Workplace Health and Safety Scenarios

This assignment presents several workplace health and safety scenarios involving a cleaning service worker named Wendy. Students must analyze these scenarios, identify potential hazards and risks, suggest appropriate actions to mitigate them, and evaluate the adequacy of existing WHS policies and procedures. The assignment also encourages students to research reliable sources of WHS information, understand the roles and responsibilities of HSRs and HSCs, and explore systemic approaches to workplace health and safety.

HLTWHS001 Participate in workplace health and safety
Name
Email address
Assessment
Project
Projects may include short answer questions or longer answer questions and are designed to test
how you apply your knowledge into a real-world situation. Your assessor is looking for
how you apply your knowledge and how you think critically about the topic area. An
important aspect of Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) understands how it applies to
your specific workplace and the roles of workers there. All responses should be at least
between 50 and 100 words (4-8 sentences) in length.
Task 1
The following questions must be answered within the context of your current workplace or the
workplace you intend to work within in your chosen industry. Anytime “your workplace” or “your
role” is referenced, it is to be contextualised to working within your current workplace or your
intended workplace.
Question 1.1
Take some time to think about safe work and how it relates to your workplace and your role
within the industry. Outline steps that you could take to ensure your own health and safety
within your job role.
Safe work in dental assistant job role is defined as ensuring health and safety of
all the workers from any hazard having possibility of occurring in workplace.
Safe work is ensure at work place by providing proper training and guidance to
all employees.
Health and safety will be insured by following steps :
 Use of equipment in dental treatments should be used appropriately
to avoid injuries.
 Safe handling of chemicals.
 Proper training of using tools and machines.
 Avoiding occupational hazards.
 Dental equipment should be used in proper guidance.
 Avoid skin contact from chemicals and vapors.

Question 1.2
Outline the processes or activities that can be undertaken to ensure that the general public or
clients are not exposed to hazards or risks within your workplace.
• Identify at least three.
• Outline how they are performed.
• Outline why they are important.
Activities to ensure safety of public in workplace
 Use of charts and pictures
 Use of sign boards
 Verbally telling clients
Implementation : To perform these actions staff member can tell people who
visits dental workplace. Nurse and ward boys should aware people about the
risks in workplace. Signs and charts should be pasted on walls to aware people
about hazards. Chemicals and tools should be placed away from the reach of
people.
Importance : Ensuring clients about risk is important because it helps in
minimizing risk. It can aware clients about hazards and potential risk. It reduces
the risk of occurrence of any hazardous incidence.
Question 1.3
Name four workplace hazards relevant to your work role and controls that can be put into place
for each hazard.
Workplace hazards are as follows:
 Contact with chemical
 X-ray contract
 Contact with patients and dealing with them
 Continuously working in same position
Controls to minimize hazards : Chemicals should be placed away so that
they not come in between daily activities. While working with x -rays proper
precautions like glasses should be worn.
Question 1.4
• List at least five ways in which information on safe work practices and procedures can be
shared with members of a work group.
• Identify which you think are the most effective, and explain why.

Ways to share information about work practices:
 Email about work practices can be send to all staff members.
 Telephonic conversation could be done.
 Written documents about safe work practices should be distributed
among employees.
 Pasting of posters and charts on notices board.
Posters, charts and sign boards are most effective because people can read
these things whenever they come across with it. Written documents are also
effective as all the workers can red it any time . Verbal communication can
also be done to provide guidelines about work practices.

Question 1.5
• Summarise in your own words why it is important for the WHS practices of less experienced
workers to be checked by more experienced workers.
• How can you contribute to the development and implementation of safe workplace policies
and procedures when undertaking your own work?
 It is important for less experienced worker to be checked by experienced
workers as it help them to understand every work procedure . It also
supports them in identifying flaws in their working style. Experienced
ones helps new ones by giving guidance about health and safety.
 Efforts will be made to implement policies properly. Existing policies and
procedures should be amended according to need. Employees can help
in regulating the policies that are formed fro ensuring health and safety.
Workers should help in deploying safe work practices in order to ensure
safety.
Question 1.6
Reflect on your own levels of stress and fatigue. Identify what methods of control you can
undertake to reduce or eliminate these hazards at the workplace for yourself and others.
Stress and fatigue comes when workers for longer hours. Stress of job and
workload on employee causes fatigue. Levels of stress and fatigue are lower
level, middle level and higher level. In lower level employee faces normal
stress which comes from continuous working. In middle level stress causes
headaches and tension. In higher level of stress causes some mental disorders.
Controls to eliminate stress at workplace:
 Schedules should be made top manage work.
 Avoid over working.
 Take some breaks between working.
 Ask superiors to make environment of workplace stress free.
 Talk with colleagues to share problem so that stress can be lower down
to some extent.
 Work load should not given to employees. It will help in removing stress.
Question 1.7
Emergencies can happen at any time.

• Explain in five steps the procedure for an emergency situation in your or a simulated
workplace.
• Explain proactive measures that could be undertaken to avoid emergency situations.
For example in case of fire due to some chemical split in dental workplace.
Following are the steps to handle this situation :
 Stay calm , don't get panic.
 Try to escape form the fire place.
 Open the windows instead of breaking them.
 Switch off all the lights.
 Cover nose and mouth from clothes.
 Give signal for help or press the fire signal button.
Staff members should be given training on working with chemicals and
equipment. Proper training will help in reducing the occurrence of emergency
situation. Workers should work using guidelines to avoid emergencies.
Question 1.8
List at least five safety signs that you could come across in your workplace. These could include
those on emergency equipment, PPE, or industry-specific hazards.
Safety signs are as follows:
1. First aid station : This sign indicates first aid which is required in
emergency situation.
2. Radiation area: This sign aware people about radiation area to keep
them safe from rays.

