Workplace Essentials
2014
WHS Essentials – Work Safe. Home Safe
WorkCover Essentials
Live Well Farm Well
Superannuation
Work Safe. Home Safe
The reason to be safe at work, is sometimes
not about work at all….
Fatalities on Farm – Startling Stats
• From 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2011, 356 agriculture workers
died while working on a farming property Australia wide
• This represents 17% of all worker fatalities.
• Nearly one-third of the worker fatalities on farms were
workers aged 65 years or over.
• 93 workers (26%) died in incidents involving a tractor, 48
(13%) in aircraft incidents, 28 in incidents involving a car or
utility and 27 (8%) in incidents with quad bikes.
• 93 tractor-related fatalities equates to 11 workers being
killed each year (compared to 25 in 1989-92)
Ag sector workers’ compensation claims: proportion
and incidence rate by sector and year
Industry Sector
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
Total
Grain, sheep, beef
Number of claims
33%
36%
37%
35%
Horticulture and fruit growing
37%
34%
35%
35%
Other livestock farming
11%
12%
11%
12%
Dairy Cattle
6%
6%
6%
6%
Other crop growing
7%
6%
6%
6%
Poultry
5%
5%
6%
5%
Total Agriculture
100%
100%
100%
100%
Workplace Injuries – the real cost to business
A farmhand fractured his clavicle and fractured three ribs
when thrown from motorbike
TOTAL Cost to Employer: $21,725
Incident costs – transport and lost productivity of worker
Investigation costs – time taken to investigate injury, and
complete paperwork
Damage costs – replace motorbike, fence to avoid repeat
Replacement worker and training time
Productivity costs – lost productivity
Took 30 days of trading to recover incident cost
Increase to WorkCover premiums
WHS Compliance
WHS Act
Duties of
parties
WHS Regulations
Procedural/Admin matters
How duties are met
Codes of practice
Practical guides to achieving the standards
required under the Act & Regs
Fact sheets & other guidance material
WHSQ, WorkSafe Australia, Growcom
So…… Managing risks to H&S
Employers must:
• identify all reasonably foreseeable hazards,
• Conduct risk assessment
• apply a control measure that is reasonably practicable
after working through a hierarchy of risk control
measures, and then
• maintain and review these risk control measures
Code of Practice (included in kit)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks
Principle of “reasonable practicability”
There are two elements to what is ‘reasonably practicable”:
• A duty-holder must first consider what can be done - that
is, what is possible in the circumstances for ensuring
health and safety. They must then consider whether it is
reasonable, in the circumstances to do all that is possible
•
A duty-holder must meet the standard of behaviour
expected of a reasonable person in the same
position and who is required to comply with
the same duty.
Hierarchy of Risk Control
When considering the control measure, use the Hierarchy of
Risk Control
Level 1
Eliminate the hazard?
Level 2
Substitute with something safer?
Isolate hazard from people?
Reduce risks through engineering controls?
Level 3
Use administrative measures to reduce hazard?
Use PPE - as a last resort
How to manage Work, Health and Safety Risks
Code of Practice 2011
Employers to demonstrate due diligence
• Acquiring knowledge of health and safety issues
• Understanding operations and associated hazards and
risks
• Ensuring that appropriate resources and processes are
used to eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety
• Implementing processes for receiving and responding to
information about incidents, hazards and risks
• Establishing and maintaining compliance processes
• Verifying the provision and use of the resources
mentioned in 1-5.
Key Messages / Actions
Business Owners
• Strong management commitment to a safety culture
where workers see their employer is committed to their
health and safety - live it and demonstrate your
commitment daily
• Include WHS in all aspects of organisational planning –
not as an add-on or afterthought
• Success depends on strong relationships between
owners, managers, supervisors and staff
• Support training and development of managers
and staff
• Ensure you meet your duty of care to workers
Key Messages / Actions
Managers and Supervisors
• Establish and implement WHS policy and procedures
• Demonstrate active and visible leadership
• Establish practice of regular discussion about WHS with
staff
• Conduct risk assessments of hazards
• All workplace hazards are promptly identified and
associated risks assessed and controlled
• Promptly address issues that are brought to you
• Information, training and supervision for all
employees
Key Messages / Actions
Employees
• Duty for care for their own health and safety and that of
colleagues
• Duty of care for what is reasonably expected – take into
account degree of control or work/environment
• Comply with reasonable instructions of Manager
• Comply with policies and procedures
• Inform management about hazards, injuries, accidents, and
near-misses
• Cease work if reasonable concern that the work
would
expose them to risk
• Be proactive and actively involved in WHS programs
Key Messages
Health and Safety Awareness
• Encourage employees to support each other and
‘keep an eye out’ – esp for younger/inexperienced
workers
• Demonstrate your commitment
– Be available during induction
– Be vocal and visible in your commitment
– React to all issues promptly
– Promote and attend safety sessions
• Use and wear protective equipment
• Ensure children are supervised at all times
Key Messages
•
•
•
•
•
•
Induction and Training
Ensure ALL workers have proper WHS induction at
beginning of employment
Involve experienced workers in training
Assess worker competence
Keep records of induction and training
Ensure all are aware of safe work procedures – plan
and document SWPs if you don’t have them
Maintain grounds to minimise presence of snakes,
spiders etc.
