Understanding Health And Safety Duties Of PCBUs In The Workplace – WHS Regulations

PCBUs

1. Explain the definition of and roles and responsibilities for each of the following in relation to health and safety in the workplace

The candidate’s response should be reflective of the following:

PCBUs:

A PCBU is the primary responsibility holder under the WHS Act and takes the place of the word ’employer’. In addition to the Commonwealth and its agencies, PCBUs contain non-Commonwealth licensees, as well. Any company or initiative that requires administration or control of a workplace will be subject to the PCBU definition. Identifying the person in charge of a workplace is a matter of fact that must be evaluated based on the specifics of each situation (SA, 2022).

Officers: 

To ensure that the PCBU is in compliance with the WHS Act and WHS Regulations, officers, such as company directors, must undertake due diligence. For example, ensuring that the firm or enterprise has suitable mechanisms for compliance with both the need to consult employees and the obligation to consult, cooperate as well as coordinate with other stakeholders. 

Workers: A worker’s primary obligation is to protect his or her own health and safety, as well as the health and safety of others around them.

HSRs:

Worker health and safety issues might be represented by a Health and Safety Representative (HSR). A request from a worker necessitates the formation of work groups to assist the election. The PCBU must confer with HSRs in the event that they have been elected.

HSCs:

An HSC is a group comprised of employees and upper-level management tasked with assisting in the creation and revision of occupational health and safety policies and procedures. When the PCBU receives a request from a HSR or five or more employees, an HSC must be created (WHS, 2022).

1. How can managers/team leaders develop their understanding of health and safety legislation and regulations relevant to their state/ territory and to their industry? 

Finding a state’s official law online may help managers and team leaders better grasp their state’s health and safety regulations. Health and safety information relevant to a manager or team leader’s state of residence can be better understood by extensively examining these papers and having an in-depth grasp of them. If the manager does not choose to search for the necessary papers independently, he or she may contact human resources at their place of employment or even contact a local office of government (SA, 2022). 

1. According to the SafeWork SA website www.safework.sa.gov.au what do the South Australia work health and safety laws require a PCBU to immediately report to SafeWork SA? 

People conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) are required to offer and maintain a work environment free of health and safety hazards, including: ensuring that there are no health or safety risks in the workplace. buildings and plants that are safe to use. safe methods of doing business. They are required to report any fatalities or certain injuries, dangerous incidents or report COVID-19 cases which occur due to the result of conducting organizational operations (SA, 2022). 

1. What does the SafeWork SA website consider to be a notifiable incident?

A notifiable incident is something which include serious injury or illness (spinal injury, infections, etc.), dangerous in nature (uncontrolled escape, electric shock, etc.) or COVID cases, etc. Basically, it is something which results in death of person or exposes someone to possibility of serious risk, also in case of situation where no one is injured (WHS, 2O22). 

1. In approximately 1 paragraph, explain SafeWork SA’s purpose 

SafeWork SA is South Australia’s workplace health and safety, public safety, and state-based labour relations agency. Workers’ health and safety and public safety are regulated by their inspectors, who take necessary action when laws are broken. Worker health and safety is also a major focus of SafeWork SA’s efforts. There is no charge for the services provided by Work Health and Safety Advisors to businesses and their employees; health and safety advocates; and industry (SA, 2022). 

1. A PCBU has a duty to consult with their workers about work health and safety and may also have duties to consult, cooperate and coordinate with other duty holders, what document could they refer to from SafeWork SA regarding their consultation responsibilities? 

Officers

PCBU is required to refer to the applicable Codes of Practice and Australian Standards as pursuant to the practice guidance for upholding their duties with respect to consultation of responsibilities (WHS, 2022). 

1. What document can those who are working in the Community Services Industry refer to when requiring clarification of their regulatory requirements? 

In case of seeking clarification pursuant to any regulatory requirements, the Community Services industry refer to Work health and safety guidelines for community service. The full legal requirements are provided in WHS Regulations Chapter 3, Part 1 (SA, 2022). 

1. According to the Community Workers – Work health and Safety Guidelines, what are 2 responsibilities a worker must uphold?

