Horty Kim

I gotta be quick-have a meeting in 15 mins re short courses.Just want to put another resource on here that we use to teach health and safety to the students.I think Lisa Burton may have put it together but I am not positive,any way I think it could be a bonus resource for 6916-kinda nut shells H&S considerations a little bit betta

HEALTH AND SAFETY IN EMPLOYMENT ACT 1992  The HSE Act was first passed in 1992, to promote the prevention of harm to all persons at work and in the vicinity.  It was amended in 2002 to achieve more comprehensive coverage of all work places, and came into force in May 2003/ The HSE Act sets out general duties, which are in turn supplemented by regulations, approved “Code of Practice”, and guidelines developed by, or in conjunction with OSH.

 EMPLOYERS’ DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Employers have the most duties to perform to ensure the health and safety of employees at work. Employers have a general duty to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of employees.  In particular, they are required to take all practicable steps to: 

               Provide and maintain a safe working environment 

                Provide and maintain facilities for the safety and health of employees at work

                Ensure that machinery and equipment is safe for employees 

                Ensure that working arrangements are not hazardous to employees 

              Provide procedures to deal with emergencies that may arise while employees are at work

 The Act promotes health and safety by requiring employers to provide information to employees (in easily understood form) about: 

·       Hazards in the workplace 

·       Hazards that may arise from the type of work that the employee is doing 

·       The steps to be taken to minimise the likelihood that the employee or any other person will be harmed by those hazards

 ·       Where to find safety clothing and equipment 

·       How to deal with any emergencies that arise  

Employers are responsible for making sure the work done for them is safe and healthy. To achieve this they are expected to:

 ·       Systematically identify hazards 

 ·       Systematically manage those hazards 

 ·       Manage hazards by either eliminating them, isolating them, or minimising them, in that order of preference 

·       Provide suitable protective clothing and equipment to staff 

·       Provide safety information to staff 

·       Provide training or supervision so that work is done safely

 ·       Monitor the health of employees to ensure that their work is not having a detrimental effect on their health 

·       Provide opportunities for their staff to contribute to all those things

  

REQUIREMENTS OF EMPLOYEES

 Everybody at work has a part to play in ensuring that work is done in a healthy and safe way.  The Act places a duty on employees to take those steps that are reasonably practicable to: 

·       Ensure their own health and safety

·       Ensure that no action or inaction causes harm to any other person Flowing from this general responsibility, employees have specific responsibilities to: 

·       Take all practicable steps to use protective equipment and to wear protective clothing provided by the employer or by the employee him or herself 

·       Not undertake work which is unsafe or which involves unsafe practices 

·       Make unsafe work situations safe or, if they cannot, inform their supervisor or manager 

·       Know about and follow their workplace’s health and safety practices and procedures, including hazards and reporting of work-related incidents, accidents, illnesses and injuries. 

·       Co-operate with the monitoring of workplace hazards and emplo

yees’ health 

·       Comply with any improvement and prohibition notices issued for their workplace  If the employer has met their obligations and provided the employee the opportunity to work at a safe level, the employee can be prosecuted for: 

·       Disobeying clear instructions 

 THE EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION SYSTEM The Act requires all employers to allow employees a reasonable opportunity to participate in the improvement of health and safety at work. In some cases, the employer, employees and any unions representing them must work together to develop a formal employee participation  

  ACCIDENTS and INCIDENTS Everyone should know what their rights and obligations are when an accident or incident (near miss) occurs. 

Employers must keep a register of all accidents and incidents that:

 ·       Causes any person to be harmed 

·       Causes diseases or illness 

·       May have caused any person to be harmed while being employed, or in an area controlled by the employer  

FOLLOWING AN ACCIDENT With regard to your own safety, make sure anyone injured or suspected of injury or illness, has received the necessary first aid or medical attention. Follow up procedures when the incident or accident does not cause serious harm: 

s       Complete your own ‘investigation’ 

s       Where a significant hazard is identified take ‘control’ steps to eliminate, isolate or minimise it 

s       ‘Record the details of the incident and the outcomes of investigation in the register  

When events result in serious harm: 

Ø    Do not interfere with the accident scene  

Ø    Advise OSH (by phone or fax) as soon as possible 

Ø    Supply OSH with a written report on prescribed form within seven days 

Ø    Keep a copy of that report (to OSH) in the accident register   

There must be no interference at a serious accident scene except:  

·       To save life, prevent harm or relieve the suffering of any person 

·       Maintain access of the general public to essential services or utilities 

IDENTIFICATION OF HAZARDS  

A hazard is any activity, situation or substance that can cause harm.  The reason for hazard identification is to manage those hazards that may cause accidents/incidents in the workplace. 

Both employers and employees must be involved in hazard identification. Valuable information on hazards can be found from: manufacturers, material safety data sheets, Occupational Health and Safety (OSH), Regulations, Codes of Practice, A/NZ Standards, manuals, environmental and occupational health monitoring records, people who have access to incident and accident reports, health and safety representatives. 

Four methods of hazard identification are: 

1.     Physical inspection.  This is the traditional method of identifying hazards by walking around the workplace with the aid of a checklist. 

2.     Task analysis.  Look at the tasks in each job and observe the actions of the employee.  At the same time identify the hazards involved. 

3.     Process analysis.  Follow the process from start to finish and identify the hazards at each stage. 

4.     Incident & accident investigation details.  These will identify the hazards involved.  When a hazard is identified work through the following steps: 

1.     Eliminate the hazard from the workplace.  If this is not practical, or the hazard cannot be totally eliminated, THEN 

2.     Isolate employees from the hazard, e.g. by guarding machinery, or if this is not practical (or the hazard cannot be totally isolated) THEN 

3.     Minimise the likelihood of harm from the hazard, e.g. use safe working practices, provide protective clothing and equipment, monitor the environment, and ensure information, training and supervision are given.