Dental Testing: Workplace Health and Safety Project and Analysis

This project delves into the crucial aspects of workplace health and safety (WHS) within a dental testing environment, encompassing a detailed examination of relevant legislation, regulations, and codes of practice. The assignment begins with a structured WHS meeting plan, including agenda items, presenter roles, and time allocations, designed to address critical issues such as hazard identification, risk assessment, and control measures. The project further explores the legal responsibilities of Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs) and workers, the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the procedures for responding to workplace accidents and incidents. The student also addresses case studies involving electrical safety and other workplace hazards, offering insights into potential causes, contributing factors, and preventive measures. Furthermore, the project incorporates knowledge-based questions that require the student to explain the rationale behind various WHS principles, such as the use of PPE as a last resort and the importance of worker consultation. The assignment concludes with a comprehensive bibliography of relevant sources, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the subject matter.

RUNNING HEAD: DENTAL TESTING 0
Dental Testing
DENTAL TESTING
8/29/2019

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Workplace Health and Safety Meeting for an Organisation
WHS (Workplace Health and Safety) is the discipline that protects the health and security of
all workplace participants from exposure to hazard and risks arising from job operations.
Australia strongly promotes the implementation of WHS legislation, conventions and codes
of practice that deliver enhanced health and safety results for all stakeholders across
Australia1.
In the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act, obligation to avoid workplace bullying,
intimidation and discrimination is covered by the obligation to provide a healthy and safe
working environment secure work systems. The spread of HIV/ AIDS from high risk
communities to the general population and from original hot spots to new fields and
highlights the need for an extensive National AIDS Control Policy to efficiently control the
country’s epidemic. Preventive services include raising awareness, promoting condoms,
preventing parents from transmitting children, growing ICTC services, promoting voluntary
donation of blood and access to secure blood. The strategies also have instructions on
targeted interventions (TI) for high risk organisations such as substances users’ injection
(IDU), men having sex with males (MSM), women sex workers (FSW). In addition,
strategies have comprehensive recommendations for managing prevalent opportunistic
infections, adult PLHA malignancies and operational guidelines for ART centres to
standardize ART facilities across the nation. The National Blood Banks Policy guarantees
that secure blood and blood components are adequately supplied2.
A PCBU has the main care obligation to guarantee employees health and security while
working in the company or responsibility. A PCBU is also accountable for safeguarding that
work performed prepares not pose a danger to other people’s fitness and safety. A PCBU has
additional responsibilities if it is engaged in particular operations such as administration and
mechanism of workplaces or installations, furnishings or plant at works, assembly,
construction or contracting, fitting or plants at workplaces, assembly, structure or
commissioning of plants or structures, making, import or source of plants, materials or
structures. PCBUs also need significant and open consultation with employees, officials of
1 M. Abed, E. Moris, and N. Grannum, ‘Workplace violence against medical staff in healthcare facilities in
Barbados’, (2016) 66(7) Occupational medicine 580-583
2 R. Lia, and T.H. Leung, ‘Leading safety indicators and automated tools in the construction industry’, (2017)
Proceeding of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction 34

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wellbeing and safety commissions on job vigour and safety. If one share responsibilities one
also need to access, collaborate and organize with other PCBUs as a PCBU3. PCBUs has an
obligation of care towards workplace like direct or impact job performed by an employee
engaging or causing an employee to participate in performing job. Kinds of PCBUs may
contain: public and private business associates in a partnership sole merchants also self-
employed individuals government agencies and organizations of officials, if they have single
or more staff resident government Councils autonomous and University organisations. The
2002 Electricity Safety Act involves an individual directing a company or responsibility
(PCBU) to guarantee that the business or undertaking of the individual is performed in an
electrically secure manner. This ensures that all electrical equipment used in the behaviour of
the company or undertaking of the person is electronically secure to ensure the electrical
safety of all individuals and possessions4.
Codes of practice are admissible in Court proceeding under the Act of Work Health and
Safety, 2011. Courts may consider code of practise as proof of what is known about a
hazard, danger or control, and depend on it to determine what is ‘reasonably feasible’ in the
conditions to which the code refers. PPE is equipment that protects the user from workplace
health and safety hazards. It can include products such as safety helmets and tough hats,
gloves, eye protection, high visibility clothing, security footwear and harnesses for safety.
Employers are responsible for supplying and using private protective devices (PPE) at job.
Jump to Content Table Personal Protective Equipment at job Employers should provide their
staff with suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) and training in their use wherever
there is a health and safety danger. As a last resort PPE should be worn. Whenever there are
health and safety risks that are unable to be otherwise be properly monitored, the Personal
Protective Equipment at Work Regulations require that PPE be worn. An employer, whether
it is returnable or not, cannot charge staff for their PPE. This involves staff of agencies, if
they are considered employees legally. Evaluation and selection of PPE Employers should
provide an adequate and adequate evaluation of health and safety risks from exposure to
workplace hazards5.
3 Namian, M., Alex A. and Feng Jing, ‘Effect of distraction on hazard recognition and safety risk perception’,
(2018) 144(4) Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
4 J.,Wilson and K., Pender, ‘Employment law: Risky business: The legal hazards of relationship in the
workplace’, (2017) 20 Ethos official Publication of the law society of the Australian Capital Territory 20
5 W. Gazica and E. Paul, ‘A test of safety violence prevention and civility climate domain- specific relationships
with relevant workplace hazards’, (2016) 22(1) International journal of occupational and environmental health