The worker is required to undertake reasonable care for protecting their own health and safety. Also, they are required to use the equipment which is provided by employer with reasonable instructions (WHS, 2022). 

1. The PCBU has a duty of care to protect workers and clients from infectious diseases. Clients have a duty of care to protect workers. Workers also have a duty to inform their supervisor if they have a heightened risk of infection or have an infection that could be spread. Identify the 2 major approaches to managing the risk of infection: 

The main approaches to managing the risk of infection include immunization such as that of Hepatitis B and training the workers pursuant to the infection control procedures. Standard Precautions are the practices are required to be followed in order to maintain a minimal degree of infection control. Infectious waste material, laundry, and sharp objects should all be handled and disposed of properly, as should hand washing and other protective barriers (such as gloves, masks, apron and goggles, etc.). Irrespective of a patient’s perceived infectious condition, all blood and other bodily fluids must be handled with standard precautions (SA, 2022). 

1. Identify a minimum of 4 standard precautions that can be put into place to minimise infection control:

In order to minimise infection control, there are several standard precautions which are required to be taken such as handwashing protocol, following standards of precautions, developing safe food handling procedures, as well as inculcating protocols for handing blood and spills including body fluids (WHS, 2022). 

1. Using the Community Workers – Work health and Safety Guidelines as a reference explain the definition of a Hazardous manual task:

Hazardous manual tasks are referred to as activities which require an individual to use their body for conducting operations or performing work. These basically include indulging musculoskeletal system such as pushing, carrying, restraining something, lowering, lifting, etc. and also include repetitive actions to carry out work, indulging sustained postures and exposing to various vibrations so caused (SA, 2022). 

1. Identify 4 hazards that are common to the community services environment?

The common hazards

Hazard is something which is likely to cause an injury or illness to the individual. The four possible types of hazards which may be common within the community service environment are worn steps, heavy loads, faulty electrical equipment, hazardous substances, etc.

1. How can you minimise hazards in the workplace?

The ways through which hazards can be minimized within the workplace are-

• Conducting a safety which before any worker stats work within the new client’s place,
• Seeking prior information from several agencies such as using Client Referral
• Undertaking WHS meetings
• Encouraging workers to report hazards such that appropriate steps or measures can be undertaken. 

1. The WHS policy in your workplace is a written statement of your organisation’s commitment to WHS. Identify approximately 5 key aspects that your WHS should include:

Workplace health, safety, and welfare (WHS/OHS) is a broad field of legislation that encompasses many different aspects of workplace health, safety, and well-being.

Preventive measures and the demand for safe working conditions are at the core of this approach. Outside of the workplace, it also refers to work activities on structures, facilities and equipment such as machinery and vehicles. If an organisation wants to achieve its commitment to health and safety at work, it must have a WHS Policy in place that lays out its goals, beliefs, and obligations (WHS, 2022). This is also a selling point for businesses, showcasing the health and safety benefits they give to their personnel. The various key aspects which can be included in WHS policy are-

• Risk assessments procedures
• Processes with respect to consultation with employees.
• Maintaining plant and equipment.
• Information, instruction and supervision relating to work and safety processes.
• Responsibility and delegation of authority across departments, levels
• Worker/staff training 

1. Identify 5 organisational WHS policies and procedures and/or processes that are relevant to Human Resources

Human resource is one of the important components of any organization and WHS policies and procedures are likely to involve-

• Policies relating to promoting physical as well as psychological health within the workplace
• Ensuring that training and education is effectively provided to the individuals in position with the responsibilities and accountability with also including personal safety
• Reporting guidelines pursuant to the positions, performance development as well as process planning
• Ensuring a culture wherein employees are encouraged for discussing health and safety issues
• Inculcating and communicating policies for communication having initiatives and programs with culture of “zero harm” 

1. Describe the links between hazard identification, risk assessment and the hierarchy of risk control.

Workers

Workplace health, safety, and welfare (WHS/OHS) is a broad field of legislation that encompasses many different aspects of workplace health, safety, and well-being.

