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Student Workbook

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BSBWHS401 Implement and monitor


WHS policies, procedures and programs
to meet legislative requirements

Part of a suite of support materials for the

BSB Business Services Training Package

1st Edition 2015

Copyright and Trade Mark Statement


2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd
All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be
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email sales@ibsa.org.au.
Innovation and Business Skills Australia, IBSA and the IBSA logo are trade marks of IBSA.

Disclaimer

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Care has been taken in the preparation of the material in this document, but, to the extent permitted by law, IBSA and the
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(a)

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Published by: Innovation and Business Industry 1st edition published: May 2015
Skills Council Ltd
1st edition version: 1
Level 11
Release date: May 2015
176 Wellington Pde
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Phone: +61 3 9815 7000
Fax: +61 3 9815 7001
Email: reception@ibsa.org.au

www.ibsa.org.au

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ISBN: 978-1-925328-20-2
Stock code: BSBWHS4011W

Table of Contents
Getting Started ................................................................................................................... 1
Features of the training program................................................................................ 1
Structure of the training program ............................................................................... 1
Recommended reading ............................................................................................... 2
Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety .............................................................. 4
What skills and knowledge will you need?................................................................. 4
Harmonised health and safety legislation: OHS to WHS........................................... 5
What is work health and safety? ................................................................................ 7
Key WHS attitudes and behaviours ............................................................................ 9

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Section summary ....................................................................................................... 14

Section checklist........................................................................................................ 14

Section 2 Safety Management Systems ..................................................................... 15

What skills and knowledge will you need?............................................................... 15


Safety management systems ................................................................................... 15
Basic strategies in WHS ............................................................................................ 19
WHS roles ................................................................................................................... 30

Consultative structures ............................................................................................. 32


Communication systems ........................................................................................... 34

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Section summary ....................................................................................................... 36

Section checklist........................................................................................................ 37
Section 3 Know the Rules ............................................................................................ 38

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What skills and knowledge will you need?............................................................... 38

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Workplace health and safety authorities ................................................................. 38


Legislative framework ............................................................................................... 39

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Legal concepts ........................................................................................................... 43


Section summary ....................................................................................................... 45

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Section checklist........................................................................................................ 45

Section 4 Proactive Safety ........................................................................................... 46


What skills and knowledge will you need?............................................................... 46
Accidents, incidents and hazards ............................................................................. 47
Physical hazards ........................................................................................................ 48
Mechanical hazards .................................................................................................. 50
Psychosocial hazards ................................................................................................ 51
Chemical and biological hazards .............................................................................. 53
Sources of energy ...................................................................................................... 54
Environmental hazards ............................................................................................. 55
How are hazards caused? ......................................................................................... 55

Identify hazards ......................................................................................................... 58


Assess the risk ........................................................................................................... 63
Control the risk .......................................................................................................... 66
Issue resolution process ........................................................................................... 68
Section summary ....................................................................................................... 71
Section checklist........................................................................................................ 71
Section 5 Monitor and improve WHS performance.................................................... 72
What skills and knowledge will you need?............................................................... 72
Continuous improvement .......................................................................................... 73
Monitoring WHS ......................................................................................................... 75
Analysing aggregate safety data ............................................................................... 78

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Section summary ....................................................................................................... 84

Section checklist........................................................................................................ 84
Glossary ............................................................................................................................ 85

Appendices ....................................................................................................................... 88
Appendix 1: Safety management system survey ..................................................... 88

Appendix 2: Incident report form .............................................................................. 89

Appendix 3: Safety inspection form.......................................................................... 93


Appendix 4: Training matrix ...................................................................................... 96
Appendix 5: Standard operating procedure ............................................................. 97

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Appendix 6: Risk assessment form (JSA) ................................................................. 98

Student Workbook

Getting Started

Getting Started
Note: The terms occupational health and safety (OHS) and work health and safety
(WHS) are equivalent and generally either can be used in the workplace.

Features of the training program


The key features of this program are:
Student Workbook Self-paced learning activities to help you to develop an

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understanding of key concepts and terms. The Student Workbook is broken down
into several sections.
Facilitator-led sessions Challenging and interesting learning activities that can be

completed in the classroom or by distance learning that will help you consolidate
and apply what you have learned in the Student Workbook.

Assessment Tasks Summative assessments where you can apply your new skills

and knowledge to solve authentic workplace tasks and problems.

