Elements and Performance Criteria

RANGE STATEMENT
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
OHS legislation includes:
commonwealth, state and territory OHS acts and regulations
Standards include:
documents produced by national bodies, OHS regulators or industry bodies, that prescribe preventative action to avert occupational deaths, injuries and diseases
standards are of an advisory nature only, except where a law adopts the standard and thus makes it mandatory
they may be called up as evidence in court or other enforcement action
Codes of practice/compliance codes are:
documents generally prepared to provide advice to employers and workers, of an acceptable way of achieving standards
may provide information for use by unions, employers, management, health and safety committee members and representatives, safety officers and others requiring guidance
Codes of practice/compliance codes may:
be incorporated into regulations
not relate to a standard
be called up as evidence in court or other enforcement action
Guidance material:
is an advisory technical document, providing detailed information for use by unions, employers, management, health and safety committee members and representatives, safety officers and others requiring guidance
advises on 'what to do' and 'how to do it'
has no legal standing
Organisational policies and procedures include:
policies and procedures underpinning the management of OHS including:
hazard, incident and injury reporting
hazard identification, risk assessment and control and monitoring
consultation and participation
incident investigation
quality system documentation.
A hazard is:
a source or situation with the potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill-health, damage to property, the environment, or a combination of these
Specific safety related hazards may include, but are not limited to:
substances e.g. chemicals, starch pulp, steam
noise
manual handling
ergonomics
underfoot hazards
slips and trips
moving parts of machinery
mobile plant
Other workplace hazards may include, but are not limited to:
fatigue
stress
bullying
occupational violence
Risk:
in relation to any hazard, means the probability and consequences of injury, illness or damage resulting from exposure to a hazard
Risk assessments involve analysing a hazard to:
identify factors influencing the risk and the range of potential consequences:
effectiveness of existing controls
likelihood of each consequence considering exposure and hazard level
and combining these in some way to obtain a level of risk
Risk controls include:
the devices and methods to, where practicable, eliminate the hazard or, where this is not practicable, minimise the risk associated with the hazard
Personal protective equipment (PPE) includes:
equipment worn by a person to provide protection from hazards, by providing a physical barrier between the person and the hazard and may include:
head protection
face and eye protection
respiratory protection
hearing protection
hand protection
clothing and footwear
Work procedures include:
Standard Operating Procedures
permit to work
operator or manufacturer manuals
procedures for selecting, fitting, using and maintaining personal protective equipment
Hazard identification is:
the process of identifying sources of harm and may be required:
at design or pre purchase of equipment and materials
at commissioning or pre-implementation of new processes or practices
before new forms of work and organisation of work are implemented
before changes are made to workplace, equipment, work processes of work arrangements
as part of planning major tasks or activities, such as equipment shutdowns
following an incident report
when new knowledge becomes available
at regular intervals during normal operations
prior to disposal of equipment, buildings or materials
Report processes include:
hazards reports
maintenance requests and reports
reports on completion of inspections
incident reports
reports of non-compliance with work procedures
reporting on progress of action plans
OHS housekeeping practices address items such as:
workplace cleanliness and tidiness
unobstructed walkways and emergency exits
underfoot conditions
work space around equipment and machinery
functioning services such as lighting, air flow and ventilation, emergency lighting
storage areas including manual handling issues, storage, personal protective equipment
signage
Residual risk is:
the risk which remains after control have been implemented
Hierarchy of control is:
the preferred order of control measures of OHS risks:
elimination - controlling the hazard at the source
substitution e.g. replacing one substance or activity at the source
engineering e.g. installing guards on machinery
administration - policies and procedures for safe work practices
Personal Protective Equipment e.g. respirators, ear plugs
Expert advice can be obtained from:
persons either internal or external to the organisation including:
safety professionals
ergonomists
occupational hygienists
audiologists
safety engineers
toxicologists
occupational health professionals
OHS representatives
OHS committees
Other persons providing specific technical knowledge or expertise in areas related to OHS including:
risk managers
health professionals
injury management advisors
legal practitioners with experience in OHS
engineers (e.g. design, acoustic, mechanical, civil)
security and emergency response personnel
workplace trainers and assessors
maintenance and trade persons
OHS records may include:
hazard, incident and investigation reports
workplace inspection reports
incident investigation reports
first aid reports
minutes of meetings
Job Safety Analysis (JSAs) and Risk Assessments (RAs)
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and registers
employee handbooks
plant and equipment operation records including those relevant to registered plant
maintenance and testing reports
training records
environmental monitoring records
health surveillance records
Legislative requirements for record keeping include those specified under:
OHS legislation for:
serious incident and injury reporting
registered plant
hazardous substances and dangerous goods
environmental monitoring; and
health surveillance
privacy legislation
Emergency may include any abnormal or sudden event that requires immediate action such as:
serious injury events
events requiring evacuation
fires and explosions
hazardous substance and chemical spills
explosion and bomb alerts
security emergencies, such as armed robberies, intruders and disturbed persons
internal emergencies, such as loss of power or water supply and structural collapse
external emergencies and natural disasters, such as flood, storm and traffic accident impacting on the organisation
Emergency equipment is equipment required as part of the emergency response by the organisation and includes:
first aid equipment
eye wash shower or portable eye washes
fire extinguishers and equipment
communication equipment
evaluation alarms
torches/emergency lighting
items of clothing such as coloured hats and vests
Incidents include:
any event that has caused or has the potential for injury, ill-health or damage to property, the environment, or a combination of these

EVIDENCE GUIDE
The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.
Critical aspects for assessment:
To demonstrate competency in this unit, a candidate must be able to provide evidence of maintaining OHS processes in the workplace particularly in relation to the supervision of a small work group
Evidence gathered by an assessor to determine competence will include:
written or verbal responses to scenarios and case studies
provision of workplace examples
evidence from workplace supervisor reports
portfolio of workplace documentation
Evidence of workplace performance over time must be obtained to inform a judgement of competence
Products that could be used as evidence include:
Verbal and written responses to verbal, pictorial, or physical scenarios
Completed examples of information provided to work group, risk assessments, risk controls developed, reports to managers, reports workplace inspections, audits, emergency exercises
Reports from work group members, supervisor
Processes that could be used as evidence include:
How information transfer was organised and conducted
How risk assessments were conducted
How deviations from workplace procedures were addressed.
Access and equity considerations:
All workers should be aware of access and equity issues in relation to their own area of work
All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment
In recognition of particular health issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues impacting on health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues, in particular relating to factors impacting on health of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities.