The Key Concepts of the Occupational Health and Safety Workplace Obligations - Case Study Example

RUNNING HEAD: OHS MANAGEMENT Customer’s Name: Customer’s Course: Tutor’s Name: Abstract 1. Part A Introduction The estimated amount of the total economic costs of injury and fatalities reported in the Australian work places is estimated to be $31 billion. Considerable amounts of non economic losses are reported as a result of deaths related to work place safety. The government has witnessed a strong support and collaboration that is related to the compliance to the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations by most of the work place (Work Safe Victoria, 2009). The regulatory framework The federal parliament is not given powers by the constitution of the commonwealth to regulate the compliance of the OHS but the regulatory powers have always been given to the various states and jurisdiction territories. The overall coordination of the overseeing the regulatory aspect of the OHS is done by the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC) since 1985. This therefore implies that there are 6 Acts and 2 Acts of the territory. This is in addition to the Commonwealth Act which covers the commonwealth employees and the Commonwealth Act which covers the maritime industry. These are the number of Act are used as a guide in the regulation of OHS in Australia. It is also vital to note that some states have a special OHS regulation that is used to regulate the compliance of OHS in the mining industry (National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, 1999). The NOHSC is an overarching centralized commission which was established as a constitutional corporation. The members to this commission are appointed by the jurisdiction and territory governments, the industry and commerce chamber as well as the Australian Council of Trade Unions. The commission is entitled with the responsibility to coordinate the efforts that are aimed at the prevention of workplace injury as well as disease in the region. The commission also has a wide range of responsibilities in relation to this which include the initiation of researches, statistics collection, OHS awareness creation, advising the governments and the development of the national standards. These functions are stipulated in the section 8 of the National Occupations and Safety Act.1985 which formed the basis of its establishment (National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, 1999). The regulatory features and approaches Most of the British Health and safety provisions of the 19th century were adopted in the in the creation of the OHS. This OHS model was based upon specification standards that were highly technical and were formed by a state inspectorate who was independent and vested with a variety of powers of inspection while utilizing a variety of strategies which include; Advice, persuasion and education and coupled up with formal prosecutions and criminal law which was to be used as a last resort (Work Safe Victoria, 2009). The regulations are broadly based on the roles of the employers, self employed, manufacturers, self employed and suppliers as well as d=the designers in the compliance to OHS legislation. The Inspectorate contracted by the OHS national commission and the Jurisdiction OHS authorities is to have administrative sanctions that are to help in the administering of the duties in relation to the compliance of the legislation (Work Safe Victoria, 2009). The OHS legislations The list below details all the primary instruments of the Australian jurisdiction legislations of each jurisdiction; “(ACT) Work Safety Act 2008 (CTH) Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (NSW) Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NT) Work Health Act 2007 (QLD) Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (SA) Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Act 1986 (TAS) Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (VIC) Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (WA) Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984” The legislations are applied in specification to the particular states depending on the uniqueness and differences in the OHS legislations. These are also done in support by other subordinate legislations that are mainly administered to by the statutory authorities from the various states and territorial jurisdictions. The statutory authorities in this case include; “(ACT) ACT Work Cover (CTH) Comcare (NSW) Work Cover New South Wales (NT) Work Safe NT (QLD) Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (SA) Safe Work SA (TAS) Work Cover Tasmania (VIC) Work Safe Victoria (WA) Work Safe WA” The key concepts of the OHS workplace obligations The OHS work on the basis of reasonable practicability in the compliance and regulation of the legislation. The stakeholders of the particular workplaces have the obligation in ensuring that the safety of the workplace to the relevant persons is reasonably and practically maintained or observed. The statutory authority in the given jurisdictions has the role of ensuring the OHS regulations are observed. The liability in cases of negligence of the OHS regulations in all the cases falls in the party of the accused (Work Safe Victoria, 2009). The practicable reasonability in given situations mainly depend and are determined by the modes thorough which the employer is to take into account of the following approaches; Likelihood to the occurrence of a hazard/risk The degree of the harm as a result of the hazard The available forms through which the hazard could be eliminated, minimized or removed The information is to be given in regards to the identified hazard Cost implications for the elimination of the hazard These approaches take into account the balancing act of the likelihood of potential injury vis-à-vis the cost implications incurred in the elimination of the risk or hazard. The balancing act is however limited as it leans towards the elimination of the hazard or risk. This implies that the obligations are non delegable as they are aimed at ensuring that the employees are not in any way exposed to the risks that will have an effect on their safety and health (Work Safe Victoria, 2009). It is the duty of the employers to ensure that; They provide and maintain safe occupational environments Every appliance or working equipment is fit and safe for use Eliminate all the risks on all the working systems and ensure they are safe for the intended use Provide information and training or create awareness