Contents
Contents
Before you begin
Introduction: Follow occupational health and safety procedures 1
Element 1: Following workplace procedures to identify
hazards and control risks
Section 1.1: Following workplace procedures for dealing with accidents,
fire and emergencies
Section 1.2: Following occupational health and safety workplace procedures
for controlling risks
Section 1.3: Identifying and reporting hazards in the workplace to minimise or
eliminate risks to people, the workplace and environment
Section 1.4: Obtaining and applying safety regulations and workplace safety
and hazard control practices to daily work activities
11
Section 1.5: Following procedures and precautions for entry into confined
spaces in the workplace
13
Section 1.6: Using personal protection clothing and equipment according to
safety practices and procedures
15
Section 1.7: Following established emergency and contingency plans in the
event of an emergency
17
In ACTION
19
Assessment activity 1
22
Record your employability skills
22
Element 2: Contributing to the management of occupational
health and safety
23
Section 2.1: Discussing identified safety hazards with designated personnel
according to workplace procedures and OHS legislation
24
Section 2.2: Contributing to OHS management according to workplace
procedures and OHS legislation
26
Section 2.3: Raising OHS issues with designated personnel according to
workplace procedures and OHS legislation
29
Section 2.4: Actively contributing to OHS management according to
workplace procedures and job responsibilities
30
In ACTION
32
Assessment activity 2
33
Record your employability skills
34
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TLIF1001A Follow occupational health and safety procedures
Element 3: Completing occupational health and safety records 35
Section 3.1: Completing OHS records according to workplace requirements
36
Section 3.2: Following OHS and legal requirements for maintaining records on
occupational injury and diseases
38
In ACTION
40
Assessment activity 3
41
Record your employability skills
41
Final assessment
43
Employability skills
45
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Element 1: Following workplace procedures to identify hazards and control risks
Section 1.2: Following occupational health and
safety workplace procedures for
controlling risks
To discuss occupational health and safety issues, we first need
to define two key words. A hazard is something that might
do harm to people and property. A risk is the likelihood that
the hazard will do harm. Risk is usually measured in terms of
being acceptable, moderate, substantial, high and very high.
To control a risk, it is necessary to reduce or eliminate the
hazard.
A hierarchy of controls is used to manage or control risks.
There are five levels of control:
Risk control
level
What this means
Example
1. Elimination
Finding a way to avoid doing the
hazardous task or redesigning the job
to reduce the risk.
Several workers have injured their
backs from moving awkward
packages manually so new lifting
equipment is purchased.
2. Substitution
Replacing hazardous substances
or tasks with ones that are less
hazardous.
Old box cutters are replaced with
safety knives.
3. Engineering
controls
New equipment or technology is
created to reduce or control the risk.
Bollards are placed to prevent
forklift trucks from running into
racking.
4. Administrative
procedures
Documents that provide information
and instructions on how to reduce or
avoid the hazard.
Procedures are developed for
using a new piece of equipment
to minimise the risk of an accident
happening.
5. Personal
protective
equipment
(PPE)
PPE is the last defence against a
hazard. It should only be considered
after the previous four levels have
been applied and some element of
risk still exists.
Appropriate PPE is made available.
This may include gloves, safety
headwear and footwear (hard hats
and steel capped boots), safety
glasses, two-way radios and high
visibility clothing.
Most organisations will use a combination of risk controls in their workplace. For
example, forklifts are fitted with seatbelts (engineering controls), their operation is
guided by instructions, policies and procedures (administrative controls), and operators
wear safety vests and boots (PPE).
Your workplace procedures are important risk control measures and you need to know
and understand them to reduce your exposure to risk.
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Element 1: Following workplace procedures to identify hazards and control risks
Section 1.3: Identifying and reporting hazards
in the workplace to minimise or
eliminate risks to people, the
workplace and environment
What is a workplace hazard? Would you know how to identify one? Before you can
report a hazard you need to know how to identify it. A hazard is anything with the
potential to cause harm to people or property. Using this definition, a hazard could be
almost anything, from a build up of dust on the floor (a slip hazard) to a faulty brake
on a forklift (a mechanical hazard). Some hazards may not be easily identified because
it seems like theyve always been there, such as the dust on the floor. The easy-to-spot
hazards are the ones that have just occurred, like the suddenly faulty brakes.
The following table provides information on some of the hazards you might encounter
in your workplace.
