Application
This unit of competency specifies the outcomes required to implement and monitor the company’s health and safety policies, procedures and programs to achieve and maintain health and safety standards and ensure the effective implementation of workplace safety arrangements. It includes managing the provision of information and the implementation, supervision and review of health and safety policies and programs that contribute to a safe work environment.
The unit supports employees with supervisory responsibilities who carry out work within company guidelines. It applies in a range of work sites.
No licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of endorsement.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Elements describe the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the range of conditions. | ||
1. | Provide information about company’s health and safety policies, procedures and programs. | 1.1. | Relevant provisions of health and safety legislation as they relate to workplace procedures are explained clearly and accurately to work group according to company requirements. |
1.2. | Company health and safetyrequirements, policies, procedures and programs are explained clearly and accurately to work group according to company requirements. | ||
1.3. | Information about health and safety policies, procedures and programs is provided to work group in a readily accessible manner according to company requirements. | ||
1.4. | Information aboutidentifying hazards and assessing risks and the process and outcomes of risk assessment and risk control procedures is provided and explained regularly, clearly and accurately to work group according to company requirements. | ||
2. | Implement and monitor participative arrangements for managing health and safety. | 2.1. | Processes enabling participation in health and safety issues are implemented and monitored. |
2.2. | Issues arising from participative arrangements are promptly assessed and resolved, or referred for resolution according to workplace procedures. | ||
2.3. | Outcomes of participative arrangements pertaining to health and safety issues are documented and promptly communicated to work group according to company requirements. | ||
3. | Implement and monitor company procedures for identifying hazards and assessing risks. | 3.1. | Existing and potential hazards in the work area are identified and reported according to health and safety legislation, workplace procedures, and company requirements. |
3.2. | Risk analysis using risk analysis protocols is conducted and action to control risks is taken according to health and safety legislation, workplace procedures, and company requirements. | ||
3.3. | Work area is monitored continuously to identify new hazards according to health and safety legislation, workplace procedures, and company requirements. | ||
4. | Implement and monitor company procedures for controlling risks. | 4.1. | Work procedures for controlling risks are developed and implemented according to health and safety legislation and company requirements. |
4.2. | Adherence to work procedures by work group is monitored according to company requirements. | ||
4.3. | Effectiveness of work procedures is monitored using hierarchy of control, and results are reported regularly according to company requirements. | ||
4.4. | Resource allocation requirements for implementing work procedures to control risks are identified, and inadequacies are reported according to company requirements. | ||
5. | Implement company procedures for dealing with hazardous events. | 5.1. | Incidents are investigated to establish cause according to health and safety legislation and company requirements. |
5.2. | Hazardous event control procedures for dealing with hazardous events and emergencies are implemented according to health and safety and environmental legislation, and company requirements. | ||
5.3. | Control measures based on hierarchy of control are implemented within scope of responsibilities or referred to appropriate personnel for implementation according to company requirements. | ||
6. | Implement and monitor company procedures for providing health and safety training. | 6.1. | Health and safety training needs are identified and documented according to company requirements. |
6.2. | Training, coaching and mentoring to meet identified needs of work group are arranged through consultation with involved parties according to company requirements. | ||
7 | Implement and monitor company procedures for maintaining health and safety records. | 7.1. | Company’s incident or accident reporting and recording process is provided and explained to work group according to company requirements. |
7.2. | Health and safety records of occupational injury and disease are completed according to legal requirements, workplace procedures, and company requirements. | ||
7.3. | Hazard analysis data and information from health and safety records are used to identify hazards and monitor risk control procedures within scope of responsibilities and competencies and according to company requirements. |
Evidence of Performance
A person demonstrating competency in this unit must satisfy the requirements of the elements, performance criteria, foundation skills and range of conditions of this unit.
