SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION 2 PURPOSE 2 SCOPE 2 DEFINITIONS 2 LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT 4 RESPONSIBILITIES 4

Transcription

1 OH&S Procedure Name: Approved by: Risk Assessment Procedure Director Human Resources Last reviewed: September 2013 SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION 2 PURPOSE 2 SCOPE 2 DEFINITIONS 2 LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT 4 RESPONSIBILITIES 4 SECTION 2 - PROCEDURE 5 PROCEDURE 5 SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION 11 SECTION 4 - GOVERNANCE 13 RESPONSIBILITY 13 VERSION CONTROL AND CHANGE HISTORY 13 and Procedures Directory Page 1 of 13

2 SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION PURPOSE An effective OH&S risk management process is an integral part of a healthy Occupational Health and Safety Management System. This procedure describes the steps that are to be taken to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable that health and safety hazards are identified in all undertakings of Swinburne University of Technology and controls implemented to eliminate or mitigate the risk to persons. This procedure is in accordance with Swinburne s OH&S Policy The undertaking of risk assessments and documentation of the process will assist managers in: understanding the decisions made around health and safety: assisting Swinburne in demonstrating that it has considered and identified foreseeable OH&S hazards; and taking action where practicable to implement suitable controls to eliminate or minimise risk from identified hazards. SCOPE This procedure applies to all Swinburne activities and operations including those activities delegated to third parties. This procedure excludes Sarawak campus. DEFINITIONS Word/Term Hazard Head of Management Unit Health and Safety Representative (HSR) Hierarchy of Control Definition Condition or situation which has the potential to cause injury or illness (physical or psychological) or damage to property and the environment. A person with management / supervisory responsibility that is recognised within the organisational structure of the Swinburne University of Technology, and includes those with delegated responsibility for staff and resources. A member of a designated work group who has been elected and holds office in accordance with the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act The Hierarchy of Control is the preferred priority for risk control, emphasising hazard elimination and, where this is not possible, risk minimisation and other considerations: elimination of hazard substitution of hazardous processes or materials with safer ones isolation engineering controls administrative controls and Procedures Directory Page 2 of 13

3 personal protective and equipment. Incident Injury Job Safety Analysis (JSA) Near miss Reasonably practicable Risk Risk Assessment An event or sequence of events resulting in the loss of control over a hazard. An incident may occur in the form of: an injury a near miss property or equipment damage act of violence Work related injury / illness, categorised as No treatment, First aid and Medical injury. And includes psychological injury. A process of systematically evaluating certain jobs, tasks, processes or procedures and eliminating or reducing the risks or hazards to as low as reasonably practical in order to protect workers from injury or illness An incident / event which had the potential to cause injury or damage to equipment, machinery, property, facilities. Means having regard to: the severity of the hazard or risk in question; the state of knowledge about that hazard or risk and any ways of removing or mitigating it; the availability and suitability of ways to remove or mitigate that hazard or risk; and The cost of removing or mitigating that hazard or risk. How severely can someone be harmed by the hazard, and how likely it is that a person will be harmed by the hazard. A general OH&S industry term to cover a number of risk assessment formats for identifying hazards, associated risk and implementation of suitable controls: Standard Risk Assessment Job Safety Analysis (JSA) Plant Risk Assessments Manual Handling Risk Assessment Chemical Risk Assessment OH&S risk register A register of identified activities, operations and tasks with perceived risk to persons, property or operations, that may involve, but is not limited to biohazards, chemicals, contractor works, manual handling, plant & equipment, work processes, university events, violence, working outdoors, etc. and Procedures Directory Page 3 of 13

4 Safe Operating Procedure (SOP) (A4 version) (A3 version) Safe Operating Procedure Student Staff Record A form of administrative control (training and instruction) that may result from a risk assessment An individual record for recording of training in specific SOPs activities, task or operations for students and staff. LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT Name Occupational Health and Safety Act, 2004 Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2007 Location e/ltobjst6.nsf/dde300b846eed9c7ca a3571/a82388fb B4CA257A2C001901D7/$FILE/07-54sr007bookmarked.pdf RESPONSIBILITIES Responsibilities Heads of Management Units shall: Ensure systems are in place to identify health and safety hazards in their areas. Ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that adequate financial provision is made available to implement corrective / preventive actions identified from risk assessments. Ensure that the appropriate staff receive risk assessment training to carry out their role/s. Ensure the business unit OH&S Risk Register, is reviewed quarterly, actions recorded are completed and the register updated. Ensure only risk assessment formats identified in this procedure are used. Ensure Safe Operating Procedure Student Staff Record is maintained. Support managers in the execution of their OH&S responsibilities s shall: Ensure via information, training, instruction and supervision all staff and students are aware of their responsibilities under this procedure. Ensure hazards are identified and recorded in the business unit OH&S Risk and Procedures Directory Page 4 of 13

