Arbe2303 Health And Safety In Assessment Answers

Answer:

The work health and safety act 2011 has been implemented for assigning the duties of health and safety regulations on an organisation or a person conducting a business operation which subjected to any risk or hazardous situation. In the following discussion, a mid-level developer has been assigned a refurbishment job for a block of three houses subjected to resale. The detailed investigation have revealed an inconsistency in the building material and the major concerned area was the roof tiles which are now breaking down and need replacement. In context with the present project details, the developer company’s management needs to identify potential risk factors and implement standardised protocols for preventing and managing the health and risk of the workers in the project premises. In the present discussion, the work and safety policies of the organisation have been mentioned and subsequent procedures have been implemented which complying the work health and safety act 2011.

The primary job is to renovate a block of three houses including removal of doors, frames and sanitation components. Replacing the wiring and plumbing facility of the three houses also has been included in the job assignment.

Work Health and Safety policy:

The management of the concerned organisation need to enable a suitable health and safety policy for the people may get affected by the business operation. Under the common law, a general policy has been established for the employee, which states that the employer has a general duty of care for the employee. The WHS policy has several layers of the mechanism including acts, regulations, model codes, standards and industrial awards. According to health and safety act 2011, the territory administration has the power to regulate and implement the act which covers specific areas. The territory administration has implemented WHS regulation 2011 which covers all the organisations performing various operational activities. Apart from legislations, model codes have been developed for guiding the local authority and help them to identify the organisation breaching the regulations about WHS policy. In accordance with legislations, a policy of WHS, several guidelines and standards have been established for Australian territory regarding work health and safety during business operation (Xiang et al. 2014, p.92).

The primary objective of work health and safety act 2011 is to establish a standardised and consistent health and safety policy nationally which includes workers protection during business operations through eliminating or minimizing the factors for safety and hazards. Another important aspect of the legislation is to provide the effective presentation of workplace cooperation and consultation regarding Health and safety issues (Arquero et al. 2016, p.104).

 The management needs to consider various aspects of the health and safety act and regulations for developing the organisational WHS policy applicable for concerned people during the ongoing project. Territorial safety standards and codes need to be implemented for establishing the organisational guideline for safety and welfare of the employee and workers during business operation. The organisation has to ensure the fulfilment of the work health and safety act 2011 and work health and safety regulation 2011 including Australian standard of workplace safety and standard code of practice (Holt et al. 2015, p.77).

The primary objective of work health and safety policy is to exhibit the commitment of the concerned organisation towards the workers, contractors and visitors during any business operation. The major concern according to the policy is to remove any risk factor for the workers and to increase the welfare of the concerned people during the business procedures (Joss et al. 2017, p.161).

Work health and safety management role:

The organisation has been involved with the refurbishment of a pre-existing block of three houses which are in a bad shape and detailed investigation revealed serious inconsistencies in the material used during the construction. The function of the organisation is to remove and replace doors, flames, windows including wirings and sanitation system. The major concern of the management is the material of the roof tiles which doesn’t comply with the original specified standard material for the construction. Therefore, the use of non-standardised materials during the construction induced an environment of compromising safety for the workers during the business procedures (Glendon et al. 2016, p.112).

According to the WHS policy, the duties imposed on the concerned organisation responsible for construction and complex business operations constituted of various functions such as designing, contractor, labour, high-risk construction work etcetera. Therefore, the supervisors and managers are responsible for the work health and risk issues in the project premises (Seim et al. 2014, p.88 ).

The organisation involved with the refurbishment project has a reputation of complying with the existing work safety and health act of the territory and commitment towards the employees and workers for their safety and welfare. Therefore the organisation needs to develop effective objectives for standardising the health and safety regulations for the current project. The predominant goal of the standardised organisational policy is for work health and safety of the workers complying with the existing government legislation and WHS act 2011 and WHS regulation 2011. Therefore the management needs to show commitment towards health and safety standards in the current project premises. Another important aspect is to remove or minimize the previously identified risks and inconsistencies in the project area for creating the safe environment for workers. Another important goal of the organisation is to develop a safe business activity for visitors, contractors and labours and for the people who may get affected by the business activity (Hammer et al. 2016, p. 102).