Preventive measures and the demand for safe working conditions are at the core of this approach. Outside of the workplace, it also refers to work activities on structures, facilities and equipment such as machinery and vehicles. If an organisation wants to achieve its commitment to health and safety at work, it must have a WHS Policy in place that lays out its goals, beliefs, and obligations. This is also a selling point for businesses, showcasing the health and safety benefits they give to their personnel. This is how identifying hazards will help the organization to inculcate policies and procedures for risk assessment and thereby help in maintain risk control (SA, 2022). 

1. What is the PCBU’s requirements for reporting notifiable incidents

In the event of an incident involving a worker or volunteer, the PCBU must be notified immediately and in writing. By phone, call 1300 365 255 or 1800 777 209 (emergency line 24 hours/7days a week), or fax 8204 9200, the PCBU must notify SafeWork SA promptly following an event. More information on reporting incidents may be found in Sections 35-39 of the WHS Act.) Each notifiable occurrence must be recorded for at least five (5) years by the PCBU [according to the WHS Act, Section 38 (7)] (SA, 2022).

1. What is the purpose of Incident investigation and who should be involved?

The investigation’s goal is not to find out who is to blame, but rather to put in place procedures to prevent similar occurrences in the future. Everyone may benefit from a risk management strategy that collects and analyses event data to identify and control risks. Incident investigators are tasked with figuring out what went wrong in order to reach their conclusion. In most cases, the event is investigated by the supervisor on the site. Nonetheless, the best investigator for any event is a safety specialist with extensive experience (WHS, 2022). 

1. Identify 5 things that should be considered when investigating an incident?

There are several aspects which might be considered while investigating any incident include-

• The first thing to assess who is involved within the incident
• It is also required to be assessed as to where and when it occurred
• It is required to be determined what task are required to be performed while investigation such that no steps are skipped
• Further, how the incident occurred is another major aspect to be considered
• Thereafter, identifying what were the events which lead to the accident are assessed

For each of the identified hazard, risk assessment is conducted and relevant measures are undertaken (WHS, 2022). 

1. What document are you likely to complete if you have reported/witnessed an incident? 

Whenever any incident is witnessed or reported, the documents for safety check in FORM 6, collecting information from agencies in FORM 5, encouraging workers for reporting hazards in FORM 7, thereafter filing Incident or Injury report in FORM 3. Further, the hazard log is filed in FORM 8, thus these are the documents to be filed while reporting or witnessing any incident (WHS, 2022). 

1. Health and safety legislation includes requirements for both consultation and recordkeeping. What are the benefits to the workplace of compliance with these requirements? 

Management and employers must communicate with employees before making any changes that may have an impact on a worker’s well-being and safety (WHS), such as extending service hours and provide after-hours support services. Consultation is difficult since employees in the community do not all work at the same place. The consultation procedure’ formality will be determined by the organization’s size. WHS committees and/or HSRs may be established in larger organisations. WHS should be a regular topic of discussion at all levels of an organisation, large or small. Record keeping is an essential part of ensuring the WHS system is working properly and identifying opportunities for improvement. A frequent evaluation of the record keeping procedures is also necessary in order to assure compliance and appropriateness and to pinpoint opportunities for improvement (SA, 2022). 

1. identify a minimum of 5 WHS records that will need to be completed to ensure your organisation maintains a quality documentation system: 

HSRs

Record keeping helps in ensuring compliance procedures within an organization effectively and WHS records which are required to be completed to ensure that organization maintain a quality level documentation system are-

First aid records

Injury/incident reports and investigations

Training records

Hazard report forms

Major incident/dangerous occurrence reports filed to SafeWork SA 

1. It is essential that you and your workers have a plan in place for addressing foreseeable emergencies. This will include the office area, client homes and community venues visited. What issues should be considered when planning for emergencies? 

If all the issues are considered when planning for emergencies, the risks pertaining to the incidents are redressed-fires, medical emergencies, motor vehicle incidents, electric shocks, security breaches, etc. This will further include several factors to be considered, preventing fires, checking file detection system, identifying obvious electrical faults, etc. It is thereby required that emergency procedures are included within staff induction process. The above-mentioned emergency processes, as well as others that the Organisation may identify, are all potential emergency procedures. To ensure that all employees and contractors are conversant with these practices, on-going training should be offered (SA, 2022). 

