Answer to Question #264481 in Electrical Engineering for jalil Ahmed

Question

TASK 3 

 

Task 3 requires you to carry out a full risk assessment on a typical item or area from your selected working environment with which you are familiar with. You need to include all the hazards identified in task 2 and also use the Health and Safety `five steps to risk assessment’ procedures to complete this task. 

Task 8

Making specific reference to the risk assessment completed in Task 3, justify the methods used to deal with hazards in the workplace. Your response should include the need to comply with workplace policies and legal requirements in your answer.

Answer 1

Task 3

Task 8

1.) Organizations are expected to provide workers with a healthy working environment. They have to investigate and track on - the-job threats and hazards. There are hazards in all workplaces but there are ways that organizations can reduce the risk. There are four steps in the risk management process. They are as follows:

1. Identify hazards

2. Assess the risk

3. Control the risk

4. Review and assess the control measures

Some of the ways an organization should recognise hazards and track practices for risk management are:

1. Inspections at the office or stroll back. Having carried out a detailed inspection would highlight any dangers in the field of work. You will also be able to study applied procedures and determine whether they perform or require modifications.

2. Please conduct a risk assessment before completing a mission. A worker assesses and tracks the possible risks of undertaking a specific job. Reviewing such data periodically would allow common risks to be monitored and show how the controls are working to reduce the risks.

3. Meetings before starting. Bringing the staff together as a group before daily starting work and addressing any perceived risks, getting feedback from the staff and sharing safety lessons. Workforce consultation is a perfect way to determine how controls are functioning and to get input from those on the ground, conducting the role associated with the defined threat.

4. External supplier analysis. Engage an external party to perform a risk assessment and provide advice on occupational threats and hazards. Adequate controls may also be defined and tested by an external provider.

5. Test data / manufacturer instructions. Ensure that the work being done is in accordance with manufacturing practices.

6. Check past inspections and records. Reviewing past information can highlight patterns and provide insights into the current hazards at work. This would also demonstrate that the risk management strategies really reduce the danger to the staff.

2.) A hazard control plan describes how the selected controls will be implemented. An effective plan will address serious hazards first. Interim controls may be necessary, but the overall goal is to ensure effective long-term control of hazards. It is important to track progress toward completing the control plan and periodically (at least annually and when conditions, processes or equipment change) verify that controls remain effective.

How to accomplish it

• List the hazards needing controls in order of priority.
• Assign responsibility for installing or implementing the controls to a specific person or persons with the power or ability to implement the controls.

3.) The hierarchy of control has six levels of control measures, the most effective measure is at the top of the hierarchy and the least effective is at the bottom. So the idea is that you start from the top of the hierarchy in choosing your control measure, and work your way down.

The hierarchy of control involves the following steps:

1. Elimination - removes the cause of danger completely.
2. Substitution - controls the hazard by replacing it with a less risky way to achieve the same outcome.
3. Isolation - separates the hazard from the people at risk by isolating it.
4. Engineering - using engineering controls, i.e. making physical changes, to lessen any remaining risk, e.g. redesign a machine by adding safeguards.
5. Administration - use administrative controls to lessen the risk, e.g. install signs, rotate jobs.
6. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - require your employees to wear PPE, e.g. provide gloves, earplugs, goggles, iridescent vests.

For example, directors ad officers can use the hierarchy to create safety strategies to be carried down through the company; senior management can use the hierarchy to train workers in the safety strategies and be assured that workers are competent and capable in those control measures; and workers use the control measures on a day-to-day basis in their workplace.

4.) Factors that may reduce the effectiveness of your proposed risk controls:

• Premature level of communication skills
• Project officers lacking technical expertise.
• Incompetence of project team
• Lack of support from top management
• Absence of plans to mitigate project risks

5.) Two situations in the workplace where one might need to call upon expert WHS advice:

• Testing and analysis - WHS expert
• Recruitment - Human Resource Expert

The need for skilled WHS professionals is only compounded by the alarming rate of workplace injury. The employer's duty of care includes providing: a physical and psychosocial work environment without risks to health and safety. safe systems of work. information, training, instruction or supervision necessary to protect all persons from risks to their health and safety.

The industries most susceptible to fatalities while on the job were:

• Transport, postal and warehousing
• Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
• Construction
• Manufacturing

The obvious benefit of outstanding workplace health and safety protocols is the protecting of your employees. When organisations have clearly articulated and well understood WHS processes in place, their staff members are less likely to fall victim to workplace injuries. As a result, your business can be protected from the potential liabilities and costs associated with incidents that occur on-site.

But safety and legal responsibility aren't the only benefits associated with well-executed WHS processes. They can enhance brand value, improve employee loyalty, decrease business disruptions and promote corporate social responsibility (CSR).