Therefore the role and responsibility of the management and supervisors regarding work health and safety in the project premises could fragment into various objectives. The primary objective is to provide safe work environment around the project premises for the workers and concerned people. Secondly, the organisation needs to implement safe systems and machinery for the workers during the project proceeds. Peripheral facilities need to be provided for the worker welfare such as accident insurance, safety supervision and the strict code of conduct for the workers and authorised personnel in the project premises (Hasle et al. 2014, p.32).

Emergency procedure and material handling and storage procedure etcetera:

The organisation needs to develop an effective system for the emergency procedure for hazard prevention and control as well. Therefore, the system consists of various functional components such as establishing a control through specialist supervision such as engineering and maintenance, administrative actions, tracking and controlling factors for hazards in the project premises, preventive system implementation and medical facility in the premises. On the basis of work and safety act 2011, safety standards and conducts on the premises have been established. Supervisors and management conduct regular awareness programs in the project area for regular update of the safety measures and emergency procedures during any hazardous situation (Johnston, 2016, p. 76).

Job site inspection would be an effective way of maintaining safety and welfare of the employee or workers in the project premises. On time reporting of any safety issue and previously identified hazardous condition will be documented and corrective measures have been done for restoring the safety in the project area. Therefore the organisation needs to develop a plan for inspection procedure such as eliminating hazardous factor from the project area, minimizing the risk through guarding, enforcing the regulations to be used and followed and safety training program for the worker (Poblete et al. 2014, p. 213 ).

An emergency procedure and guidelines have to be developed and established depending on the previously identified hazardous factors and safety related issues. The well-developed communication system has to be deployed through telephones, walky-talky and installing supervision cameras in the project area. Emergency contact details such as police, fire and medical team have been distributed among the workers and supervisors for any emergency situation. The job site address needs to be posted to the nearest communication centre for faster communication and prevention of any hazardous situation. A fast aid responder team has been built on the construction site and the contact details need to be distributed among workers and supervisors for faster response (Finneran et al. 2013, p.76).

Handling and storing materials in the project site involves numerous complex operations which include lifting frames, doors, windows and sanitation system components through the hoisting system. Before handling and storing materials, proper training and safety regulation need to be reviewed in the project premises. Workplace accidents and hazardous conditions can be avoided through pre-checking of hoisting mechanism, appropriate functionality and handling. Awareness of the facts about the results of improper handing will help to ensure the safety of the worker during handling and storing procedure in the project premises (Schofield et al. 2017, p.102).

Consultation and hazard reporting:

According to work Health and safety act 2011, the consultation has been identified as the process of sharing information regarding health and safety issues in the project premises. The workers and supervisors are provided with an opportunity to share their views and opinion about the safety and hazardous situations that could be evolved in the project premises and these opinions are then reviewed and implemented in the existing safety standards for upgrading the safety measures and for the welfare of the workers. Consultation is the procedure where the views of the workers have been taken into account for the organisation where two-way conversation or communication has been established for the organisational decision making process and standardisation procedure for health and safety regulations in the project area (Tolera, 2016, p.84).

The consultation procedure would be taking place under the following situations where the assigned project has been considered hazardous and risk factors are considered high in the project premises. Secondly, the consultation has been taking place during the incorporation of any change to the existing health and safety regulation due to change in a degree of risk involved in the project area. Another important factor for consultation would be the incorporation of worker welfare facilities for the current project and risk and health surveillance (Brauer, 2016, p. 54).

The requirement of Health and welfare facility :

The working environment is the primary concern for the work health and safety regulation which imposes a set of duties to the organisation for the understanding and implementation of a suitable working environment in the project area. Therefore setting up a proper healthy working environment would comply with the existing work health and safety regulation in the territory. Apart from working environment, the organisation needs to provide welfare facilities to the workers in the project premises reasonable for the risk, trouble and complexity occurred to them. Therefore, the welfare facility is defined as the arrangements made for the workers for their well-being regarding health and risk factors developed in the project premises.

The basic welfare facilities in the project premises would be was the basin, toilet, drinking water, restroom or smoking room and mobile changing facilities. An adequate amount of toilet should be present in the project area depending upon the number of workers and number of shifts in the working hour. Depending on the available worker men and women toilet must be separate. Cleaning facilities must be incorporated into the toilets and other facilities for maintaining the hygiene and for avoiding health hazards. The rest room is another important facility in the project area which could help for leisure time for the workers and they could have food in the facility with proper hygiene and cleanliness. Separate smoking room could be provided if possible for the management apart from clean and adequate drinking water. First aid and medical support is another important welfare facility for the workers which are a very important factor for the projects with high risk and hazardous condition (Tombs et al. 2013,p.751).

