Occupational Health and Safety Risk Management and Control in Tasmania

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This project examines workplace health and safety.

HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK
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INTRODUCTION
The aim of this project is to highlight the rules and regulations that are prevalent in the health
and safety department. A number of policies by the Work Health and Safety Management
System (WHSMS) are discussed in the study which is a body that looks after the health and
safety issues at the workplace. The supervision of rules and regulations is needed for the
opening of the new Hobart, Tasmania Store which will open in near future. The communication
of the WHSMS policies is done by understanding the measuring and evaluating techniques of
the health and safety practices (Faruq, 2018).
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ACTIVITY 1
WHSMS is the set of plans, procedures and guidelines that govern the health and safety policies
to be followed at the workplace. The policies are implemented by the employer of the
organization to ensure the safety and health of its employees and customers. The policies
prevent and reduce any kind of illness or hazard at the workplace as appropriate steps are
taken for reducing any calamity at the workplace (Dwyer and Hopwood, 2013).
The Health and Safety Management System Principles and objectives are as follows-
 To ensure safety and healthy workplace for everyone
 To ensure compliance with all safety laws and relevant legislation
 To provide written procedures and instructions for safe working practices and maintain
and update material safety data sheets (MSDS) wherever applicable
 To give support, training, instructions and supervision to employees regarding health
and safety procedures at the workplace (Martinov-Bennie et al., 2014)
 Consult the employees and workers regarding any health and safety issue they are
facing
 Set and monitor goals of performance for each employee to reduce any illnesses and
injuries while at work for contractors, suppliers, guests and visitors as well
 Detect any potential hazards at the workplace which might prove as a threat at work for
the workers
 Commit participation from all line managers, senior managers and staff to follow the
health and safety policies diligently
 Provide information about health and safety policies to all workers at the workplace and
give training to employees to use certain safety equipment like a fire extinguisher, fire
alarm, etc. (O'Keeffe et al., 2011)
 To commit to giving continued improvement by providing internal and external audits
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The duties of the officers, senior management, managers, supervisors, contractors and workers
are explained in detail as to which roles do they have to follow so that they can make the
workplace a safe and convenient place for working.
The roles of the officer to maintain safe and healthy working conditions are-
 Understand their job role perfectly and understand the risks and hazards associated
with it (Dwyer and Hopwood, 2013)
 To enable the identification, rectification and problem solving of specific WHS hazard
are taken in place
 Keep up to date knowledge of WHS laws and the requirements of the business towards
the WHSMS
 To ensure that the risks and hazards are properly controlled
 To enable a process for receiving any complaints about the incidents, near misses or
accidents that occur at the workplace
 To verify the resources before they are provided to the employees for working to
inspect any potential hazard in the resources, raw materials or equipment (Faruq, 2018)
The roles and responsibilities of senior management of the company are as follows-
 To publish and release the policies and procedures that relate to the organization’s
health and safety policies and monitor compliance with these policies
 To ensure the compliance of WHS with other employees at the workplace
 To make sure that the organization’s commitment to WHSMS is in place including the
organization’s targets and objectives
 To make sure the budget allocation for the following of WHSMS policies is sufficient to
carry out the policies and procedures.
 Keep updated of the latest policy releases by WHSMS (Martinov-Bennie et al., 2014)
 Act as a role model for other employees by demonstrating ideal behaviour at work
The managers and supervisors at the organization have the following roles and responsibilities
to execute-
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 To ensure the WHS policies and procedures are adhered to
 Consult with the workers of the organization and the elected Health and Safety
Representatives on WHS issues.
 To ensure that the workers have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the usage
of tools, instructions and training
 To identify any potential hazard and control the hazard on time as it is their area of
responsibility (Dwyer and Hopwood, 2013)
 Encourage the reporting of incidents that occur at the workplace
 To ensure early returning of the workers to work after an incident or injury
 Access the sources of WHS information and relay the information to other workers.
 To make sure that the workers, volunteers and other visitors at the organization are
abiding by the health rules and adhere by them at all times.
 To develop safe working ethics and procedures for the safety of the workers and
employees
 To create Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to ensure the workers are aware of the
correct usage and storage of hazardous products
 To ensure the maintenance and smooth operation of the equipment
 Maintain relevant knowledge of WHS issues.