The person must also provide clear information and instruction to one work group on workplace procedures pertaining to health and safety in a readily accessible manner, and:
apply company processes and procedures for health and safety
demonstrate leadership skills in working with teams to identify hazards within work group, ensuring unresolved issues are referred and actioned
apply risk management procedures, including undertaking hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control according to hierarchy of control
identify and facilitate health and safety training needs and reporting requirements of work group
identify characteristics of workforce that affect the management of health and safety
identify health and safety compliance requirements relating to specific work tasks
integrate health and safety into company systems
apply key requirements of health and safety legislation, regulations and codes of practice applicable to work tasks
provide clear information and instructions to work group on workplace procedures relating to health and safety in plain English and catering for individual language and literacy levels
apply obligations for duty of care.
In doing the above work, the person must also demonstrate strategies in place to manage five of the following hazardous events that may occur in the workplace:
accidents, including motor vehicle accidents
bomb threats
chemical spills
electrocution
fires and explosions
inhalation of dangerous substances
manual handling
natural disasters
slips, trips and falls
violent incidents, such as:
armed robberies
workplace bullying.
Evidence of Knowledge
A person demonstrating competency in this unit must demonstrate knowledge of:
characteristics of the company’s workforce, including type of work undertaken and impacts on health and safety management
company processes and procedures, including those relating to:
accident and incident investigation
assessing and controlling risks
consultation and participation arrangements for employees and third parties
emergency planning and response
housekeeping and work environment
identifying hazards
health and safety management
health and safety procedures, including:
developing and communicating company health and safety policy
providing health and safety information, instruction, supervision and training
health and safety record keeping
reporting and resolving health and safety issues
training and assessment
risk management
principles of:
access and equity
hazard management
leadership as it applies to managing workplace safety
health and safety management systems
risk management procedures, including risk assessment and risk control procedures reflecting the following order of the process:
hazard identification
risk assessment
hazard control
evaluation
safe operating procedures or instructions that cover:
awareness of electrical hazards
chemical storage, handling and disposal
confined space procedures
dust
first aid and injury management
manual handling
noise
requirements for maintaining safety when working alone
safe use of tools and equipment
security
specific hazards
storage of dangerous goods
toxic, infectious and sharps waste
use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
use of safety data sheets (SDS)
vehicles and mobile equipment
working safely around electrical hazards, including wiring, cables and overhead powerlines
processes and practices for training staff in workplace safety requirements
strategies for providing workplace participative arrangements:
implementing employee performance feedback programs
formal and informal meetings of:
health and safety representatives
health and safety committees
other special purpose committees, such as consultative, planning and purchasing
company information, staff bulletins and notices
suggestions, requests, reports and concerns put forward by employees to management
strategies for encouraging staff contributions to participative arrangements, including:
actively listening to ideas and opinions of staff
reinforcing positive behaviours that contribute to a safe workplace
sharing opinions, views, skills and knowledge of workplace health and safety
key requirements of work health and safety (WHS) legislation and regulations, including:
dangerous goods codes
general duty of care under health and safety legislation and common law provisions relating to health and safety issue resolution
legal responsibilities of employers, employees and other parties with legal responsibilities
provisions relating to roles and responsibilities of health and safety representatives and/or health and safety committees
regulations and codes of practice, including those relating to hazards present in the workplace or industry
maintenance and confidentiality of records of occupational injury and disease
provision of health and safety information and training
procedures for workplace safety inspections and audits.
Assessment Conditions
The following must be present and available to learners during assessment activities:
materials:
computer with internet access
health and safety records as listed in the range of conditions
specifications:
company’s health and safety policies, procedures and programs
plain English guides to legislation and other compliance requirements
relationships with team members and supervisor:
supervisory responsibility for a small team.
Timeframe:
as specified by the task.
Assessor requirements
As a minimum, assessors must satisfy the assessor requirements in the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) current at the time of assessment.
