Elements and Performance Criteria

The range of variables relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that will affect performance.
Where reference is made to industry Codes of Practice, and/or Australian/international standards, it is expected the latest version will be used.
The following variables may apply to all industry sectors covered by this Training Package.
OHSMS includes that part of the organisation's overall management system for developing, implementing, reviewing and maintaining the activities for managing OHS risks associated with the business of the organisation.
Procedures include all OHS specific procedures, such as for hazard and incident reporting, communication, consultation and issue resolution and risk management.

Policies and procedures may include those which directly or indirectly cover
hazard policies and procedures
standard operating procedures (SOPs)
safety procedures
work instructions
maintenance schedules
emergency, fire and incident procedures
environmental incident procedures
personal protective clothing and equipment procedures
monitoring and appropriate tasking of personnel with possible infections
waste minimisation, recycling and waste disposal
immunisation registers for employees at risk
hazardous goods manifest and substance register
handling and disposal of microorganisms and heavy metals
supervision of analysis for mycotoxins and pesticide residues
contractor and employee handbooks
formulas
batch sheets
manufacturers' operating manuals
industry Codes of Practice and guidelines.
Stakeholders may include: managers, supervisors, employees' OHS and other employee representatives, OHS committees, and in some cases, workers' families and the community.

Participative processes with employees and their representatives include
OHS committees and other committees, such as consultative, planning
health and safety and other employee representatives
employee and supervisor involvement in OHS activities, such as inspections, audits, risk assessments
procedures for reporting hazards, raising and addressing OHS issues
identification of hazards
assessment of level of risk
implementation of risk control measures and review of effectiveness
participation in injury and incident investigation
participation in the development of policies and procedures
review of OHS records and statistics
review of registers of hazardous substances and dangerous goods
audits and workplace inspections
job safety analysis
consultation with workers.
Personnel work in accordance with work instructions and standard operating procedures which incorporate all relevant aspects of OHS legislation and the codes, guidelines, regulations and Australian standards applying to environmental hazards and dangerous goods.
State based OHS legislation includes general OHS legislation, hazard and specific legislation especially that related to hazardous substances and dangerous goods

Industry standards include
AS 1678 Emergency procedures guide for hazardous materials
AS 1940 Storage and handling of flammable and combustible liquids
AS 2243 Safety in laboratories
AS 2243.8 Fume hoods
AS 2252 Biological safety cabinets
AS 2500 Storage of goods
AS 2503 Safety storage and handling information cards
AS 2982 Hand washing facilities
AS 3780 Storage and handling or corrosive liquids
AS 4452 Storage and handling of toxic substances
SAA HB9 Occupational personal protection, and other relevant standards for protective, clothing (for example, AS 2161, AS 2210, AS 1337 and AS 1338)
standards for the segregation of wastes (for example, AS 2243.3 and AS 2243.4)
AS/NEC/ISO 14000
State/Federal Acts (for example, clean air and waterways)
Australian Dangerous Goods Code
Australian Code for Transport of Dangerous Goods
guidelines for the operation of classes of laboratories
Australian Quarantine Inspection Service guidelines for the importation of biological products
Worksafe Australia National Code of Practice for the labelling of workplace substances (NOHSC:2012)
Genetic Manipulation Advisory Committee guidelines for working with genetically altered organisms.
Risk is the chance of something happening that will result in injury or damage. It is measured in terms of consequences and likelihood.
Risk management is the whole systematic process that is directed towards the identifying hazards, assessing the risk and developing controls to minimise the risk and monitoring the effectiveness of the controls (and taking action as required).

Hazard identification processes include
review of hazard and incident reports
workplace inspections
pre purchase risk assessments
review of relevant internal documentation, including MSDS, manufacturer's manuals, minutes of meetings
review of legislation, Codes of Practice, standards and guidelines
review of publications by OHS regulators, industry bodies, journals, newsletter.

Risk assessment is a process that involves analysing the risk to identify factors influencing the risk and the range of potential consequences and assessing
effectiveness of existing controls
likelihood of each consequence considering exposure and hazard level
combining these in some way to obtain a level of risk.
A complete risk assessment will also include comparison of the determined risk with pre-established criteria for tolerance (or as low as reasonably achievable) and the subsequent ranking of risks requiring control.

Hierarchy of control, also referred to as the safety decision hierarchy' describes the preferred order of risk control measures from most to least preferred, that is
elimination, or where this is not practical
substitution with a lesser hazard
isolate personnel from hazard
engineering controls
administrative controls, such as enterprise procedures and training
personal protective equipment.