Key Messages
Amenities and Environment
• Ensure first aid-accessible and workers trained
• Ensure appropriate toilet facilities
• Provide hand and face washing facilities and access
to potable, clean and cool drinking water
• Maintain grounds and buildings to minimise
presence of dangerous animals (spiders, snakes)
and reduce fire loads
• Ensure appropriate environment for
pauses and lunch break
rest
Key Messages
Emergency Plans
• Employers required to develop procedures to deal
with workplace emergencies including:
– Clear and well understood evacuation procedures
– Trained and authorised staff to assist
– notifying emergency service organisations – who?
– medical treatment and assistance
– effective communication (e.g. 2-way radios, mobiles)
– especially for remote workers
– testing of the emergency procedures - e.g. frequency
of testing information, training and instruction to
relevant workers
Key Messages
Personal Protective Equipment [PPE]
• Select appropriate PPE for work to be performed
– Gloves, footwear, safety or sun glasses, hearing
protection, respirators, masks, hats and helmets,
sunscreen
• Ensure workers trained in proper use of safety
equipment
• Ensure workers use/wear protective equipment if
supplied and if instructed
• PPE is a last resort mechanism under the
Hierarchy of Control risk matrix
Chemicals/hazardous substances
• Ensure Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are available for
all hazardous substances and that they are utilised
• Store chemicals safely and securely
• Minimise exposure to workers through limiting
access and use, and/or via safe handling techniques
• NEVER store in food/drink containers
• Ensure all are correctly labelled – including
WHS information and what to do in a case
of poisoning
Plant and Machinery
• Supply correct plant and equipment for the task and their
intended purpose
• Ensure safety guards are installed and in safe working
condition
• Keep vehicles and plant in good working order
• Train and instruct workers in safe use and maintenance
of equipment
• Train workers about falls from heights
• Ensure ‘no go’ areas clearly signposted
• Quad Bikes a major issue in Ag- know what’s what
Key Messages
Hazardous Manual Tasks
• Employer must manage risks to health and safety
relating to a musculoskeletal disorder associated with a
hazardous manual task
• Muscular skeletal – backs, shoulders, elbows, knees, etc
• In determining appropriate control measures to
implement, employer must have regard to all relevant
matters that may contribute to a musculoskeletal
disorder
– Postures, movements, forces and vibrations; duration and
frequency, work area design/layout, systems of work
– Hierarchy of control – potential solutions: Eliminate? Replace?
Administrative? Engineering?
Key Messages
Remote or isolated work
• Definition:
– work that is isolated from the assistance of other
persons because of location, time or the nature of the
work
• Employers to establish communication system for
remote and isolated work.
• Must provide system of work that includes effective
communication with the worker.
Key Messages
Noise
• Applies to workers who are frequently required to use PPE for
noise
• Employer who provides PPE as a control measure must
provide audiometric testing for the worker:
– within 3 months of the worker commencing the work; and
– at least every 2 years.
– If worker hired in 2012, employer has 12 months from the date
they were employed before being required to have worker teste
• WHSQ Fact sheet Hearing Protection
Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code
of Practice 2011
Key Messages
Asbestos Management Plans
• Where asbestos is present (or believed to be present),
employers must have an Asbestos Management Plan
(AMP)
• Plan must contain
– Identification of asbestos or ACM
– Decisions/reasons about management of asbestos – eg safe
work procedures and control measures; procedures dealing with
incidents/accidents
– See factsheet Identifying and recording asbestos and asbestos
containing materials in the workplace
Code of Practice – What is an AMP, reviewing & accessing
an AMP
Useful Resources to assist with
compliance
• Codes of Practice - download from:
http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/workplace/law/legislation/codes/index.ht
m
• WHSQ Small business unit’s Compliance pack (with online safety
benchmarking tool)
• Rural guide (also contains info on workers comp, incident
notification requirements)
• Rural Fact sheets (e.g. forklifts, asbestos)
• eSAFE Rural – online rural safety newsletter
http://www.vision6.com.au/em/message/email/view.php?id=101262
4&u=19329
Useful website links
Workplace health and safety Qld website
• www.worksafe.qld.gov.au
• download resources (e.g. templates), factsheets, codes
of practice, information on licensing, registrations, best
practice guides, risk assessments
Safe Work Australia website
www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
• Download a copy of the Worker Representation and
Participation Guide
• Industry information