This is a long-term project requiring time to be controlled, as it will take five months. Noise is another issue affecting the workers and exposes them to hearing impairment. Sometimes the employees make high noises to communicate. This problem can be reduced with time, as the causes are the machines used.4 It remains the responsibility of the management to reduce the situation by replacing these machines. The project will take about 1 SMH, “OH&S/WHS Acts, Regulations and Codes of Practice Occupational Health & Safety,” The Sydney Morning Herald, 2009, December 18. http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/resources/ohswhs-acts-regulations-and-codes-of-practice--occupational-health--safety-20091217-l0j9.html2 SafetyWorks, Managing Safety and Health, 2013. http://www.safetyworksmaine.gov/safe_workplace/safety_management/3 Safe Works, How to manage work health and safety risks: Code of Practice, p. 21. December 2011. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/system/files/documents/1702/how_to_manage_whs_risks.pdf4 Ibid. p. 15.2

2 months. Finally, the hazard associated with machinery and equipment is evident in the company. For instance, the specifications on the machines are unclear and unreadable. This makes it difficult for employees to understand their usage and requirements. The engineering officer should liaise with responsible manufacturers and suppliers to order relevant machines to avoid injuries. The replacement would take six months to be accomplished.Location:Date:HazardWhatistheharmthatthehazardcouldcauseWhatisthelikelihoodthattheharmwouldoccur?Whatisthelevelofrisk?Howeffectivearethecurrentcontrols?Whatarefurthercontrolsrequired?How will the controls be implementedActionbyDueDateWhenCompletedManual tasksRepetitive force and movement leads to muscular strainWithout adopting WHS plan will lead torepetitive occurrenceLevel2ModerateAdjust and redesign theworkplace areaProductionOfficer20/11/201720/3/2018NoiseLoud noise thus damaging hearing The likelihood is highLevel3LowIntroduce noise arresters Operationalofficer10/10/20174/1/20183

Machinery and equipmentInjured by a moving machinery leading to permanent injuries, fractures, dislocation, and bruisesHigh likelihoodLevel1ModerateUse new technology to control the issuesEngineeringofficer11/10/201712/4/2018Procedures for Identifying Hazards, Assessing and Controlling RisksMany manual tasks can cause musculoskeletal disorders because they are hazardous. These workplace injuries are common across Australia. This is because most jobs involve manual tasks such as holding objects, stacking shelves, making data entry into computers, or operating on a conveyor line.5The musculoskeletal disorder is a disease or injury to an individual’s musculoskeletal system. The disorder may include various conditions like soft tissue hernias, nerve injuries, chronic pain, back injuries, sprains and strains, and vascular andmuscular disorders as evident in the case study. The musculoskeletal disorder could due to sudden damage associated with the strenuous activity or gradual tear and wear to muscles or joints. According to the WHS Regulations, hazardous manual tasks are those duties that require an individual to push, lower, life, pull, move, or carry a load. Such tasks expose an individual to vibration, sudden force, sustained posture, repetitive force and movement. Therefore, these tasks stress the body leading to injury.65SafetyWork NSW, Code of Practice: Hazardous Manual Tasks, 2016, September, http://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/50078/hazardous-manual-tasks-code-of-practice-0916.pdf6 SafetyWork NSW, p. 34

Identification of hazardous manual tasksIt is important for the involved parties to manage risks, especially when conducting manual tasks. The first step will involve the identification of the manual tasks that can exposeworkers to a musculoskeletal disorder.7 Hazards associated with the manual tasks are due to the interaction between the employee and the physical environment, tools, and the work tasks. The identification of these hazards includes:Consult workersThe management needs to consult the individuals involved in the manual tasks because they have valuable information relating to muscular pains, discomforts, and aches. These symptoms signify potential hazards. It is important to ask the employees to identify the difficult and tiring tasks because such tasks would always cause discomfort.Review available information The organization has records relating to workplace accidents and injuries. Based on these records, it is critical to inspect the reports and identify the compensation claims related to musculoskeletal disorders. Reviewing these reports can help in identifying the manual tasks that could have led to the harm. Indisputably, not every manual work can cause harm. To this effect, it calls for the managers to collect more information. The information regarding hazardous tasks is provided by industry associations, regulators, technical specialists, unions, and safety consultants.8Look for trendsThe officer should use the common problems and identify trends based on the collected information. In most cases, trends will help in showing the tasks with more characteristics common to certain tasks. With trends, it is possible to show that workers within a specific location are exposed to risky manual tasks. This will indicate that the problem is associated 7 SafetyWork NSW, p. 48 SafetyWork NSW, p. 65

with the work area and layout. Therefore, the trend can help the officer making the decision on the manual tasks that need to be prioritized.Observe manual tasksIt is possible to identify the hazardous manual tasks by observing how workers operate or perform these duties and check on their movements and postures. Hazardous tasks are evidentwhere an individual is exposed to vibration, repetitive force and movement, sudden force, andsustain posture.9 To this effect, one should look out for tasks involving machinery, tools, or equipment that is difficult to use or not working properly, and any changes resulting in new tasks.Assessing the risksAssessing risks will involve the examination of the hazardous manual tasks based on their characteristics. This will determine whether the postures, movements, or forces can expose the worker to musculoskeletal disorders. The risk assessment needs to be conducted for any manual task, especially if identified as hazardous. The risk assessment will help the work to determine how to fix them, causes, and which movement, forces, or posture poses therisk. The process should begin by identifying the individuals to participate in the process, especially workers who engage in the tasks, safety representatives or managers. The next stepshould involve describing the task and work area where it is performed. During the description, it is prudent to identify the body parts that are exposed to the risks. Thereafter, conduct the assessment to identify the risk factors. It is also advisable to assess similar tasks, especially where several employees perform similar hazardous tasks. Assessing these tasks together is important compared to assessing them individually. Conversely, the group assessment is also possible where the manual tasks are similar sufficiently. The assessor can ask the following question:Does the hazardous task involve sustained posture, forces, or movement?9 SafetyWork NSW, p. 66

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