These are the roles and responsibilities of the key personnel at the new store location at
Tasmania. The senior management, supervisors and managers must maintain the follow-up of
these rules and regulations.
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ACTIVITY 2
The contractors of the business also have a great role to play in the health and safety
implementation of the employees. The roles of the contractors are discussed as follows-
 They have to fulfil their duties and rights in a proper and safe manner
 To identify all high-risk tasks within their work and maintain safety parameters.
 To follow all the policies of the company they are working for and site rules
 To comply with the latest WHS management plan
 To ensure that they have the right tools and equipment required to follow up with any
situation and undertake the action as and when required (Martinov-Bennie et al., 2014)
The workers of the company also have duties to perform at the organization. These are-
 To take care of own health and safety and to avoid any risks that might affect own
health or of others
 To ensure that their conduct does not affect others or disturbs others
 To co-operate with the company’s WHS policies and procedures
 To participate in a safe and healthy workplace
 To comply with the safety instructions given by the company for own safety and that of
others.
 To fulfil their legislative obligations towards the company
 To report any injury or hazard to the supervisor or in charge
 To not willfully interfere with any safety equipment given by the company (Faruq, 2018)
The managers with specific responsibilities are entitled to follow the given responsibilities-
 To contribute to the company's WHS Management Plan
 To identify and access the control hazards
 Access the sources of WHS information and disseminate information to all the
company’s workers
 Maintain knowledge of WHS issues (Dwyer and Hopwood, 2013)
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 Develop a scheduling plan for maintenance procedures of the building, plant and
equipment
 To develop the plans and procedures about the company’s safety norms
 To ensure the WHS workers are trained to execute the safety procedures and systems.
 To ensure the company's equipment and systems are properly maintained according to
WHS guidelines.
 To ensure the other property and plant is maintained according to the WHS regulations
and organizational procedures
 To ensure availability of first aid kit and safety equipment at times of need
 To ensure that the contractors adhere to the contractor management procedures
 To ensure that the workers, volunteers and contractors are aware of and abide by the
safety rules and procedures (Martinov-Bennie et al., 2014)
 To act as a role model by complying to all safety procedures
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ACTIVITY 3
Risk management is an important aspect of managing any business. Risks are accompanied with
the innovative ideas and challenges that come with the business. The roles of store manager
are accountable for the following for managing the risk reduction activities at the organization.
 The development, implementation and maintenance of the review policies, procedures
and systems of the management of the company
 To provide assistance to the line managers, coordinators and other workers about the
internal control within their area of responsibility (Dwyer and Hopwood, 2013)
The Chief Risk Officer at the store is responsible for the following activities-
 To demonstrate the effectiveness and compliance against those systems who are at risk
and manage the risk through a program of assurance and review
 To provide an effective team at every six months to monitor and evaluate the success of
risk minimization policies
 The provision of an inclusive insurance program
 To identify the company’s risk profile and recommend its closure (Faruq, 2018)
The process for developing a risk management profile is as follows-
1) Establish the context- This process includes identifying the environment where the
company is operating and understand the characteristics and stakeholders’ goals and
objectives. This will help in the shaping of effective risk management plans
2) Identify and describe the risks-Identify risks through a collaborative approach and
incorporating the views of the company’s stakeholders. All probable chances of
occurrence of risk must be identified and list them in the risk management profile of the
company (Martinov-Bennie et al., 2014)
3) Conduct a risk analysis in the business- The risk analysis is done to analyse the causes
and repeat rate. This gives a basis for working for the right risks
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4) Conduct a Risk Evaluation- The analysis of the risks is done to determine the priorities
according to the impact they can have on the business.
5) Implement proposed risk control procedures- Risk treatment procedures must be
implemented to reduce and control the level of risk. Risk management reporting is
defined and documented. The likelihood of the risk is also mentioned in the report
(Johnstone and Tooma, 2012).
HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS
An objective of the risk management process is to eliminate the risk at the source level. This is
done by using the hierarchy of controls which incorporates numerous steps for risk control at
the establishment.
1. Elimination- To eliminate any toxic or hazardous substances which are not necessary for
the execution of work and working conditions.
2. Substitution- Other ways for eliminating the risks is a substitution. This includes
substituting the toxic or hazardous substance with a less toxic or hazardous substance.