1. If you find you need help to address specific WHS issues, who could you seek assistance from?

Any areas where practice needs to be improved or rules and procedures need to be updated may be discovered throughout the evaluation. The annual WHS plan will be based upon the results of these evaluations, that may be a separate plan or part of the overall business strategy. At any point during the process of review and improvement, the employer or SafeWork SA can provide support to resolve particular WHS concerns. WorkCoverSA and Employers Mutual Limited give information on workers’ compensation as well as rehabilitation. This is also a good idea to connect with other organisations that care for people in their homes and/or the community (WHS, 2022).

1. In a couple of sentences, explain what a hazard is:

It is becoming more and more common for people to get basic care, support, or help in their own homes rather than in a residential facility. A larger need for services that allow individuals to remain in their homes as they age or have a handicap grows as the population ages. The diverse variety of service providers, such as caregivers, nurses, cleaners, housekeepers, property maintenance workers, and pharmacies, shows that there is an enhanced need for advice in managing work health and safety (WHS) difficulties that emerge while delivering a service in homes or communities. Employers, workers, contractors, as well as clients, confront a variety of WHS and other dangers, as well as their respective WHS duties. Keeping workers safe is the primary purpose of hazard management in the workplace. Educate them on the need of fleeing a dangerous situation if their safety is in jeopardy (SA, 2022). Any object that has the potential to injure or destroy property is considered a danger. The possibility that such harm or damage will befall someone or something is known as a risk. The disability services industry has a number of well-documented dangers that can affect both personnel and customers. In order to prevent workplace injuries, businesses are required to create risk assessment as well as control systems. Each of the dangers listed in the menu has a recognised control strategy. Control strategies for many hazards and dangers are well-established and widely recognised. The second step of formally assessing the risk is unnecessary in these cases. There are times when one may simply put in place the necessary controls after determining that a hazard exists. Every step of the way, workers should be included in the decision-making process. Designing and planning goods, processes, and workspaces with a focus on risk management is critical, as it makes it easier and more cost-effective to remove potential risks before they even enter the workplace. Workers in disability service providers may confront dangers on a daily basis because of the nature of their profession. Many of these dangers may be anticipated, thus precautions should be taken. Several elements, including the predictability of the danger and exposure frequency, determine the amount of risk associated with the hazard. It is indeed important for a service provider to consider whether or not this level of risk is acceptable given the aims of the programme or service before implementing safeguards. There will always be some danger even with a thorough assessment and suitable training when walking with a client who has some mobility issues, but it is frequently necessary to maintain a degree of independence and health and cannot be removed (WHS, 2022). 

1. What is the definition of a risk:

HSCs

In case of community organisations may fulfil their responsibilities to customers while also protecting the health and safety of their employees. If there is any uncertainty about this and the safety of employees looks to be in jeopardy, a risk assessment and a risk management strategy must be developed. Most typically, the term ‘risk’ is used to refer to an individual’s potential for injury or negative health impacts when exposed to a hazardous situation. The WHS Act and Regulations mandate that everyone who has a responsibility to safeguard the health and safety of others “manage risks” by eliminating or minimising health and safety hazards to the extent that this is reasonably possible. A danger presents a potential for harm, such as death, injury, or sickness. Risk management is the process of taking steps to reduce or eliminate hazards to people’s health and safety to the greatest extent feasible, if that is not achievable. When a danger is removed, its related hazards are likewise removed. The people who run and manage a business or enterprise must be committed to health and safety in order for risk management to be effective (SA, 2022). 

1. In a few sentences explain the principles of risk analysis:

Identifying potential dangers in the workplace is the primary goal of a risk assessment. Tasks, applications, tools, and ambient factors can all be sources of danger. A danger is something that has the potential to be harmful, in other words. The possibility of damage occurring is what we mean by “risk.” Hazard identification, risk analysis, and control selection are described under the phrase risk assessment.