Structure of the training program

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This Student Workbook introduces you to. Specifically, you will develop the skills and
knowledge in the following topic areas:
Introduction to WHS

Know the rules

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Proactive safety

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Safety management systems

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Monitor and improve WHS performance.

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Your facilitator may choose to combine or split sessions. For example, in some cases, this
training program may be delivered in two or three sessions, or in others, as many as eight
sessions.

BSBWHS401 Implement and monitor WHS policies, procedures and programs to meet legislative requirements
2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd
1st edition version: 1
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Getting Started

Student Workbook

Recommended reading
The following print and online resources are recommended:

Print resources
Frick, K., Jensen, P., Quinlan, M. and Wilthagen, T., 2000, Systematic occupational

health and safety management, Pergamon Press, New York.


Standards Australia, 2001, AS/NZS 4804:2001 Occupational health and safety

management systems general guidelines on principles, systems and supporting


techniques.
Standards Australia, 2001, AS/NZS 4801:2001 Occupational health and safety

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management systems specification with guidance for use.

Standards Australia, 2009, AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk management

principles and guidelines.

Taylor, G. A., Easter, K. and Hegney, R., 2001, Enhancing safety: a workplace guide

1, 3rd edn, WestOne, Perth.

Online resources

Alder, J., 2007, Forklift death leads to $200,000 fine, Safety Culture, viewed May

2015, <http://www.safetyculture.com.au/news/index.php/06/forklift-death-leadsto-200000-fine>.

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Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (IEHF), 2010, Office work, Ergonomics

4 Schools, viewed May 2015,


<http://www.ergonomics4schools.com/lzone/office.htm>.

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NT Worksafe, viewed May 2015, <http://www.worksafe.nt.gov.au>.


Safe Work Australia, viewed May 2015,

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<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA>.

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Safe Work Australia, Worker fatalities, viewed May 2015,

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<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/statistics/work-relatedfatalities/pages/worker-fatalities>.
Safe Work Australia, 2012, Codes of practice and guidance material, viewed May

2015,
<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/about/publications/pages/code
s-of-practice-and-guidance-material-fact-sheet>.

Safe Work Australia, 2012, Guide to the model Work Health and Safety Act,

viewed May 2015,


<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/Documents
/717/Guide-to-the-WHS-Act.pdf>.

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Getting Started

Safe Work Australia, 2012, Key work health and safety statistics, Australia, viewed

May 2015,
<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/Documents
/677/Key_Work_Health_and_Safety_Statistics_Australia_2012.pdf>.
Safe Work Australia, 2015, First aid in the workplace, viewed May 2015,

<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/about/publications/pages/firstaid-in-the-workplace>.
SAI Global, viewed May 2015, <http://www.saiglobal.com>.
University of Oregon, 2005, Sport and wellness, International Institute for Sport

and Human Performance, vol. 3, nos. 12, viewed May 2015,


<https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/650/
SW_Vol3No1&2.pdf>.

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Washington University in St Louis, 2011, Back safety and lifting, Environmental

Health and Safety, viewed May 2015, <http://ehs.wustl.edu/resources/EHS


%20Documents/Back%20Safety%20and%20Lifting.pdf>.

Please note that any URLs contained in the recommended reading, learning content and
learning activities of this publication were checked for currency during the production
process. Note, however, IBSA cannot vouch for the ongoing currency of URLs.

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Every endeavour has been made to provide a full reference for all web links. Where URLs
are not current, we recommend using the reference information provided to search for
the source in your chosen search engine.

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2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd
1st edition version: 1
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Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety

Student Workbook

Section 1 Introduction to Work Health


Safety
Work health and safety (WHS) 1 can often appear very complicated, perhaps unnecessarily
so. The purpose of this section is to give you a solid foundation of knowledge of basic
WHS concepts, so that you can be ready to participate effectively in maintaining a safe
workplace.
Scenario: New job, new responsibilities

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Michael is a young business graduate and has been working at his new job for about
six months now. He has recently been given responsibility for managing a team and he
is a bit nervous about having to manage other people.
To make matters worse, his supervisor has advised him that management of the team
also involves management of work health and safety.

Michael is worried that the things that he learned in his business course havent really
prepared him for leading a team in workplace safety. He decides that he had better do
a review of some of the key concepts.

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What skills and knowledge will you need?