5 Register, prioritising according to risk level for undertaking of risk assessments Ensure risk assessments are undertaken for hazards identified and suitable controls implemented. Ensure the business unit OH&S Risk Register, is maintained and actions recorded are completed. Ensure only risk assessment formats identified in this procedure are used. Ensure Safe Operating Procedure Student/Staff Record is maintained. Encouraging staff to report hazards, near misses, injuries or illness in the workplace Consult with health & safety representatives in the identification of hazards and undertaking of risk assessments. Ensure risk controls are reviewed and where necessary revised whenever changes occur, on report of an injury or on request by a HSR. Staff and students shall: Take reasonable care for their own health and safety, and for the health and safety of anyone else who may be affected by their acts or omissions in the work / study environment. Follow local arrangements / guidelines developed under this procedure and any other additional requirements set out by their department or manager. Report any hazards, near misses, injuries or illness as they become aware of these. The OH&S Consultant shall: Assist Heads of Management Units and managers to ensure training has been delivered to the appropriate personnel in enabling them to fulfil their obligations under this procedure. Provide information and guidance to Heads of Management Units, managers / supervisors, Health & Safety Representatives and OH&S committees on hazard identification, risk assessment and control and make recommendations to improve risk assessment processes. Health & Safety Representatives: Have a key role to play in dealing with OH&S issues. They can assist greatly in the identification of hazards through the following: Consult as part of the OH&S Worksite Inspections Encouraging staff to report hazards, incidents and near misses in the workplace Facilitating consultation with staff in relation to hazards and potential controls of hazards in their workplace. SECTION 2 - PROCEDURE PROCEDURE Procedure Steps Responsibility 1. Step 1 Hazard identification and Procedures Directory Page 5 of 13

6 1.1 Whether a manager is seeking to identify all OH&S hazards in their department or wishes to undertake a risk assessment on a specific task / activity or operation, a range of approaches can be adopted to assist in the identification of health and safety hazards in their work places. As a minimum s should: Consult with the Health & Safety Representative (HSR) and / or personnel in relation to the activities and tasks they perform. Undertake a walk-through of the work / learning spaces. Examine hazard, incident and injury reports received. Review the locations OH&S Risk Register (minimum quarterly) Refer to OH&S hazard identification checklists contained within Swinburne s various OH&S procedures e.g. Manual Handling Procedure Refer to manufacturer s product information for plant / equipment. Review records of OH&S worksite inspections. Refer to legislative requirements e.g. OH&S Regulations 2007 and / or WorkSafe guidance material. Consult with peers to clarify industry knowledge. Consult with OH&S Consultants findings of OH&S audits / OH&S reports. Review minutes of health & safety committees and team meetings. The identification of health and safety hazards should also include special, ad hoc or extraordinary events e.g. emergency situations. 1.2 Risk assessments are usually based on a particular activity/task or are specific to hazard types (e.g. chemicals). Predominately all risk assessments follow a similar process of identifying hazards, determining the risk and identifying suitable controls to be implemented. In determining hazards the manager must assess all aspect of the business for risk to any persons (staff, students, neighbours, contractors, visitors and the public) that may occur through the undertakings of the business. In determining the severity of the risk the manager must complete the OH&S Risk Register and prioritise which risk assessments must be completed first based on the perceived risk to any persons. 2. Step 2 Risk Assessment 2.1 The manager must select the appropriate format of the risk assessment to be undertaken (from those listed in 2.2), based on the particular activity/ task or specific to a hazard type 2.2 Determining the risk assessment format: Standard Risk Assessment and Procedures Directory Page 6 of 13

