Social occupational health and safety practice
Develop systems for occupational health and safety management practice
Unit standard 5615
Assessment task 1
Audit of health and safety system and records
Your audit must include the following steps:
- determine any organizational requirements for the access to and documentation of workplace health and safety systems and records. You must follow the organizational requirements of your workplace or work placement.
- Document details of the records and information stored in these health and safety systems. At a minimum your audit of systems and records must include:
Accident records, policies, standards, job description, procedures, training records, manuals, inventories, hazard registers, any other health and safety systems used in your workplace.
- Establish and document your organizations standards for records and information for each of the health and safety systems. These standards may relate to industry specific or internal standards, codes of practice, legislation or regulations, conventions, new Zealand and overseas standards for areas such as health and safety at work, accident compensation, management of resources, and conservation of the environment.
- Establish and document the main legislative requirements for each of these systems.
- Compare the records and information you documented on each of the systems with the organizational and legislative requirements you identified. Document the gaps identified.
- Provide an explanation of the degree to which each system covered by the audit meets organizational standards and legislative requirements.(recording only whether or not requirements were met does not meet the requirements for the audit
Document |
Audit |
Organization’s standards |
Legislative requirements |
Comparison of organizational and legislative Requirements |
Accident records |
Accident and near misses are recorded in the accident or incident register. Accident form hold details such as: date, time, place that the accident or incident happen, who was involved, how the accident takes place, what injuries were sustained. |
Blank forms are available from the health and safety officer, organizational requirement is for forms to be completed and checked by the health and safety officer, |
All organization must keep a register of all accidents that occur in the workplace. There can be a variety of incidents that occur at Auckland city ministry that require we keep a record of what has occurred to ensure the safety of all people involved |
Mostly met organization require the accident and near misses will be recorded on an accident report form, but there is few thins missing in the form like details of the accident and the further actions for solution. |
Standards |
It is a file that written the requirements, specifications and guidelines for staff. |
A type of standards try to make sure the safety of products and services can help employees work safe. Might describe as what staff need to do in safe way. It provide a good work environment without risk of injury, illness or death for the employees: Safe place of work Safe system of work Safe plant and machinery Competent staff |
Regulations 1985 & Fire safety & evacuation of building regulations 2006-the health and disability services standards set requirement for employees have disabilities.-ACOP for the management of noise in the workplace |
Met Organization standards provide a good and safe work environment for staff. It including noise control, fire evacuation, smoke free and comfortable safe environment. Legislative requirement specific industry standards in the industry, for example: the health and disability services standards. |
Policy and procedures |
Policy: guidelines or rules that require certain behaviour or actions. Procedure: sequence of activities or steps to be followed. |
There are procedures to guide the staff how to perform services in the workplace and be safe to avoid injury or accident to staff or customers. |
-fire safety and evacuation of Buildings Regulations 2006. Health and safety in employment act 1992 Health and safety in employment regulations 1995. Human rights act 1993 Smoke-free environment act 1990 The employers must provide safety work place for employees the organizations must have procedures and policies to ensure the safety of employees. |
Mostly met The organization requirement is make sure there is correct policy and procedures to help staff perform in the work and provide the safe work place. But there are few things missing in the fire legislative requirement is to have procedures and policies in place to ensure the safety of employees. |
Manuals |
Manuals are written guides that usually cover the specific processes related to an aspect of health and safety , a folder that contains a number of different policies and procedures related to health and safety |
This have manual books to guide the staff how to use equipment and perform correct in the work. |
Health and safety act 1992 Safe, health and welfare at work regulations 2007, identification of hazards. Employer required to investigate and determine significant hazard, -hazardous substances and new organisms act 1992 |
Met Manuals are available for staff to check and it have different policies and procedures related to health and safety guides that cover the specific processes related to an aspect of health and safety. |
Hazard registers |
Hazard register is a tool to record all hazard/potential hazards identified in workplace. It is normal to record whether the hazard has been eliminated, isolated, or minimized. |
All homes be risk assessed to identify the hazards and risks to the staff, clients and visitors. The organization will identify, assess, and manages the actual and potential hazards particularly to our workplace and over which it has authority or influence. |
Hazardous substance regulation 2001 Injury prevention rehabilitation and compensation act 2001. |
Not met. Organizational standards is that the hazard register should be up to date and reviewed by the health and safety officer, but founded that the register was outdated and no details or further action for hazards. Legislative workplaces should make sure that there are effective methods in place for identifying hazards that may affect employees at work . They must also identify ways to assess these hazards. |
Job descriptions |
It includes job title and the responsibilities for health and safety, the specific health and safety responsibilities. |
All employee job description are clearly outlined and had a section on health and safety. The reequipments is for health and safety responsibilities to be included in all employee job description |
Health and safety act 1992 Job description that contain health and safety responsibilities and expectations that are clearly described in their contract. |
Met The organization job description include the employee’s responsibilities in health and safety system and heath and safety expectations of the employee. Legislative require job descriptions must contain health and safety responsibilities and expectations in the contract. |
Training records |
There is legal requirements to keep records of traning. |
All employees should be adequately trained to complete their work safety according to the health and safety in employment act. |
The Occupational health and safety awareness training provides a basic understanding of theOccupational Health and Safety Act(OHSA), and does not replace any sector specific, hazard specific, or competency specific training. The Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training regulation requires health and safety awareness training for every worker and supervisor underOntario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act(OHSA). The regulation came into force July 1, 2014. |
Met All the staff are well trained here. |
Inventories |
The Type of health and safety items kept as inventory will vary by type of business. |
There are many inventories here, they are first aid kits, and fire extinguisher, emergency damn, fall risk, cell phone tracle safety. |
|
Met The inventories here are all met the requirement of the legislation. |
Assessment task 2
Develop a plan for improvements to occupational health and safety systems
In this task you are required to use the results of your workplace health and safety audit to determine an order of priority for the improvement of systems. Once you have established the order of priority, you are to develop and document a plan covering all systems that have not met requirements.