This is a preferred method of control as it is cost-efficient and least expensive. The
hazardous substances can be substituted for the less hazardous ones
3. Isolation- The substance which is toxic or hazardous and can affect people at large
should be isolated from others and kept in an enclosed space which is out of reach of
employees. Only the ones who are skilled at working with the hazardous substances
should operate that and that too with the supervision of senior managers. The safety
clothing and safety gear must be available at the workplace which should be worn by
the person dealing with dangerous equipment
4. Engineering Controls- By changing the processes like the equipment, tools, machine
guards, etc. can help in minimising the risk impact in the company. For example, using
ventilation technique to remove chemical fumes and dust and by using water spray
technique of wetting down dust is also one level of reducing risk related to other
processes (Dollard and Bakker, 2010).
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5. Administrative Controls- These are those controls which are applied if all the above
methods are not sufficient to control and combat the risk. This includes the interference
by the senior management in controlling risk probability like reducing the exposure of
hazard to the employees by reducing working hours and incorporating job rotation in
the workplace, limiting the number of employees facing the hazard and so on.
6. Personal Protection- The employees should still protect themselves by wearing
protective gear and equipment which limits the exposure to hazard by the workers.
These are some of the ways of protecting oneself from the various hazards and risks at the
workplace. These steps should be used by the managers, supervisors and workers to minimise
the exposure to risks and hazards at the workplace (Faruq, 2018).
MONITORING, REPORTING, UPDATING AND MANAGING RISKS
The constant updating and monitoring of risk profile are important so that new risks can be
identified and existing risks can be eliminated with the help of effective risk combating
procedures. The risk management can be done with the help of regular risk audit and risk audit
log. The activities taken for risk management are recorded in the risk management register.
RISK MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
The framework is helpful in covering a number of factors for an effective operation which
enables the company to respond to a variety of steps that help in risk reduction. These include
operational, financial, commercial and strategic risk management steps (Martinov-Bennie et al.,
2014).
Policies and procedures are one way to underpin the control system.
The policies are implemented by the store management to the staff of the company. The
policies are Human Resource Policies and Financial Policies. The HR policies include staff travel
policy, WH&S policy, harassment policy, Work/ life balance policy, diversity policy, equality/
anti-discrimination policy, parental leave policy and other workers policies.
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The financial policies include bad debt policy, cash reserving policy and revenue/ expenditure
policy (Xiang et al., 2014).
Monthly reporting is another way of risk management framework which includes regular
meeting with the partners of the business. The comprehensive reporting of the risk measure is
taken to minimise the risks are understood in the study. The monitoring of risks and their
controls takes place in the monthly reporting of meetings.
Business Planning and Budgeting is another method which rectifies the problems and the
budgeting process of the company. This procedure sets objectives, agrees on action plans and
allocates the resources to the different heads of the business. The progress of the business plan
and the meetings are monitored with the help of store managers and partners of the business
(Australia, 2012).
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ACTIVITY 4
INFORMATION AND RECORD MANAGEMENT
The Australian Standard for Record Management- AS ISO 15489 gives strategic directions to the
follow-up of operational guidelines for the implementation of records and management
practices and procedures for the organization. The standards by ASRM are made for the
organizations to create, capture and manage the records so that they meet the legal
requirements and to satisfy the other stakeholders’ expectation. The standard is used by a
number of companies to record and manage the information (Underhill and Quinlan, 2011).
CREATION AND MAINTENANCE OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS
The business information has to be created and stored as they provide a reliable source of
archives and an appropriate description of the activities of the business and activities. The
business records are stored safely until they can be disposed of if the user is not felt. The
training regarding recording and capturing of data is also provided to the employees and
workers of the company (Lower and Herde, 2012).
SYSTEMS USED TO MAINTAIN INFORMATION AND RECORDS
The company stores the primary information and record management in the electronic
document records management system (EDRMS). The incoming information in the paper form
is converted into digital storage where the information can retain for a longer time and can also
be passed on to the related parties wherever applicable (Faruq, 2018).
SHARING CORPORATE INFORMATION
The corporate information of the company is a common and accessible information record
which can be accessed by everyone in the company for use. Some records are confidential for
which access is required by the senior management. The access restriction is generally levied on
the personal information of the staff which is protected under client privacy. Other restricted
data is the sensitive material like the security classified or material with clear markings like
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