7 o Used where a specific risk assessment format is not available, e.g. traffic management for a site, staff working alone after hours, an office relocation Job Safety Analysis (JSA) o JSAs are used for task based works such as the building of a stud wall, setting up for an event, assembling scaffolding. o JSAs break the task down into each activity e.g. for building a stud wall it commences with unloading materials from the truck, each step in the construction process to cleaning up at the end of the job. o Note: Some businesses may call JSAs a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMSs). SWMSs are predominately used in major construction projects for high risk works as identified in the Victorian OH&S Regulations 2007 and are considerably more involved than a JSA. Generally tasks undertaken by Swinburne staff and/or students do not need to be assessed at the level of a SWMS and as such the JSA process is to be used. Should a manager consider a task to be of a higher risk requiring a SWMS the manager must contact the OH&S unit for advice. Plant Risk Assessments o A plant and equipment risk assessment is specific to assessing hazards associated with all facets of plant (fixed, portable and mobile) from installation to use. The plant risk assessment identifies a range of hazards from entanglement to operator controls as defined in the Victorian OH&S Regulations Part 3.5 Plant. Manual Handling Risk Assessment o A manual handling risk assessment provides guidance in assessing hazards associated with body movement, force and duration to identify and implement controls to minimise musculoskeletal injury as defined in the Victorian OH&S Regulations Part 3.1 Manual Handling. Chemical Risk Assessment o A chemical risk assessment determines, in conjunction with the review of relevant material safety data sheets, requirements for safe handling, use, storage and disposal of hazardous substances as defined in the Victorian OH&S Regulations Part 4.1 Hazardous Substances and the Dangerous Goods (Storage & Handling) Regulations 2000 o Chemical risk assessments at Swinburne are undertaken through an online system known as ChemAlert available through the Swinburne HR OH&S webpage. Note, access is open to all Swinburne staff seeking MSDSs and labels, but write access is only available for authorised ChemAlert and Procedures Directory Page 7 of 13

8 users. For assistance in undertaking chemical risk assessments contact the SWINBURNE HR OH&S unit to identify your authorised ChemAlert user 2.3 A risk assessment is the process of looking for hazards that have the potential to harm people, in the objects being used, work environment and/or work processes adopted. Some risks are visible; others are only evident and able to be understood when a work task is observed. The use of a risk matrix assists the manager to better understand the severity of risk which in turn enables managers to prioritise which hazards to address first. The risk matrix requires managers to consider: 1. The consequence of the potential harm. 2. The likelihood of the harm occurring. 2.4 The consequence considers the potential harm to personnel. If the hazard is not controlled how serious an injury is likely to occur? s should consider what controls are already in place to eliminate or minimise this outcome. When the worst possible outcome has been identified managers can circle the relevant consequence in the risk matrix. 2.5 The likelihood considers the chance that the hazard will eventuate in an injury / illness. When considering likelihood managers should also consider: How frequently and how long people are exposed to the hazard; The numbers of people exposed to the hazard. The level of skill / competency of the people exposed to the hazard. Select the likelihood by circling the relevant consequence in the risk matrix. 2.6 Once the consequence and likelihood have been determined for the and Procedures Directory Page 8 of 13

9 hazard, the manager can assign the hazard a risk rating. The higher the risk rating assigned, the higher the level of risk associated with the hazard and the increase in priority to identify and implement controls. 2.7 Example of determining an OH&S risk rating Risk identified: Operating plant that has rotating components where a person s clothing may become entangled causing the person to receive crush injuries from being drawn into the rotating components. What is the Consequence if a person s clothing became entangled in rotating components Critical - serious injury What is the Likelihood of a person s clothing becoming entangled Almost certain - is almost certain to occur. and Procedures Directory Page 9 of 13