At the end of this section, you should be able to:

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explain recent changes to health and safety legislation

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inform a work team of why workplace health and safety is important

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identify and explain some of the key WHS attitudes and behaviours.

1 The terms occupational health and safety (OHS) and work health and safety (WHS) are equivalent and
generally either can be used in the workplace.

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Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety

Harmonised health and safety legislation: OHS to WHS


As a participant in the Australian workforce in a
role where you need to supervise or manage
others, you should be aware of recent changes to
the legislative environment. These may affect
your business or organisations approach to work
health and safety.

Jurisdiction
A jurisdiction is the territory or
area where an authority (such as
a government) has the power to
make legal decisions.

By agreement, the Commonwealth and state and


territory governments (which have constitutional responsibility for regulating work health
and safety in their respective jurisdictions) have endorsed and committed to enact laws
that reflect the model WHS Act developed for consultation by Safe Work Australia.

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Accordingly, the Work Health and Safety Act, based on the model Work Health and Safety
Act, was enacted by the Commonwealth in 2011. Many other jurisdictions have since
followed suit with their own mirror legislation.

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One of the main benefits of the WHS Act is that it


provides for a nationally consistent legal
framework of work health and safety standards
and obligations. Businesses and undertakings,
especially those operating across state borders,
will be able to apply one set of workplace
standards nationally and enjoy more certainty in
working out their health and safety obligations in
different state jurisdictions.

Legislation

Legislation is a law or a body of


laws. The WHS legislation in a
state or territory is all the laws
enacted specifically to control and
administer work health and
safety. For further information on
legislation, see page 39.

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While the general notion of different and shared


employer-employee responsibility to provide, maintain and contribute to a safe place of
work remains in the new legislation, there are significant changes involved in the move to
this legislation. The shift from OHS to WHS has moved away from a narrow focus on
separate employer and employee responsibilities for health and safety and moved
instead to a broader focus on the responsibility of all people at work to ensure a safe
workplace. Another change is the emphasis on risk management and greater focus on
putting practical, effective controls in place as opposed to a prior emphasis on the
completing of risk assessment paperwork.

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As well as a change in focus, new terminology has been added to the new legislation and
some definitions of existing terms have changed. For example, a person conducting a
business or undertaking (PCBU) refers to an individual or corporate entity with a
responsibility for providing a safe workplace. Individuals within a workplace, such as
owners, officers or workers will have defined individual duties with respect to for work
health and safety. To take another example, the definition of a health and safety
representative (HSR) now includes additional functions. These terms and other WHS
terms will be used throughout this Student Workbook and defined in more detail as
needed.
Note that, in jurisdictions that have not yet enacted mirror legislation, pre-existing
legislative frameworks and terms remain in effect. Note also that, while most information
contained in this Student Workbook applies to work health and safety in general, this
Student Workbook relies on concepts and uses terminology as used in the WHS Act.
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Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety

Student Workbook

For more information about the model WHS Act, and the progress of implementation, visit
Safe Work Australia: <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au>.
Learning activity: Guide to the model Work Health and Safety Act
Visit the Safe Work Australia website <http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au> and
download a copy of the Guide to the model Work Health and Safety Act.
Find the answers to the following questions:

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What are the major changes between OHS legislation in your jurisdiction and WHS
legislation?

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What is the purpose of the new legislation?

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Who are the main duty holders under the legislation?

What are their responsibilities?

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Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety

What is work health and safety?


Work health and safety (WHS) refers to the legislation, policies, procedures and activities
that aim to protect the health, safety and welfare of all people at the workplace.
Workplace safety doesnt just include owners, managers and employees, it also includes:
contractors
suppliers
visitors to the workplace.

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Simply put, WHS is about ensuring that all people at the workplace go home safe and
healthy at the end of each work day.

WHS legislative obligations

Under WHS legislation PCBUs are obliged to


provide:
safe premises

safe machinery and materials


safe systems of work

adequate information, instruction,

PCBU

Remember, a person conducting a


business or undertaking (PCBU)
refers to an individual or corporate
entity with a responsibility for
providing a safe workplace.

training and supervision

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a suitable working environment and facilities.

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PCBUs are also required to consult with employees directly, or indirectly, through
intermediaries on WHS issues. Consultation allows workers to provide input into
workplace practices that may affect their health and safety. Officers of a PCBU such as
managers or other persons in positions of authority have a general duty to work within
their areas of responsibility to ensure the PCBU complies with all aspects of WHS
legislation. Both PCBUs and officers may be fined and/or prosecuted for failure to comply
with legislation.