on OHS Provision of adequate systems and facilities that are aimed at improving the welfare of the employees The employer is also obligate to provide supervisory and control measures that are aimed at ensuring the employees are efficient in handling and maintaining the proper working effectiveness of the occupational appliances. The employees are to maintain and use the provided equipments effectively and ensure the codes provided for by the company in relation to the OHS are adhered to. Part B The implementation and compliance of the OHS legislation is dependant on the internal and external factors. The jurisdiction authorities that are obligated to effectively have the workplaces comply with the OHS jurisdictional legislations are part of the external factors that influence the adherence of the OHS legislations among the workplace. They are to ensure that the firms and various working institutions comply by putting into place the tacit measures aimed at eliminating the potential risks/ hazards to the safety of the workers. Secondly, the courts act externally to have the workplace comply with the OHS legislation by giving strict penalties to those who have neglected their obligations in observing this. The courts act as judges and interpretation of the given jurisdiction legislations. Thirdly, the labor and workers union act externally in ensuring the strict adherence by the employers to the legislations through inspection visits and fighting for the implementation of the legislations by the various employers as a right to the workers (Work Safe Victoria, 2009). The employer plays a vital internal role in the ensuring that the OHS legislation is implemented in the workplace for the employees to effectively be productive. The employer is to ensure that the necessary approaches are adopted in the identification of the possible hazards and risks at the workplace. He is to ensure that all the costs are made available for the effective elimination of the possible identified risks. A strict budget for this purpose is to be set aside and have the appropriate personnel identified to aid in the modification of the work place and have it meet the OHS standards. The employer is also obliged to ensuring that all the working appliances are in proper working condition and pose no risk to the safety or health of the employee. The employer is to ensure that all the employees are equipped with the knowledge in relation to the promotion of a healthy and safe working environment. It is also vital to note that the employer is charged with the responsibility of assessing the employees who are to be hired. This will ensure that the employees acquired have the relevant skills and knowledge in the workplace equipments. The employee is to have a supervisory role if he/she has not assigned it to one of the employees that will ensure the OHS rules and regulations in the employees roles are adhered to. Lastly, the employer has the duty of ensuring that the employees are made aware of their roles in maintaining a safe and healthy working environment. Evaluation in to the appropriateness of the strategies employed in the elimination of the possible hazards is to be done to assess their effectiveness (Work Safe Victoria, 2009). 2. Solutions to identified OHS problems In a meeting with the management of a meat processing factory, the meeting realized the existence of occupational health hazards at the work place. This included the operating the worn out machinery, the lifting of the heavy rusty machinery, the handling of the meat, the clearance of the drainage system, lack of machine guards, acoustic installation and the mechanical acids that the workers use in the cleaning and repairs of the work place equipments. The meeting also realized the inadequate observance of the quality assurance requirements and other work instructions that will be of great use in the quest to complying with the OHS regulations. It is to this respect that the employer and the top management made a deliberate attempt to eliminate the assessed hazards and given the cost implications (AS/NZS 4801). The management will make a deliberate attempt in performing maintenance servicing for all the factory machinery and make the necessary steps in ensuring that all the worn out machinery is replaced with new ones that are in great form of performance. The factory is to install machine guards to eliminate the possibility of having the employees being injured with the sharp machines while operating on them. All the machines that require movements will be fitted with machine aids thus making it easy and possible to move them around and minimize injuries that may occur during the process. The factory is to be fitted with acoustic insulations and dust extractors to be able to minimize the amount of dust. All the workers are to be equipped with helmets and life coats to minimize the risk of injury due to falls or while operating the machinery (AS/NZS 4801). The employer is to purchase safety factory boots for use by the employees thus minimizing injuries that may occur to the feet. The foot ware is also to be water proof thus protecting the worker against falls as a result of slippery floors. The workers are also to wear protective hair coverings in addition to the overall coats that are to be waterproof. The water/liquid proof coats will also be able to protect the employees from risks from spilled acids and other fuel and liquid materials. The management is to set out codes of standard of practice to be adopted in the working environments. It is also vital for the firm to be able to set put days or invent a knowledge information system at the work place that will enable the workers to enhance their knowledge levels on the importance of observing the OHS work place regulations (ISO 31000 Risk Management). The top management is to be supportive and ensure a monitoring and evaluation of the adopted processes of the OHS regulation compliance to assess its effectiveness. The management team is to be supportive in ensuring the work place is favorable for all the employees to realize their full potential by involving them in the decision making process that relates to the implementation of the OHS regulations at the work place. The firm is to site help for the OHS assessment process from the government authorities so as to identify the risk factors that exist in the firm that they would have had bias on while conducting their own assessment activity (ISO 31000 Risk Management). 