Hazard
Injuries that might happen
Chemicals and other harmful substances
Respiratory problems, burns to the skin and eyes
Movements of equipment, goods or vehicles
Crush injuries, cuts, broken bones, head injuries
Toxic substances
Respiratory problems, burns to the skin and eyes
Damaged packing materials and containers
Cuts, broken bones, back injuries
Broken and damaged equipment
Electric shocks, crush injuries, back injuries
Inflammable materials and fire hazards
Burns to the skin, eyes and respiratory system
Lifting
Muscle and joint injuries in the back and limbs
Waste management and disposal
Cuts, infections, chemical burns and crush injuries
Extreme weather conditions
Heat stroke, frost bite, lightening strikes
Lighting levels
Eye strain, headaches, slips, trips and falls
Floor surfaces
Slips, trips and falls
Water
Slips, electric shock, drowning
Traffic flows, vehicle and equipment operations
Crush injuries, broken bones, falls, electric shock
Different types of storage areas
Slips, trips and falls, respiratory problems,
manual handling injuries
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Element 1: Following workplace procedures to identify hazards and control risks
Section 1.4: Obtaining and applying safety
regulations and workplace safety and
hazard control practices to daily work
activities
There are laws and regulations that apply to safety and the way you work. Your workplace
will have procedures that are based on these.
There are many different types of regulations that might apply to the work that you do;
for example, there are workplace regulations that govern:
dangerous goods
hazardous substances
asbestos
Confined space entry
Issue resolution
Noise
Manual handling
Smoking
Workplace ergonomics
duty of care relating to OHS
workplace relations
workplace compensation.
You should know which regulations apply to the work that you do and you should
know how to get a copy of the regulations. Generally speaking, if you are following
your workplace policies and procedures, you will be working in line with regulatory
requirements. Workplace procedures should be based on relevant regulations.
You can get a copy of workplace procedures from your supervisor or they will be in
your training or induction information. A copy of these documents is usually kept in
a convenient place for all workers to access if they need to. Your supervisor, warehouse
manager or health and safety officer should also have copies of the regulations that
apply to your work. You can also get copies online from the health and safety authority
in your state or territory.
Regulations are legally binding. This means that employers and employees have to
comply with what regulations tell them to do. Most regulations have codes of practice or
compliance codes that make it easier to understand what you have to do to comply with
the regulations. For example, if you take a code on manual handling and compare it to a
workplace procedure on the same topic, you should find that they are quite similar.
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TLIF1001A Follow occupational health and safety procedures
Find out more
Resource
Why it is useful
SafeWork SA
This web page contains a fun online safety game.
Hunt for hazards
www.safework.sa.gov.au/contentPages/
EducationAndTraining/ActivitiesAndTests/
HuntTheHazards/hunt.htm
Safe Work Australia
Publications
http://safeworkaustralia.gov.au/
AboutSafeWorkAustralia/WhatWeDo/
Publications/Pages/Publication.aspx
This web page provides links to all the national
standards, codes of practice and related guidance
notes for a range of topics.
Section task 1.4
Visit the following website and click on standards and codes on the left hand panel.
www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
Write down the titles of the documents that relate to each of these topics:
Topic
National
standard
Code of practice
Dangerous goods
Hazardous substances
Noise
Recording information
about workplace
injuries and disease
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Guidance notes
Element 1: Following workplace procedures to identify hazards and control risks
Section 1.5: Following procedures and
precautions for entry into confined
spaces in the workplace
Confined spaces are a unique occupational health and safety problem because their
hazards may not be easily recognised. Confined spaces usually have poor ventilation
(airflow) and in very small spaces, the air in the space can become hazardous.
When people work in confined spaces, the risk of injury or death may be increased
because they have to work closer to hazards than they normally would. For example,
grain silos may also contain additional hazards such as a lot of dust. Grain can also
cause engulfment which is when the grain pours over the worker and drowns them.
Workers may enter confined spaces to perform tasks without realising that they are
entering a potentially hazardous work environment. Many hazards, such as toxic
gases and vapours, can be made worse by confined spaces as they build up instead of
dissipating (spreading out and away).
Major hazards found in confined spaces include:
restricted entry and exit points
fire and explosion
harmful atmospheric contaminants
mechanical hazards
unsafe (low) oxygen levels
electrical hazards
engulfment (smothered by the product)
noise.
If you need to enter a confined space, your workplace will have procedures to ensure
that the entry, exit and any work carried out while in the confined space is done as safely
as possible.
A risk assessment should be conducted and all necessary controls should be in place and
checked before you do any work in a confined space. You must be properly trained to use
any specialised equipment such as a harness or breathing apparatus. Anyone entering
a confined space requires a permit that has been issued by an authorised person. The
confined space entry permit provides a formal check to ensure that all elements of a safe
system of work are in place before people are allowed to enter.
Your state, territory or Commonwealth OHS statutory authority will have a code of
practice or compliance code that covers the requirements for confined space entry.
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TLIF1001A Follow occupational health and safety procedures
Assessment activity 1
Following workplace procedures to
identify hazards and control risks
The following table maps the assessment activity for this chapter against the element
and performance criteria of Element 1 in TLIF1001A Follow occupational health and
safety procedures.
Part
Element
Performance criteria
Whole activity
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4,
1.5, 1.6, 1.7
1. Read the following statements and mark each as true or false:
Statement
True
False
Every worker must follow their workplace OHS and emergency
procedures.