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Workers also have obligations under WHS legislation. They must take reasonable care for
their own health and safety as well as comply with reasonable PCBU instructions, policies
and procedures that are related to WHS, and they must help the PCBU comply with its
WHS obligations. Obligations under WHS legislation will be discussed in greater depth
throughout this Student Workbook as it is required for explanation and practical
application.

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Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety

Student Workbook

WHS statistics for Australia


According to Safe Work Australia, 185 people were killed at work across Australia in
2014. During 2013, 186 deaths occurred. 2
Other recent statistics released by Safe Work Australia 3 indicate that:
In 200809, there were 133,485 workers compensation claims for serious work-

related injuries or illnesses involving death, a permanent incapacity or temporary


incapacity leading to absence from work for a week or more. This equates to an
incidence rate of 13.5 serious claims per 1,000 employees.
Preliminary data for 200910 show there were 127,620 serious workers

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compensation claims, which equates to 12.6 serious claims per 1,000 employees.
While the final number of accepted claims for this year is likely to be around 3%
higher, this will still represent an improvement from 200809.
Male employees experienced nearly twice the rate of serious injury or disease

compared with female employees.

Incidence rates of serious workers compensation claims increase with

employee age.

The highest incidence rates were recorded by labourers and related workers; over

double the rate for all occupations.


Learning activity: WHS statistics

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Reflect on the statistics provided above. Do the statistics surprise you? Why? Why not?

What do the statistics mean:

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For the success of efforts to increase safety in the workplace?

For business success and the bottom line?

2 Safe Work Australia, Worker fatalities, Safe Work Australia, viewed May 2015,
<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/statistics/work-related-fatalities/pages/worker-fatalities>.
3 Safe Work Australia, 2012, Key work health and safety statistics, Australia, viewed May 2015,
<http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/
Documents/677/Key_Work_Health_and_Safety_Statistics_Australia_2012.pdf>.

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Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety

For mens health and safety

For older workers health and safety

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For labourers?

For you and your workers?

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Key WHS attitudes and behaviours

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Safety isnt just about complying with lists of rules and regulations. While these are
important, workplace safety requires much more from you than just complying with rules.
Think about the advertisements that say: Think it, talk it, work it, Safety for life, Safety
begins with you.

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In your efforts to make the workplace safer, it is essential that you and your team
embrace a number of key attitudes and behaviours that are part of modern workplace
safety. These include:

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embedded safety

a broad view of safety


follow-up on issues
safety as a value

knowing the costs of poor health and

safety
shared responsibility and ownership
a positive, can-do attitude.

Shared responsibility and ownership


Everyone in the workplace is responsible for safety. The systems and processes in the
workplace should encourage employees to take responsibility for their own safety.
As a supervisor or team leader, you need assist and guide people to understand the
reasons for safety and take ownership of them.

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Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety

Student Workbook

Example: Assisting people to understand speed limits


A warehouse team felt that the 5 km/h speed
limit at their workplace was unrealistic and
unnecessary. After all, most members of the
team had been driving forklifts for years and no
one had ever been killed.
The team leader was concerned about this and
discussed the issue with the safety advisor.
The safety advisor addressed the team at a
toolbox talk and presented the facts.

Toolbox talk

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The team was asked to identify where


they should apply the brakes when going
10 km/h in order to avoid hitting a
pedestrian.

It was revealed that each of the team


members would have seriously injured or
killed the pedestrian from the distance
they had chosen.

The term was created to


encourage workers to have a
regular safety talks when standing
around a tool box before starting
work in the morning.

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Following this, the team was asked to


agree on what the speed limit should be
in their work area. They all agreed on
5 km/h.

A toolbox talk is a short safety talk


that is given in the workplace (not
in a classroom) on a specific
subject.

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Follow up on issues

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One of the key success factors for making a workplace safer is following up with people
on safety issues.

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By following up with issues, it shows that you are committed and that you care about
workplace safety. It also reminds your team that they have a role to play in making safety
work.

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Following up on breaches of the basic rules of conduct is important. By following up on


these regularly, compliance becomes automatic. Most organisations have a code of
conduct which explains the standards of behaviour expected in the workplace.
If breaches of the code of conduct are allowed to occur without any consequence, the
code of conduct becomes meaningless.

