Elements and Performance Criteria

This competency is to be exhibited in accordance with all relevant occupational health and safety legislation, particularly:

State/Territory OHS Acts, regulations and codes of practice
general duty of care under State/Territory legislation and common law
requirements for the maintenance and confidentiality of records of occupational injury and disease
provision of information and training
regulations and codes of practice relating to hazards present in the work area
health and safety representatives and/or occupational health and safety committees and issue resolution

Relevant workplace procedures may be:

formally documented or communicated verbally
general to the management of the enterprise such as
job procedures and work instructions
maintenance of plant and equipment
purchasing of supplies and equipment
specific to OHS, eg
emergency response
providing OHS information
OHS training
OHS consultation and participation
incident investigation
issue resolution
OHS record keeping
identifying hazards, eg inspections
assessing risks
controlling risks

Information may cover the following areas:

the induction of new workers
the nature of work and tasks, procedures and the limits to worker authority
hazards and risk management procedures
assistance with work tasks
direct supervision where necessary, eg of inexperienced workers
legislation and codes of practice, eg relating to hazards in the work area
consultation with health and safety representatives

Participative arrangements may include:

formal and informal meetings
OHS committees other committees, eg consultative, planning, purchasing
health and safety representatives

Identifying hazards may include activities associated with:

audits
workplace inspections
housekeeping
job and work system assessment
OHS record keeping
maintenance of plant and equipment
purchasing of supplies and equipment
identifying employee concerns
planning or implementing alterations to site, plant, operations or work systems

Controlling risks may include actions such as:

measures to remove the cause of a risk at its source
application of the hierarchy of control, namely
elimination of the risk
engineering controls
administrative controls
personal protective clothing and equipment
consultation with workers and their representatives

Hazardous events may include:

accidents
fires and explosions
emergencies, eg chemical spills
bomb scares
crowd-related risks
deranged customers
equipment failure
weather emergencies

Procedures for dealing with these may include:

evacuation
chemical containment
First Aid
accident/incident reporting and investigation

OHS training may include:

induction training
specific hazard training
specific task or equipment training
emergency and evacuation training
training as part of broader programs, eg equipment operation

OHS records may include:

OHS audits and inspection reports
workplace environmental monitoring and health surveillance and records
records of instruction and training
manufacturer and supplier information, including material safety data sheets and dangerous goods storage lists
hazardous substances registers
maintenance and testing reports
workers compensation and rehabilitation records First Aid/medical post records

Underpinning knowledge and skills

Assessment must include evidence of the following knowledge and skills:

general knowledge of relevant OHS Acts, regulations and codes of practice relevant to the workplace, including legal responsibilities of employers, manufacturers, suppliers, employees and other parties with legal responsibilities
detailed knowledge of relevant industry safety guidelines as they apply to particular areas of work, eg Screen Producers' Association of Australia, Safety Guidelines for the Entertainment Industry, Film Industry Recommended Safety Code and Safety Guidance Notes

principles and practices of effective OHS management, eg:

elements of an effective OHS management system
appropriate links to other management systems
the hierarchy of control measures
participation and consultation over OHS
incident and accident investigation
the role of technical information or experts in designing control measures,-monitoring systems and health surveillance
risk management approaches

hazards and associated risks which exist in the enterprise and:

the range of control measures available for these hazards
considerations for choosing between different control measures, eg possible inadequacies with particular control measures
considerations regarding when to seek expert advice

organisational OHS management systems, policies and procedures necessary to ensure OHS regulatory compliance, including systems and procedures for:

keeping the organisation abreast of developments on OHS (law, control measures, hazards) notification and reporting
communicating to the organisation about OHS
consulting about and participating in OHS management
identifying and reporting on hazards, eg through audits, inspections
assessing risks
controlling risks
monitoring risk control measures
reporting on financial, technical and other resource needs
responding to and dealing with hazardous events
OHS training
OHS record keeping and collection and use of OHS related data

how the characteristics and composition of the workforce impact on OHS management, including:

literacy
communication skills
cultural background
gender
workers with disabilities

other organisational systems, policies and procedures relevant to OHS management, including:

business planning (especially new technology, organisational change)
purchasing
maintenance
training
consultation
human resource management

Linkages to other units

There is a strong link between this unit and other management units and combined assessment and/or training with those units may be appropriate, eg:

THHGLE22A Manage risk

Critical aspects of evidence

The following evidence is critical to the judgement of competence in this unit:

knowledge and understanding of laws, regulations and industry guidelines relating to OHS in the workplace, particularly how employer general duty of care can be met
ability to analyse the working environment in order to identify hazards, assess risks and design and implement appropriate OHS management systems
ability to assess the resources needed to establish and maintain OHS management systems, including a range of risk control measures

Method and context of assessment

The assessment context must provide for:

development of policies, systems and procedures for a nominated workplace, activity or project and implementation within an operational environment, eg for a production project
project or work activities conducted over a period of time so that the implementation and monitoring aspects of the unit can be assessed
involvement of a team operating in a specified workplace for which the candidate establishes and monitors health and safety

Assessment may incorporate a range of methods to assess performance and the application of essential underpinning knowledge, and might include:

evaluation of reports prepared by the candidate detailing how OHS policies, systems and procedures were established and monitored in a given project
evaluation of projects conducted by the candidate to develop policies, systems and procedures for health and safety
case studies and problem-solving exercises to develop OHS policies, systems and procedures in response to different workplace situations
review of portfolios of evidence and third party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the candidate
Assessment methods should closely reflect workplace demands and the needs of particular groups (eg people with disabilities, and people who may have literacy or numeracy difficulties such as speakers of languages other than English, remote communities and those with interrupted schooling.

Resource requirements

Assessment of this unit requires access to:

relevant OHS legislation, regulations and codes of practices
organisation's occupational health and safety policies and procedures

Communicating ideas and information
Conducting and reporting on a risk audit (3)

Collecting analysing and organising information
Developing policy documents for OHS related issues (3)

Planning and organising activities
Establishing and monitoring a consultation program (3)

Working with others and in teams
Providing training on OHS issues (3)

Using mathematical ideas and techniques
Costing improvements for furniture or equipment (2)

Solving problems
Consulting on and adjusting a long-established operational procedure to minimise risk (3)

Using technology
Using electronic communication mechanisms to consult with staff (1)