Personal protective equipment is only there so that you look professional.
You need to apply safety regulations and hazard control practices in your
everyday work activities.
If you see a hazard, you should just ignore it.
Working in a confined space can kill you.
2. Write one sentence for each of the following explaining why it is important that
workers:
a) know how to control risks
b) understand and follow their workplace OHS procedures
c) identify hazards and take action to eliminate the risks
d) understand and follow safety regulations
e) apply safety practices to their everyday work activities
f) be aware of precautions for entry into confined spaces
g) use personal protective equipment correctly
h) follow workplace emergency procedures correctly.
Record your employability skills
When you have completed the assessment activity, make sure you record the
employability skills you have developed in the table at the end of the learner guide. Keep
copies of material you have prepared as further evidence of your skills.
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TLIF1001A Follow occupational health and safety procedures
Section 2.4: Actively contributing to OHS
management according to workplace
procedures and job responsibilities
Many workplaces have established arrangements for OHS management and have set up
systems of work that promote your contribution to it. These arrangements are important
because they assign responsibility to certain people in the organisation based on their
role and competence.
Different workers will have different responsibilities regarding occupational health and
safety. For example:
Job role
Responsibilities
Warehouse operator
Responsible for doing their work in accordance with job descriptions
and workplace procedures and for reporting hazards as soon as
they are identified.
Warehouse supervisor
or team leader
Responsible for the people in their work area, ensuring that they
are properly trained to do their work safely, that work is done in
accordance with procedures and that reported hazards are acted on
in a timely manner.
Warehouse manager
Overall responsibility for ensuring that workplace procedures and
practices comply with laws and regulations and that safe systems of
work are in place.
OHS specialist
Supports management and workers by ensuring that OHS
procedures are effective and practical, that they enable the
warehouse to comply with relevant legislation and regulations, and
that PPE and other safety equipment is suitable and kept in good
condition.
One of the aims of the OHS Act is to encourage everyone to be involved in providing
information and advice to the OHS management system. It promotes open and
constructive communication and cooperation between everyone at the workplace, at
all levels. Each of these people has different levels of responsibility, based on their role
in the organisation, and the competencies needed to perform them. Each person also
needs to know their OHS responsibilities. However, individuals can also apply to extend
their OHS responsibilities. For example, if an operator has previous experience or an
interest in safety issues, they can apply to be a health and safety representative and
committee member. As a result, and with training, their responsibilities will change.
Whatever job you do and at whatever
level in the organisations structure, you
should always take an active interest in
identifying OHS issues and raising these
issues with the appropriate people in your
workplace. Everybody needs to contribute
to maintaining and improving safety in the
workplace.
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TLIF1001A Follow occupational health and safety procedures
In ACTION
Sarahs story
Sarah meets Claudio to learn about the arrangements at MWS for managing the sites health and
safety. Claudio is an experienced forklift operator and has recently been elected as the health
and safety representative to their designated work group (DWG). Claudio takes Sarah over to
the health and safety noticeboard to show her the organisational chart and explanation of the
OHS management structure at MWS. The chart shows that Hanif, the warehouse manager, has
overall responsibility for OHS and is the chairperson of the health and safety committee. It also
shows that the committee is made up of six other people: three health and safety representatives
(for each of the three DWGs), an OHS specialist, and two management representatives.
The noticeboard also has the minutes of the last safety
committee meeting, a schedule of safety committee
meeting dates, a list of health and safety representatives,
a floor plan showing the three designated work groups
and names of the representatives in each DWG, and a
list of first aiders. There is also information on how to
raise a safety issue and who to raise issues with as well
as manual handling information, and what to do if you
are injured at work.
Claudio explains that if Sarah ever has a safety issue she should fill out a hazard report form. If
it is urgent, Joe will deal with it immediately or pass it onto the person who can. Sarah explains
that she has completed a hazard audit of the area and that some issues needed to be actioned.
Claudio is familiar with the problems and tells her that Joe called their maintenance contractors
to come out today to fix the faulty light. He also called their waste management company to
make an extra visit to collect the cardboard recycling.
Revision
It is important that you follow workplace procedures for hazard identification and
risk control.
You should always raise OHS issues and safety hazards with the appropriate people
by following workplace procedures and relevant OHS legislation.
There will be workplace procedures and legislation that will help you contribute to
OHS management in the workplace.
Different people will have different OHS responsibilities, skills and opportunities to
participate in OHS management but safety is everyones responsibility.
Are you ready?
Use this checklist to assess if you are ready for assessment activity 2.
I understand how to:
Discuss identified safety hazards with designated personnel according to workplace
procedures and OHS legislation
Contribute to OHS management according to workplace procedures and OHS legislation
Raise OHS issues with designated personnel according to workplace procedures
and OHS legislation
Actively contribute to OHS management according to workplace procedures and
job responsibilities
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