It is important to note that the final step in the risk assessment process is the implementation of control measures. Effective risk management necessitates the use of risk assessments as a key management tool. Workplace injuries and illnesses can be reduced and even prevented if there are appropriate risk assessments for WHS. It is your responsibility as an employer to evaluate the hazards to the health and safety of the employees. Complete risk assessments for physical, mental, chemical, and biological dangers to ensure the safety of your employees. One can make the workplace a safer place to work for everyone by being aware of your WHS duties, understanding risk assessments and why they are necessary, and learning how to conduct risk assessments at the workplace (SA, 2022).

It is recommended that control measures and risk assessments be reviewed every two years at the very least to ensure that they are still relevant and effective.

In order to implement this WHS strategic plan, frequent safety audits, workplace inspections, employee consultations, and evaluations of incident investigations are necessary. Risk management should be included into every aspect of the workplace and a component of the safety culture and leadership. Safety risk management is critical to the future sustainability of all organisations, and risk analysis is a critical component of this management. Once a danger has been identified, it is necessary to conduct a risk assessment to establish the likelihood of injury, harm, or damage. If a danger has a high chance of injuring or ill-treating someone, then the risk of that hazard has to be properly managed. The process of hazard and risk management includes risk analysis at every stage. Using risk analysis to prioritise the order in which to manage risks is useful since the community services environment contains several threats that must be handled (SA, 2022). 

1. In a few sentences, explain the principles of risk assessment:

Notifiable Incidents

The principles which can be included in case of risk assessment are- avoiding risk wherever possible, carrying out detailed risk assessment process, tacking actions for reducing risks, wherever possible. For safety risk, risk management presents a multitude of essential concepts that can serve as an effective guide. Many of these ideas are mirrored in the hierarchy of controls that have been established to help workers avoid or limit risk associated with certain activities, like working at heights or being exposed to loud noises at work, method to risk identification, analysis, evaluation and control must be developed. Process safety risk is progressively being included in the list of regulatory requirements for organisations as part of occupational health and safety regulation. It will be necessary to scale the approach to risk management based on the identified dangers, the severity and likelihood of an adverse occurrence, and the possible implications they have on the business. When it comes to risk management, the human element may add an additional uncertainty factor to each of the risk management phases, which might have unexpected implications. The word “risk management” indicates that risk is being controlled, yet there will always be some degree of risk, and with that comes the possibility of failure (WHS, 2022). 

1. Identify approximately 5 strategies you can use to identify Hazards:

As a safety leader, the primary responsibility is to identify and mitigate workplace dangers. Safety leaders must do all in their power to keep their employees safe on the job, regardless of whether the dangers they face are overt or more subtle. In order to establish a safe working environment for team members, health and safety specialists must focus on reducing and eliminating potential dangers on the job site. There are several strategies which can be used to identify hazards are-

• Monitoring, measuring as well as testing work environment like electrical testing, atmospheric testing based upon past events or risk occurrences
• Identification hazards by legislation, regulation and standards
• Analysing new or modified plant layout
• Conducting risk analysis and undertaking surveys
• Reviewing product information such as operating manuals, safety data sheets.

These will help in identifying hazards in timely manner and thereby formulate strategies in that market. 

1. In approximately 1 paragraph, explain what is meant by risk management: 

Workplace health and safety risk management (WHSRM) is a methodical approach to tackling workplace dangers. Preventative measures are used to identify any possible hazards in the workplace, such as moving components in equipment, poisonous substances, or hazardous manual handling jobs.

Identifying the severity of the danger and determining how likely it is that it will result in a major injury, sickness, or death is the foremost step. Reducing or eliminating the danger (such as build equipment differently, add machine guards) or limiting the risk from the hazard (e.g. use safer chemicals, provide lifting mechanisms to minimise physical handling or use personal protection equipment) is another step. Assessing the effectiveness of risk management strategies by doing regular evaluations, monitoring, and reviews is required to be undertaken after risk assessment to manage the same (SA, 2022). 