Your plan must include:
- Identification and prioritisation of systems not meeting organizational standards. Prioritisation must be completed based on:
The degree of compliance with relevant legislation and standards
Assessment of the significance of hazards
Cost-benefit analysis
- Proposed strategies and corrective actions for each of the non-complaint systems in line with the organizational culture of your workplace. When considering the type of corrective action needed you must take into account.
Size and location of the workplace
Financial viability of the organization
Existing management systems
Commitment to ISO or other quality management
Your plan, including your proposed strategies and corrective actions, must be approved by your workplace supervisor or manager.
Health and safety system |
Degree of compliance/conformity |
Assessment of hazard/risk |
Cost-benefit analyze |
Accident records |
Mostly compliance with health and safety legislation. But no further actions for the hazard management to solve the problem. |
High risk as the further actions have not been done, so the accident might happen again. |
The cost of training and re-design the form is low. The benefit for safety and met legislation is high. |
standards |
The document for safe&proper storage&disposal of work must be followed |
Risk of harm for staff and residents, no evidence to cover yourself. |
The cost of making standard is low, but the benefit is high. |
Policy and procedures |
No procedure to infection control |
High risk Many clients suffer from diarrhea so if there is no infection control procedures for the staff member to follow, it will be cause cross infection and potential hazards in the workplace. |
The cost of developing policy and procedure is low. The benefits for met legislative requirements are high. The benefits to minimi sing the risk is high. |
manuals |
There are some pages missing for how to follow the infection control steps. |
Medium risk |
The cost of developing a policy and procedures is low. But it have large benefit for the residents and staff members to protect theirselves. |
Training records |
The work place require training records, haven’t completed training records in last six month. |
Compliant in organizational requirements, employees have had the appropriate training for their roles in the organization. |
The cost of training staff is low, but the benefit for the whole organization is high. |
Hazard register |
A hazard register was in place, but there were no records to show what had been done to eliminate, isolate, or minimi se each identified hazards. |
The risk of injury is high if hazards are not being eliminated, isolated and minimi sed. |
The cost of compliance will vary according to hazards. There is a significant potential cost through in potential injury, there is a legal obligation to do everything practicable to provide a safe work place for employee-so hazard must be managed. |
Job description |
Health and safety were included in standard employee contracts. However, organizational requirements for health and safety responsibilities to be included in all employee job description contracts. |
Not compliance. High fix to employer to employee contract. Not base on the health and safety, just focus on the job. |
The cost of fix the job description is low but the benefit is high. |
Strategy: to develop health and safety responsibility section in staff’s job description and contract.
Correct actions:
– review staff’s job description and contract,
-.find template in accordance with legislative requirements,
– Confirm with legal ad visor
-Complete health and safety responsibilities section into staff’s job description contract.
– develop a plan to address staffing numbers
-ensure all staff can manage stress well
-health and safety records on organization might be need to keep.
Health and safety act 1992
Duties relating to health and safety in employment, duties of employers in relation to hazards management.
How to identify the hazard:
a, every employer should ensure that there are in place effective methods for manage the hazard.
b, systematically identifying ex sting hazards to employee’s at work.
c, systematically identifying if possible before, and otherwise us, they arise new hazards to employees at work.
d, regularly assessing each hazards identified, and determine whether or not it is a significant hazards.
Strategies for the problem:
develop policies and procedures, health and safety responsibilities in the job description, how we develop things to do infection control, health and safety section in the fixed contract.
Promote health wellbeing in workplace, how we do that
Educate staff how to handle challenge behaviour
Ensure all identified hazard in organization avoided.
Evacuation: natural disaster, training records, document, fires, educate staff fire procedures, ensure staff all trained in fire day.
The company is small size that consists full time staffs and around 20 contracts. Due to the company is facing tough financial time and the feature of their service delivery, the strategy and corrective actions are considered as necessary and economic.
Cultural difference is taken inti account, because of most of staff are from overseas and have english as a second language. A introduction training may be hold if needed. It aims to ensure all staffs receive correct and adequate information about health and safety responsibility. In addition, if the english is difficult for some overseas staff understand, a translation copy could be given, furthermore, a training record is highly recommended as an evidence should the organization ‘s actions which follow the legislative requirements.
Reference list:
Health and safety in employment act 1992, retrieved from www. http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1992/0096/latest/whole.html
Health and safety awareness training for workers, retrieved from http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/training/
Cite This Work
To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:
Related Content
All TagsContent relating to: "health and safety"
There is a clear link between staff health and wellbeing at work and health and safety. A safe work environment is the start of ensuring that your staff can be safe and well at work.
Related Articles