Foundation Skills
This section describes the language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills essential to performance in this unit but not explicit in the performance criteria. | |
Skill | Performance feature |
Learning skills to: | identify and use reliable sources of information to confirm details of work health and safety (WHS) requirements apply prior knowledge of assessing risks and evaluating risk control measures, including applying hierarchy of control to new work hazards. |
Numeracy skills to: | interpret numerical information from manufacturer specifications and safety data sheets (SDS). |
Oral communication skills to: | negotiate work group training, coaching and mentoring explain accident and reporting and recording process to work group using suitable language. |
Reading skills to: | locate and interpret WHS compliance requirements in complex texts. |
Writing skills to: | prepare clear and sequential procedural documentation in language suitable for work group. |
Initiative and enterprise skills to: | develop rapport with team members to facilitate coaching and mentoring. |
Range Statement
This section specifies work environments and conditions that may affect performance. Essential operating conditions that may be present (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) are included. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. | |
Health and safety requirements must include: | access to communication devices when working alone compliance with Safe Work Australia regulations and guidelines electrical equipment test and tag compliance emergency response procedures environmental controls hazard signs and barricades health and safety induction and refresher training manual handling techniques processes for safely dispensing chemicals risk assessment procedures, including: hierarchy of control job safety analyses (JSA) for low-risk situations safe work method statements (SWMS) for high-risk situations incident reporting SDS selection and use of required personal protective equipment (PPE) storage and maintenance of equipment according to manufacturer specifications use of first aid according to SDS information. |
Information about health and safety policies, procedures and programs must include: | hazards and risk management procedures information on the safety aspects of work, tasks and procedures procedures for providing direct supervision, such as to inexperienced workers information in industry association journals or workers’ compensation literature details of health and safety representatives and health and safety committees. |
Information about identifying hazards and assessing risks must include: | accessing manufacturer guidance information and manuals applying SWMS procedures assessing job and work systems assessing severity of identified hazards, and ranking according to severity briefing workplace safety inspectors or contracted health and safety advisers checking work area and equipment before and during work conducting pre- and post-operational equipment checks conducting workplace inspections consulting with employees, health and safety representatives and health and safety committee housekeeping performing routine job hazard analysis purchasing supplies and equipment reviewing SDS manufacturer or supplier information referencing government or industry hazard or safety alerts, including via industry association contacts and networks regularly maintaining plant and equipment reviewing health and safety records, including: registers of hazardous substances and dangerous goods undertaking safety audits. |
Risk analysis must include: | hazard identification risk assessment risk treatment and/or control risk monitoring and evaluation. |
Risk analysis protocols must be selected based on at least one of the following criteria: | Australian standards, company standards and client standards combination of quantitative and qualitative assessment tools, specific to risks being assessed operational, technical, financial, legal, social, humanitarian or other criteria scope of risk management project being undertaken. |
Controlling risks must include at least one of the following: | applying hierarchy of control consulting with manufacturers, suppliers, employers and their representatives consulting with workers and their representatives developing reliable systematic approach to risk control ensuring adequate training of staff measuring risk likelihood and consequence implementing measures to remove cause of risk at its source monitoring and regularly reviewing work systems and procedures rewarding good health and safety practice. |
Hazardous event control procedures must include: | following instructions from authorised and delegated personnel during hazardous events chemical containment and clean-up emergency management plan evacuations provision of first aid accident and incident reporting injury and dangerous occurrence reporting. |
Appropriate personnel must include at least one of the following: | managers health and safety personnel other persons, including emergency service personnel, authorised or nominated by the company or industry to: approve specified work direct specified work or functions inspect specified work perform specified work or functions. |
Hazards that must be identified and reported include: | biological hazards chemical hazards, including unlabelled chemicals and substances environmental hazards, such as: noise radiation untidy work areas vibration ergonomic or mechanical hazards, such as those associated with electrical and mechanical faults of plant and equipment, including mobile plants physical hazards, such as: electrical obstructions or blocked exits slippery or uneven floors psychological hazards. |
Health and safety records must include documented: | first aid and medical post records hazardous substances registers health surveillance and workplace environmental monitoring records maintenance and testing reports manufacturer and supplier information, including SDS and dangerous goods storage lists health and safety audits and inspection reports records of instruction and training safety bulletins or notices workers’ compensation and rehabilitation records. |
Sectors
Common