The range statement provides information about the context in which the unit of competency is carried out. The variables cater for differences between States and Territories and the Commonwealth, and between organisations and workplaces. They allow for different work requirements, work practices and knowledge. The range statement also provides a focus for assessment. It relates to the unit as a whole. Text in bold italics in the Performance criteria is explained here. |
External sources of information and data may include: | OHS regulatory authoritiesindustry bodiesemployer groupsunionsOHS specialistslegislation, codes of practice and standardsdatabases such as national and state injury data and National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) journals and web sitesmanufacturers' manual and specifications |
A hazard is: | a source or a situation with a potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill-health, damage to property, damage to the environment, or a combination of these |
Workplace sources of information and data may include: | employeesOHS representativeshazard, incident and investigation reports workplace inspectionsminutes of meetingsreportsauditsmaterial safety data sheets (MSDSs)manufacturers' manuals and specifications |
Stakeholders include: | managerssupervisors health and safety and other employee representatives OHS committeesemployees |
Key personnel may include: | managers from other areas people involved in OHS decision making or who are affected by OHS decisions |
OHS specialists may be internal or external and include: | ergonomistsengineersoccupational hygieniststoxicologistsorganisational psychologistsworkplace injury and return to work advisors |
Workplace issues may include: | changes in work practice changes in equipment, including technologychanges in work organisation, including contracting, hire arrangements, casualisation, supervisory arrangements, out workers, rosters, shift work, work hours and work relations changes to legislation and standardsoutcomes of court rulings new knowledge on hazardschanges in social, political or community environment |
Occasions when action for hazard identification is required include: | at design or pre-purchase of buildings, equipment and materialscommissioning or pre-implementation of new processes or practices new forms of work and organisation of workbefore changes are made to workplace, equipment, work processes or work arrangementsplanning major tasks or activities, such as equipment shutdownsfollowing an incident report when new knowledge becomes available at regular intervals during normal operationsprior to disposal of equipment, buildings or materials |
Tools may include: | job safety analysis (JSA)auditscause and effect diagramssurveys |
Task demands may include: | required precision or accuracymachine pacing or time pressure to complete a taskphysical or physiological demandsarousal and alertnessrepetitive nature of task |
Task environment may include: | lightingnoiseair qualitythermal |
Agents may be: | chemicalphysical biologicalergonomicpsychosocial |
Risk is: | the chance of something occurring that will result in injury or damagemeasured in terms of consequences (injury or damage) and likelihood of the consequence |
Factors contributing to risk may include those associated with: | equipmentwork environmentwork organisation taskthe individual/operatorfrequency and duration of exposurenumber of people exposed/ involved |
Relevant standards may include: | legislationcodes of practiceAustralian and industry standardscurrent practice in the industrycurrent knowledge related to the specific hazard and controls |
Quality of control refers to: | the level and reliability of the control compared with the level of risk |
Prioritisation may be done using: | standard ranking tools specially designed tools other recognised processes |
Risk assessment includes identification of: | factors contributing to risk current controls and their adequacydiscrepancy between current control and required standardprioritisation or ranking of a number of risks, where appropriate |
Hierarchy of control means developing risk controls within the following priority order: | eliminate hazardsand where this is not practicable, minimise risk by:substitutionisolating the hazard from personnelusing engineering controlsusing administrative controls (e.g. procedures, training)using personal protective equipment (PPE) |
Factors impacting on the effectiveness of controls may include: | languageshift work and rostering arrangementsliteracy and numeracy levelsworkplace organisational structures (size of organisation, geographic, hierarchical)cultural diversitytraining requiredworkplace culture related to OHS including commitment by managers and supervisors and compliance with procedures and training |
A risk register may include all of the following: | a list of hazards, their location and people exposeda range of possible scenarios or circumstances under which the hazards may cause injury or damagethe results of the risk analysis related to the hazardspossible control measures and dates for implementation |