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Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety

Tip: The hot stove principle


Always remember the hot stove principle, where compliance with standards or codes of
conduct is concerned. What happens when anyone touches a hot stove? They always
get burnt!
Breaches of safety and codes of conduct should be like touching a hot stove:
consistent
immediate
impersonal.

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As the team leader or supervisor, you need to ensure that the stove stays hot! You can
do this by following up on breaches immediately.

The concept of following up also includes acknowledging the positives and not just
disciplining negative actions. For example, if you follow up on issues raised by safety
improvements, risk assessments, safety observations, and toolbox talks, you can ensure
that your team will stay positive and focused on improving.

Safety as a value

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Employees need to view safety as a value, not as a priority. Why? Because priorities can
change, and this can often result in safety being pushed down the list of priorities. But
when safety is regarded as a value, it is becomes non-negotiable.

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For example, if you ask your colleagues if they would do something like steal from another
person, or do something fraudulent, they would most likely say that they would not
because it was unethical or illegal.

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You need to encourage employees need to have a similar outlook towards safety. Think of
it this way:

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Unsafe is unethical.

Embedded safety

Embedded safety is another concept of modern workplace safety. It means safety must
be an integrated part of all processes, not something that you think about later. Safety is
not an add-on or something that you get the WHS advisor to look at after all of the
important stuff is done.

Broaden your view of WHS


Safety is not just about factories and dangerous workplaces. There can be a tendency to
provide too narrow a definition of safety. In recent years, WHS has targeted nontraditional areas of safety such as workplace bullying and violence.

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Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety

Student Workbook

Costs of poor health and safety


It helps to understand the costs of unsafe work practices and factor these into your work.
A reason why safety is disregarded is because the costs not assessing risks to health and
safety are often not apparent until something goes wrong.
As a supervisor, if you can explain the consequences of not being safe to your managers,
you will have more success in improving workplace health and safety.
Direct and indirect costs

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There are direct and indirect costs of workplace


injuries. Like an iceberg, many of the costs of
injury and illness are hidden from view.
Direct costs

Initial treatment ambulance,

hospitalisation, bandages, etc.

Compensation reimbursement of medical

expenses; can be a minor payout, or can


extend to millions of dollars if a worker is
left with a disability.

Rehabilitation the costs of implementing a return to work program or changes

needed within the work environment to accommodate the workers return.

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Damage to property or equipment equipment replacement or repairs to a work

vehicle that was involved in an accident.


Indirect costs

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Lost work capacity some investigations will take place after the incident and

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require the shutdown of operations until the investigation has been completed.
Cost of replacing employees there are many hidden costs in employee

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replacement: delays, resulting in work piling up; costs associated with advertising
for, and interviewing, new staff; possible relocation of the replacement employee.
In addition, time is needed for the new person to acclimatise to the new job or
environment and certain skills and experience may be difficult to replace.

Decrease in morale workplace injuries can often have a negative effect on

morale, which can lead to decrease in output and quality of work, as well as
potentially contributing to further accidents.

Family the injured person may need both financial and emotional support,

especially if the worker was the primary income earner in his or her family.
Public relations negative perception of the company that results from an injury

or death can affect sales.


Community indirect costs associated with the loss of manpower both,

financially and psychologically, e.g. if the employee was the coach of the
under-10s football team, the team may need to employ a new coach.

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Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety

Think carefully about the costs involved. Make sure that you inform your superiors of the
costs of not working safely. The best solution is always the safest solution.

Safe Work Australia


The cost of serious injuries and even deaths at workplaces is one of Australias biggest
problems. Safe Work Australia works with state and territory governments, employers and
employees to coordinate national efforts to prevent workplace death, disability, injury and
disease. Safe Work Australia also improves workers compensation arrangements,
rehabilitation and return to work of injured workers. Safe Work Australia also compiles
statistics surrounding WHS on a national level, such as cost of injuries, workplace deaths,
gender type involved in incident, high risk industries.

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You may want to note that Safe Work Australia succeeds the Australian Safety and
Compensation Council (ASCC) and National Occupational Health and Safety Commission
(NOHSC).

Positive attitude

As a team leader or supervisor trying to lead change and improve WHS in a workplace,
you will likely hear comments like the following:
Why should we change? Weve always done it that way.
Why bother? Nobody cares.

I reported a hazard, but nobody did anything about it.