3. OH&SM Plan Name of the Project:- Table of Contents Name of the Project:- 10 Table of Contents 10 1.Details of the contract 11 2.Safety Policy 12 3.Roles and duties 12 4.Construction activities and scope details 12 5.Statements of the safe work approaches 12 6.Register of the hazards and the risk control 12 7.Management of injury 13 8.Emergency procedures 13 9.Public protection 13 10.Site rules 13 11.Reporting and investigation of identified incidents 13 12.Specialized work or licensing 13 13.Requirements for induction 13 14.Equipment registers for the plant 14 15.Management of chemicals 14 16.Safety monitoring 14 17.Subcontractor management 14 18.Sign off 14 1. Details of the contract Name of contract: Contractor ABN: Address of the Contractor: Safety representative to the Contractor: Description of the Contract: Work location: P and F Project officer: Work timings: Commencing Date: Finalizing date: 2. Safety Policy (Attach your safety policy separately or state it in this space) 3. Roles and duties (Give detailed description of the roles and responsibilities of the workers on site) 4. Construction activities and scope details (List the major activities) 5. Statements of the safe work approaches (Attach the safe work approach statements that are required as per the current OHS regulations for the activities that are being conducted in the site) 6. Register of the hazards and the risk control (Give a list of the identified risks and hazards that were identified in the site) 7. Management of injury (Give a description and list of all the management processes that are to be done while addressing the hierarchy of control) 8. Emergency procedures (Identify the emergency procedures in the site) 9. Public protection (List the protection procedures and or plans that the work place employs to protect the public) 10. Site rules (List the rules that all the employees at the site are to comply with) 11. Reporting and investigation of identified incidents (Give a description of how the identified incidents are investigated and reported to or the relevant authorities at the workplace. This should also include the recording procedures and how they are taken care of. The description should also include the mode or how the PF will be advised if the work place was visited by the OHS work place inspector. 12. Specialized work or licensing (Give a list of licenses that are required for the operations performed at the workplace to be in line with the OHS regulatory requirements) 13. Requirements for induction (The inductions as per the OHS regulations in regards to the contractors are in accordance with the PF&UQ safety processes of induction of the contractor. It is a necessity for all the contractors to undergo a safety induction before being given a green light to work onsite) 14. Equipment registers for the plant (Attach a plant and or equipment register) 15. Management of chemicals (Attach a listing of all chemicals that are being used at the site and their registrations) 16. Safety monitoring (Give a list of any inspection processes that are ongoing aimed at identifying the possible health and risks at the workplace) 17. Subcontractor management (All the subcontractors that will be used at the site must be under supervision and should be able to appreciate the UQ procedures and policies. All the subcontractors should be attached including their details, roles and qualifications as well as the subcontractor management. List the SWMS and subcontractors induction requirements) 18. Sign off (A senior person in the organization should go through hand sign the plan) (AS/NZS 4804) 4. Risk assessment for steel factory Issue Tick Yes in the next block if the issue is present Yes Recommended solution Person to implement the solution Completion date Poor lighting for the working environment x Install more lighting appliances Manager/|Electrician 24/11/2011 Employees are unable to control the lighting glare x Install lighting control system in the light entry areas Manager/facility supervisor 24/11/2011 Reflections caused buy the artificial lighting Noisy working environment interrupting the workers hearing ability x Purchase noise elimination gadgets for the workers Facility team leader 12/11/2011 Noise disruptive to the workers x Purchase noise elimination gadgets for the workers Facility team leader 12/11/2011 Temperatures are too hot for the workers x Purchase and install more air conditioners and repair the non functional ones Site supervisor 22/11/2011 Temperature too cold for the workers x Purchase and install more air conditioners and repair the non functional ones Site supervisor 22/11/2011 Air flow air circulation in the working x Purchase and install more air conditioners and repair the non functional ones Site supervisor 22/11/2011 Air flow is to high in the working environment x Install air flow regulators and repair the non functioning gadgets Site supervisor 21/11/2011 The workers are working in close proximity with each other x Provide more space for the working environment Site supervisor 2/02/2012 Floors are slippery and greasy x Purchase water proof boots for the employees and repair the floor with floor materials that is not smooth to have more grip Site supervisor 3/02/2011 Comments (AS/NZS 9000) References AS/NZS 4801 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems – Specification with guidance for; Accessed on the 30th of October 2011, from; http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/formspublications/publications/Documents/ohs_management_systems_4231.pdf ISO 31000 Risk Management – General guidelines on principles, systems and supporting techniques; Accessed on the 30th of October 2011, from; csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-39/SP800-39-final.pdf AS/NZS 4804 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems – General guidelines on principles, systems and supporting techniques; Accessed on the 30th of October 2011, from; www.saiglobal.com/PDFTemp/Previews/OSH/as/as4000/.../4804.pd AS/NZS 9000 Quality Management and Quality Assurance Standards – Guidelines for selection and use; Accessed on the 30th of October 2011, from; nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an9944801 AS/NZS 4581 Management Systems Integration – Guidance to business, government And community organizations; Accessed on the 30th of October 2011, from; www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, Guidance Note: List of Designated Hazardous Substances (NOHSC: 1005 (1999)) Work Safe Victoria, Occupational Health and Safety (Hazardous Substances) Regulations (1999) and Code of Practice (2000) Read More