3. Wet floor: This sign indicates that floor is wet and it prevent slippery
incidents at workplace.
4. Safety gloves must be worn: This safety sign is for workers to wear gloves
while working with equipment and tools use in dental process.
5. Eye protection : This is for eye protection while doing X -Rays operations.
Question 1.9
Briefly outline the roles and responsibilities of Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) and
Health and Safety committees (HSCs) in relation to WHS.
Health and safety representatives have following roles and responsibilities:
 Contacting with advice team and ask discussing about possible harms
and hazards.
 Discussing the safety requirements of employees while working.
 Making recommendations on safety procedures and policies.
 Monitoring and ensuring health and safety at workplace.
 Taking feedback from workers about health and safety measures.
Role of health and safety committees:
 Making rules and regulations for ensuring safety at workplace.
 Reviewing policies and making amendments if required.
 Assisting workers on procedures used in safety .

Question 1.10
Briefly outline the legal responsibilities of workers in relation to WHS.
Legal responsibilities of workers in relation with workplace health and safety:
 Workers responsibilities is to follow the rule and guidelines appropriately
to ensure own safety.
 Employees should protect themselves from hazards and anything that
can cause health problems to them.
 They should asses risk properly.
 Employees should inform WHS committee about risk and safety issue
they face in workplace.
 Workers should use safety and precaution in workplace.

Task 2
In the following scenario, you will be presented with a selection of observations from a person
going about their role in the workplace of a multi-modality health clinic. You are to read across
the worker’s observations and answer the questions at the end. These will examine what the
worker should have done reactively within that situation and proactive steps that the worker
could take in order to improve future workplace safety.
Case Study
Wendy is an experienced worker. During one particular day, the following things happen:
a) Wendy observes a new person, Mandy, using cleaning products. Mandy is not wearing
gloves even though Wendy knows that Mandy has had induction training, which includes
wearing PPE whenever using cleaning solvents in the workplace.
b) Wendy sees a client walk into reception and trip on the edge of a rug that is worn and lifted
up. Wendy has noticed the worn rug before.
c) Wendy sees Tracey, who is another experienced worker, standing on a chair whilst trying to
open a window up high. The window is stuck, so Tracey is pulling on it quite hard.
d) Wendy has her handbag on the floor beside her desk. Tracey comes in to talk to her and as
she walks around Wendy’s desk, she trips on Wendy's bag. Wendy apologises, picks it up,
and puts it on the shelf.
Question 2.1
Pick one of the observations of another worker, and outline what advice Wendy should give to
this co-worker. Identify the following information:
• When she should have provided advice
• Her role in providing the advice
• The manner in which the advice should be provided
• Any further steps she could have taken
• And then write out a sample dialogue of the advice provided.
(approximately 100 words).
According to case study Wendy has observed that her co-worker Mandy is
cleaning products use in dental process without wearing gloves. Wendy can
give her advice to do work with gloves as sharp tool and equipments may harm
her hands. Her role will be of adviser in giving advice. Verbal manner would be
used in providing suggestions. She can give her guidance to use gloves while
using equipments and cleaning them. She can warn her to wear gloves in
future to avoid injuries.
Sample dialogue
Wendy : Do you wear hand gloves?
Mandy : no .
Wendy : You should wear gloves while cleaning product as this can harm your

hands.
Mandy : Okay I will wear gloves from next time and will follow your advice.

Question 2.2
What steps should Wendy take after observing the client tripping on the rug? What process of
risk management could be taken with the rug?
Wendy can help the client after tripping. She can remove the rug form the way
because it causing tripping problems to people. Use of sign boards about rug
should be made so that clients do not get trip over it. Risk management can be
done by removing the rug form the walking place. Rug can be replaced by new
one which sticks at floor and do not cause any problem while walking.
Question 2.3
Based on Wendy's observations, does it sound like her workplace has adequate WHS policies,
procedures, and training? Where would she go to confirm this information?
Yes her workplace has adequate WHS policies. From the above observations of
Wendy that workplace need to made some amendments in it policies to ensure
safety of workers. She can confirm these policies and procedures from
management of the clinic.
Question 2.4
What further steps should Wendy investigate for the workplace? Points to consider when writing
the answer include:
• Keeping up to date with WHS issues
• Reliable sources of WHS information
• Roles and responsibilities of HSRs & HSCs
• Addressing WHS at a systemic level in a workplace
Write your thoughts.
Wendy can investigate about policies by getting information from human
resource of the clinic. She can get daily updates from management about
procedures for health and safety. She can aware her coworkers about policies
and regulations made for their health and safety. Resources for getting
information are journals, books and website of WHS. Other resources would be
written documents given from clinic's management. Roles and responsibilities
of HSRs is as follows:
 Contacting with advice team and ask discussing about possible harms
and hazards.
 Open discussion with employees to find out their safety requirements .

 HSR can give recommendation on exiting policies and procedures used
in clinic.
 Controlling and monitoring health and safety at workplace.
 Taking feedback from workers about health and safety measures
 HSR's can give advice to health and safety committee about changes
required in policies for better implementation.
Role of health and safety committee:
 Health and safety committee makes rules and regulations for ensuring
safety at clinic.
 Reviewing policies and making amendments if required.
 They can assist workers on procedures used in safety .
 Committee can make rules to follow use all the precaution while working
in clinic to ensure safety.
 Committee can give advice to worker to follows.
Systematic level of WHS in workplace:
This can be done by ensuring all the policies are implemented in well manner. It
is require to be checked that if all the employees are following rules and
procedures while working with equipment in clinic.