 Project document and register management:

The basic idea of the procedure is to construct a framework for controlling and managing the documents regarding work health and safety legislations and associated implications in the project area. Risk and hazard analysis and preventive measures have been documented and preserved for the future reference. The methodology of the document management has been adapted for ensuring the regular updating and corresponding referencing in the case of situation arises in the project premises. Therefore, the project document management has been starting with the creating documents regarding the project and degree of risk and health hazards involved with the current project. Periodic review is an important aspect of the project document management.

Depending upon the increasing or decreasing degree of risk and hazards, regular modification and updating would be necessary for the documents corresponding with the current project. Secondly, the identification of the most updated version of the document necessary for the project is important for the document management. Approval of the project document from the authorized personnel is another important part of the documentation procedure. Safety management implementation complying with the work health and safety regulation and territorial policy is very important for the organisation for maintaining the record and future licencing purpose. Therefore, the management needs to appoint a responsible person for handling and manage the project documents in accordance with the organisational policy and previously set safety standards (Hammer et al. 2016, p. 102).

Conclusion:

It has been concluded from the above discussion that work health and safety regulations are the important implementations for the workers and employees of the organisation involved with the business proceedings in the project premises. There is a certain degree of risk and hazards involved with the project were inconsistencies of used materials could be evident. Therefore proper the management need to develop a health and risk management policy comply with the existing work and health act 2011. Both the management and the worker need to involve with the development plan of the safety standard in the project area. Therefore, proper documentation and welfare facility would decrease the degree of risk and hazards in the project area and appropriate working environment would be evolved from the above-mentioned proceedings.

Reference List 

Arquero, D. and Taylor, P., 2016. Reducing Exposure to Vibration at Work: Building a Regulatory Policy Intervention from the Ground Up. Acoustics Australia, 44(1), pp.101-106.

Brauer, R.L., 2016. Safety and health for engineers. John Wiley & Sons.

Finneran, A. and Gibb, A.G., 2013. W099: safety and health in construction: research roadmap report for consultation.

Glendon, A.I., Clarke, S. and McKenna, E., 2016. Human safety and risk management. Crc Press.

Hammer, L.B., Johnson, R.C., Crain, T.L., Bodner, T., Kossek, E.E., Davis, K.D., Kelly, E.L., Buxton, O.M., Karuntzos, G., Chosewood, L.C. and Berkman, L., 2016. Intervention effects on safety compliance and citizenship behaviors: Evidence from the work, family, and health study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(2), p.190.

Hasle, P., Hohnen, P., Helbo, A. and Madsen, C.U., 2014. The psychosocial work environment and certified occupational health and safety management systems in the public sector–experience from two Danish municipalities.

Holt, A.S.J. and Allen, J., 2015. Principles of health and safety at work. Routledge.

Johnston, J.E., 2016. Site Control of Materials: Handling, Storage and Protection. Elsevier.

Joss, N., Dupré-Husser, E., Cooklin, A. and Oldenburg, B., 2017. The emergence of integrated approaches to worker health, safety and wellbeing in Australia. Australian journal of primary health, 23(2), pp.154-161.

Poblete, B.R., Parker, C.W., Ranasinghe, S. and Gandhi, M.S., 2014, May. Human Factors in Hazard Analysis. In Offshore Technology Conference. Offshore Technology Conference.

Schofield, K.E., Alexander, B.H., Gerberich, S.G. and MacLehose, R.F., 2017. Workers' compensation loss prevention representative contact and risk of lost-time injury in construction policyholders. Journal of Safety Research, 62, pp.101-105.

Seim, R., Poulsen, S. and Broberg, O., 2014. New developments in occupational health and safety management in Danish companies. In 11th International Symposium on Human Factors.

Tolera, T.B., 2016. Occupational Hazards In Construction Industry: Case Studies From Housing And Construction Workers At Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. International Journal of Research-Granthaalayah, 4(9), pp.84-96.

Tombs, S. and Whyte, D., 2013. The myths and realities of deterrence in workplace safety regulation. British Journal of Criminology, 53(5), pp.746-763.

Xiang, J., Bi, P., Pisaniello, D. and Hansen, A., 2014. The impact of heatwaves on workers? health and safety in Adelaide, South Australia. Environmental research, 133, pp.90-95.