1. What is the hierarchy of control? Identify and briefly explain the five risk control measures of the hierarchy of control in order. Provide an example of each measure. 

The hierarchical control system is used to manage workplace hazards. Using a step-by-step strategy, the hierarchy of control reduces and protects in it classifies risk from the highest level down to the lowest level. The inverted triangle hierarchy is broken down into five categories. Elimination is the greatest degree of control, followed by substitution, thereby engineering controls, administrative controls, and finally personal protective equipment. From the most absolute management to the least efficient, the hierarchy of control is- 

SafeWork SA

The most effective way to keep employees safe at work is to limit their exposure to potential dangers. It has long been accepted that a hierarchy of controls is the best method for identifying how to deploy realistic and effective control systems. Even while eliminating and substituting can have the greatest impact on lowering risks, they are sometimes the most complex to apply in an established process. Hazards can be eliminated and substituted during the design or development stage, which can be cost-effective. For example, to remove or replace a danger in an existing process, considerable equipment and technique modifications may be necessary (SA, 2022).

Within workplace, engineering controls are preferred over administrative and personal protective equipment (PPE) as they are meant to remove the danger at its source, preventing it from coming into touch with the worker. Engineering controls that are well-thought-out and well-designed may be quite successful in keeping employees safe, and this degree of protection is often independent of worker involvement. For example, it is like installing machine guards to protect employees from airborne pollution while implementing an instance engineering control. Since it creates a physical barrier between employees and the danger, it is an effective engineering control that may be installed without involving them in any manner. However, long-term operating costs are often cheaper, and in certain cases, cost benefits in other aspects of the process can be provided by engineering controls that are initially more expensive than administrative controls or personal protective equipment (PPE).  For instance, administrative activities alter how people go about their daily tasks. Instead of reducing the hazard, this technique reduces the risk of exposure. Because of the continued presence of a potential threat, this approach is viewed as less successful than the others. Aside from human error, no control, no matter how strict, can ensure that employees are not exposed to unacceptable levels of risk. Administrative controls include personnel training, the installation of signs and warning labels, and the modification of procedures (WHS, 2022). 

Where dangers are not properly managed, administrative controls and personal protective equipment (PPE) are commonly implemented in conjunction with existing operations. Over time, administrative controls and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) programmes may be quite expensive to maintain. In addition to being less effective, these techniques of worker protection need a large amount of work on the part of those who would be affected. 

1. In a few sentences, explain how the Community Services – Work health and safety guidelines can provide you with examples of health and safety benchmarks. 

Through the recognition of the importance of constants or incremental improvements, benchmarking provides a chance for continuous improvement to enhance organisational change. It is possible to empower those involved in the enhancement of workplace health and safety measures to identify and execute necessary process improvements. Workplace health and safety practises may benefit from benchmarking as well since it can help organisations identify and implement more efficient processes, techniques, procedures, including performance levels (WHS, 2022).

 Identify approximately 10 strategies you could implement in the workplace to ensure you maintain WHS: 

The strategies which are helpful to implement in the workplace to ensure maintenance of WHS-

• Training employees effectively through appropriate training and development programs
• Rewarding employees with safe behaviour
• Partnering with occupational clinicians
• Using labels and signs
• Keeping things clean
• Making sure employees have the right tools and have regular equipment inspection
• Encouraging proper breaks are provided to the employees
• Enhancing two-way communication
• Implementing safety protocols from the very start
• Having regular meetings in workplace safety

References 

SA, 2022. [online] Safework.sa.gov.au. Available at: <https://www.safework.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/140772/Community-Workers-work-health-and-safety-guidelines.pdf> [Accessed 2 April 2022].

WHS, 2022. [online] Comcare.gov.au. Available at: <https://www.comcare.gov.au/about/forms-publications/documents/publications/safety/incident-notification-guide.pdf> [Accessed 2 April 2022].

WHS, 2022. WHS Hazards and risks. [online] IDF NSW. Available at: <https://idfnsw.org.au/whs-hazards-and-risks#:~:text=A%20hazard%20is%20anything%20with,injury%20or%20damage%20will%20occur.> [Accessed 2 April 2022].