10 Action required for identified risk rating Risk rating identified Very High Risk High Risk Major Risk Required action Act immediately. The proposed operation/activity must not proceed. Notify your senior manager immediately. By use of the hierarchy of controls, controls must be implemented to lower the level to as low as reasonably practicable before proceeding. If suitable controls cannot be identified the HR OH&S unit must be consulted. Unacceptable level of risk which must be controlled immediately. Operation/activity not to proceed unless fully supervised by a suitably qualified person and suitable controls are implemented to eliminate or reduce the risk as far as reasonably practicable. If suitable controls cannot be identified the HR OH&S unit must be consulted. The proposed operation/activity may only proceed after suitable controls are implemented to eliminate or reduce the risk as far as reasonably practicable. If suitable controls cannot be identified the HR OH&S unit must be consulted. Moderate Risk The proposed operation/activity may proceed, but suitable controls to eliminate or reduce the risk as far as reasonably practicable must be identified and implemented Low Risk The proposed operation/activity may proceed, subject to regular review to eliminate or reduce the risk as far as reasonably practicable 3. Step 3 - Control Selection / Recommendation 3.1 s need to make sure that the risks are reduced so far as is reasonably practicable, and ask what more can be done to control the risk. When identifying controls managers need to remember: The more effective the control measures, the more lasting the effect of control. At times it may be necessary to implement more than one type of control to effectively manage the risk. Sometimes a control can t be actioned straight away due to costs / resources. There may be a need to implement immediate interim controls until such time a long term solution is implemented. Controls should be selected in response to the level of risk posed by the hazards, and the practicability of the control. If a risk associated with a hazard that has a high risk rating cannot be controlled immediately the task, activity or operation is NOT to proceed until the identified control is implemented. Contact the HR OH&S consultants for assistance 3.2 The hierarchy of controls is a useful tool which managers should consider when identifying controls. The control options at the top of the hierarchy are most effective; they do not require further management once they are implemented. The further down the hierarchy of controls, the more ongoing management and effort is required in maintaining control over the hazard. and Procedures Directory Page 10 of 13

11 Most Effective Control Least Effective Control HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS Start at the top and work down Elimination E.g. Discontinue use of product, equipment, cease work process Substitution E.g. Replace with a similar item that does the same job but with a lower hazard level Isolation E.g. Put a barrier between the person and the hazard Engineering controls E.g. Change the process, equipment or tools so the risk is reduced Administration controls E.g. Guidelines, procedures, rosters, training etc to minimise the risk Personal protective equipment E.g. Equipment worn to provide a temporary barrier 3.3 It is important to assess if a control identified may introduce new hazards into the workplace. If so, managers need to ask whether the control identified remains the preferred option and how any new risks are to be controlled. 3.4 Finally, the manager needs to ensure that each further control is listed in the risk assessment document. The name/s of the person/s who will implement the controls together with time frames is also to be recorded in the risk assessment form and requirements of the risk assessments communicated to all relevant persons. 4. Step 4 OH&S risk register 4.1 Review and update the business unit OH&S risk register quarterly or where new task/activities, plant or chemicals have been introduced or changes have occurred in task/activities, operation of plant or in the use, storage and handling of chemicals and ensure actions recorded are completed. 5. Step 5 - Review and Improve 5.1 Step five of the OH&S risk management process involves reviewing and improving existing OH&S risk control systems. A systematic evaluation and review will also identify potential new hazards as well as check how effective existing controls are. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION Forms and records management Form Retention time Retention location and Procedures Directory Page 11 of 13

12 Standard Risk Assessment template 5 Years Local level Job Safety Analysis template 5 Years Local level Manual Handling Risk Assessment template 5 Years Local level OH&S Risk Register template 5 Years Local level Plant Risk Assessment template 5 Years Local level Safe Operating Procedure Student Staff Record template 5 Years Local level Safe Operating Procedure - A4 version template 5 Years Local level Safe Operating Procedure - A3 version template 5 Years Local level *University Disposal Schedule is available at Related Material Name Location Document type Swinburne OH&S Policy PPD Policy Risk Management Policy PPD Policy Plant Safety Procedure PPD Procedure Manual Handling Procedure PPD Procedure Noise Procedure PPD Procedure Chemical Management Procedure PPD Procedure Safe Operating Procedure Guideline Guideline First Aid Procedure PPD Procedure Working Alone / In Isolation Procedure PPD Procedure Incident / Hazard Reporting Procedure PPD Procedure Personal Protective Clothing & Equipment (PPE) Procedure PPD Procedure Work Site Inspection Procedure PPD Procedure and Procedures Directory Page 12 of 13

13 SECTION 4 - GOVERNANCE RESPONSIBILITY Policy Owner Director, Human Resources VERSION CONTROL AND CHANGE HISTORY Version Number Approval Date Approved by Amendment 2 September 2013 Director Human Resources 1 21 December 2010 Vice Chancellors Executive Group Previously HIRACE procedure, reviewed to incorporate: OH&S risk register for use by individual business units; specific standardised risk assessment formats to be used for all SUT OH&S risk assessments; specific standardised risk assessments are undertaken for specific hazard categories, to meet regulatory requirements; standard industry terminology; and stakeholder ease of use Previously Standard 1. and Procedures Directory Page 13 of 13