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It is necessary to identify the need for PPE through risk assessment. Like all risk assessments,
those who perform them must be skilled to do so and have the required understanding and
experience of working techniques. Besides defining the need for PPE, it is crucial to specify
and provide the correct sort of PPE6. All fresh PPE must be labelled with a CE mark. The CE
mark states that PPE satisfies certain basic, slightest safety requirements. Employers shall
ensure that staff who use PPE are made conscious of why, when to use it, how to replace it
and to whom to report it if the PPE is damaged. Employers shall train and teach staff of how
to correctly use PPE and ensure that they do so. To guarantee that they understand how to use
PPE properly, managers and managers should be included in the training.
The organisation responds to different accidents that can occur at the workplace by following
certain steps:-
 Taking of control at the situation and resolving the same
 Giving first aid and dialling emergency services
 Taking immediate care if there is a doctor available at the workplace
 Identification of people and conditions at the scene that are affected.
 Protection of physical evidence. The evidences shall not be altered or modified.
 Evaluation of how bad the loss is and what investigations are required.
 Intimation of the accident to top management. Also, notification to insurance
companies and families of the affected person.
 There is an initial report which is sent to all supervisors and a follow up report also to
be sent.
There are steps to be followed to identify hazard and applying of appropriate control
measures at the workplace7.
 It starts with identification of the hazards where the cause of harm is ascertained
 The assessment of the risks to understand the nature of the hazard and also to
understand the depth of the injury caused
45-51.
6 M. Stave, and H. Peter, ‘Physical and biological hazards of the workplace (John Wiley & Sons 2016).
7 Angelo, Chiara A. and Roberto L., ‘Work organisation, exposure to workplace hazards and sickness
presenteeism in the European employed population’ (2016) 59(1) American journal of industrial medicine 57-
72

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 The implementation of the effective controls to measure the same
 The review of measures of controls.
The ways in which hazards are controlled rank from the greatest point of security and
reliability to the lowest. This ranking is referred to any danger. It is possible to apply the
hierarchy of control measures in relation to any danger. The risk which is the most efficient
control must always be eliminated. If this is not reasonably feasible, worker risk must be
minimized. The administrative controls and PPE are the least efficient in minimizing danger
as they do not regulate the source danger and depend on human behaviour and oversight8.
The control measures at the workplace are eliminating the hazard – It means removing of
hazard and eliminating of risks so that no one at workplace are exposed for the same;
substitute the hazard with a lesser risk- It means not removing all of hazards but reducing of
overall health effects; Isolating the hazard- It aims at restricting access to equipment’s which
shall help in the case of hazards from affecting more workmen’s; Using of engineering
controls- It refers to redesigning process between people and hazard i.e. moving to remote
location ; Use of administrative controls- It aims at adopting standards and safe practices to
reduce harm; Use of personal protective equipment- It includes gloves, glasses, aprons ,
safety footwear’s etc9.
8 Walton, Marie Ann and Rogers Bonnie, ‘Workplace hazards faced by nursing assistants in the United States: a
focused literature review’, (2017) 14(5) International Journal of environmental research and public health 544
9 Oakman, Jodi, M. Ismail and K. Tessa, ‘Psychosocial Hazards and Musculoskeletal Disorders: Are there
different roles for workplace factors between offices workers in Malaysia and Australia?’ (2016) 40(9) In
Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific 173-186

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. Books
Stave, M., and Peter H., Physical and biological hazards of the workplace (John Wiley &
Sons 2016).
B. Journals
Abed, M., Moris, E., and Grannum, N., ‘Workplace violence against medical staff in
healthcare facilities in Barbados’ (2016) 66(7) Occupational medicine 580-583
Angelo, E., Chiara, A. and Roberto, L., ‘Work organisation, exposure to workplace hazards
and sickness presenteeism in the European employed population’ (2016) 59(1) American
journal of industrial medicine 57-72
Gazica W. and Paul E., ‘A test of safety violence prevention and civility climate domain-
specific relationships with relevant workplace hazards’, (2016) 22(1) International journal of
occupational and environmental health 45-51.
Lia R. and Leung T.H., ‘Leading safety indicators and automated tools in the construction
industry’ (2017) 34 Proceeding of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics
in Construction
Namian, M., Alex A. and Jing Feng, ‘Effect of distraction on hazard recognition and safety
risk perception’, (2018) 144(4) Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Oakman, Jodi, Ismail M. and Tessa K., ‘Psychosocial Hazards and Musculoskeletal
Disorders: Are there different roles for workplace factors between offices workers in
Malaysia and Australia?’ (2016) 40(9) In Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific
173-186.
Walton, AnnMarie and Bonnie Rogers, ‘Workplace hazards faced by nursing assistants in the
United States: a focused literature review ‘, (2017) 14(5) International Journal of
environmental research and public health 544

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Wilson J. and Kieran P., ‘Employment law: Risky business: The legal hazards of relationship
in the workplace’, (2017) 20 Ethos official Publication of the law society of the Australian
Capital Territory 20