SA

These sorts of comments are not uncommon and indicate that the attitudes to WHS
system arent, or havent, been working effectively.

ra

Learning activity: A culture of safety

rt

Describe attitudes towards health and safety at your place of work:

N
ot

fo

Attitudes of workers:

Attitudes of officers:

BSBWHS401 Implement and monitor WHS policies, procedures and programs to meet legislative requirements
2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd
1st edition version: 1
Page 13 of 98

Section 1 Introduction to Work Health Safety

Student Workbook

Attitudes of the PCBU:

What is your responsibility for complying with WHS legislation, implementing safe

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work practices, and promoting constructive and helpful attitudes to work health
and safety?

SA

Section summary

rt

ra

This introductory section examined some of the basic WHS concepts, so that you can be
ready to participate effectively in maintaining a safe workplace. This section discussed
WHS legislation, identified the importance of WHS and explained that prevention is
always cheaper than cure.

fo

Section checklist

N
ot

Before you proceed to the next section, make sure that you can:
explain recent changes to health and safety legislation
explain why workplace health and safety is important
identify some of the key WHS attitudes and behaviours.

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Page 14 of 98
1st edition version: 1
2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

Student Workbook

Section 2 Safety Management Systems

Section 2 Safety Management Systems


This section will provide some background on best practice strategies and systems, and
how you can use them to implement and monitor WHS policies, procedures and programs
to meet legislative requirements.
Scenario: Where do I start?
Do you remember Michael from the first section? He is now prepared to start leading
WHS improvements in his workplace. He knows the legislation and what is expected of
him and he is confident that he has the right attitude to carry out his responsibilities.

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He has spoken to a few people on his team and they have indicated that Michaels
predecessor didnt take safety very seriously. His predecessor said safety was
important, but didnt follow-up or offer much assistance. As a result, the team is pretty
discouraged.

Before Michael can fix these problems, he has to do some research into how things
actually operate in the workplace and speak to a few key people. He might even need a
bit of training.

What skills and knowledge will you need?

SA

As a team leader or supervisor in any Australian workplace, you should be able to:
explain what is a safety management system

ra

apply basic WHS strategies

rt

identify WHS roles found in most workplaces

fo

participate in WHS consultative structures

N
ot

use WHS communication systems.

Safety management systems


A safety management system is an organisation-wide, coordinated approach to WHS. A
safety management system is designed to improve safety performance and comply with
external requirements such as legislation. The system is supported by a framework in
which policy sets the general aims of the organisation with respect to health and safety.
Procedures support the aims of policy, and management tools are applied to help ensure
the system is functioning well to achieve positive health and safety outcomes.

BSBWHS401 Implement and monitor WHS policies, procedures and programs to meet legislative requirements
2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd
1st edition version: 1
Page 15 of 98

Section 2 Safety Management Systems

Student Workbook

WHS policy
A policy is a statement about an issue that states what the organisation plans to do about
the issue. For example, a WHS policy states the intention of the PCBU to maintain a safe
workplace and adhere to legal requirements. Policies usually contain statements
regarding:
purpose or intent of policy
scope
responsibilities for implementation
applicable legislation, standards and codes of practice.

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WHS policies are typically supported by a range of factors, including culture and
management practices, and procedures.

WHS procedures

A procedure is a written instruction outlining the preferred method of performing a task or


activity. A WHS procedure will emphasise ways to minimise any risks or harm when doing
a task. A procedure outlines the potential hazards and associated control measures to be
applied.
Example: Workplace procedures

SA

Procedures should include instructions in a series of steps with each step, including:
action or task

rt

standards

safety requirements.

ra

description of action taken

who is responsible

Management tools

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Management tools include methods to ensure the effective implementation of policies


and procedures. Tools include checklists, forms and surveys.

Check lists

A check list is used as an aid to ensure the workplace or task is compliant with
regulations, procedures and policies. It helps to ensure consistency and completeness in
carrying out a task. A basic example is the workplace inspection checklist which is used to
observe if the workplace is in satisfactory WHS condition.
Check lists are presented as lists with small checkboxes down the right hand side of the
page. A small tick or checkmark is drawn in the box after the item has been completed. If
the checkboxes are marked as Yes, then that specific area or task is adequate in
meeting the requirements of WHS legislation.
If the checkbox is marked as No, then control measures must be put in place to ensure
it meets WHS requirements by either putting a quick fix in place or completing a risk
assessment.

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Page 16 of 98
1st edition version: 1
2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

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