Data for evaluation of the management systems may include
hazard, incident and injury reports
workplace inspections
audit reports
formal and informal input of employees
Stakeholders include managers, the enterprise OHS committee, elected OHS representatives/health and safety representatives, laboratory and production personnel and external OHS agencies.

Health, safety and environment
All operations to which this unit applies are subject to stringent health, safety and environmental (HSE) requirements, which may be imposed through State or Federal legislation, and these must not be compromised at any time. Where there is an apparent conflict between performance criteria and HSE requirements, the HSE requirements take precedence.
All operations assume the potentially hazardous nature of samples and require standard precautions to be applied. Users should access and apply current industry understanding of infection control issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council and State and Territory Departments of Health. All operations are performed in accordance with standard operating procedures.

The Evidence Guide describes the underpinning knowledge and skills that must be demonstrated to prove competence.
Critical aspects of competency

Competency must be demonstrated in the ability to perform consistently at the required standard. In particular, assessors should look to see that the candidate:

accesses and interprets relevant sections of OHS and environmental legislation, regulations and Codes of Practice and updates
analyses the work environment and judges OHS and/or environmental interventions
consults employees and other stakeholders on safety and environmental issues, hazard identification, risk assessment, selection and implementation of control measures and their review
raises issues related to concerns with safety of work systems and work environment through consultation with management and employees
promptly addresses OHS and environmental management issues within their area of control
develops and implements improvements in work practices and procedures to reduce the risk of illness and injury and meet OHS legislative requirements
provides appropriate supervision, support and information in accordance with workplace procedures
keeps OHS and environmental records complete, current and secure
communicates effectively with personnel at all levels of the organisation and OHS specialists
prepares summary reports for a range of target groups, including OHS committee, OHS representatives, managers and supervisors.

Underpinning knowledge

Competency includes the ability to apply and explain:

roles and responsibilities under OHS and environmental legislation of employers and employees, including supervisors and contractors
legislative requirements for OHS information and consultation
requirements for record keeping that address OHS, environmental management, privacy and other relevant legislation
knowledge of relevant National and Australian standards, including those related to OHS and environmental management systems
knowledge of guidelines for OHS and environmental management systems produced by the relevant state regulators
principles and practices of effective OHS management, including hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control
the hierarchy of control in any particular situation (elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, personal protective equipment)
participative consultation processes, general or specific to occupational health and safety and environmental systems
specific hazard policies and procedures (including housekeeping and inspections)
occupational health and safety/environmental and waste status record keeping
enterprise purchasing policy and procedures for safety related supplies and equipment
counselling/disciplinary/issue resolution processes
waste minimisation, recycling of chemicals and water, by-product collection, equipment maintenance and microbiological waste disposal.

Knowledge is also required of the:

how the characteristics and composition of the workforce impact on OHS and environmental management (for example, language and literacy, communication skills, cultural background, gender, workers with special needs, part time, casual or contract workers)
sources of OHS and environmental management information, including specialist advisors
nature of hazards relevant to the particular workplace
key personnel within enterprise management structure and the OHS and environmental management systems
knowledge of organisational OHS and environmental management policies and procedures.

Specific industry

Additional knowledge requirements may apply for different industry sectors. For example, in the biomedical sector:

specific OHS policies and State/Territory health department guidelines regarding infection control in the health care setting and the types of infections likely to occur
regulations pertaining to laboratories involved in gene manipulation (Office of the Gene Technology Regulator)
procedures and control measures for spillage of infected material in the public or non-laboratory domain.

Assessment context and methods
This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or simulated workplace environment.

The following assessment methods are suggested:

review of information developed by the candidate and provided to the work group
review of records and reports generated by the candidate
feedback from team members and managers regarding provision of information and the candidate's ability to implement and monitor established management systems
written and/or oral questioning to assess underpinning knowledge and likely reactions to simulated incidents.
In all cases, practical assessment should be supported by questions to assess underpinning knowledge and those aspects of competency which are difficult to assess directly. Questioning techniques should suit the language and literacy levels of the candidate.

Interdependent assessment of unit

This unit of competency may be assessed with units dealing with communication, supervision and training, for example:

PMLCOM500B Provide information to customers
PMLORG600B Supervise laboratory operations in work/functional area
PMLORG601B Maintain registration and statutory or legal compliance in work/functional area.

Resource implications
Resources may include relevant OHS and environmental legislation, regulations, Codes of Practice and workplace procedures.

This competency in practice
The smoke alarms have sounded and a general evacuation of the building has commenced. The fire brigade has been summoned in accordance with enterprise procedures. All personnel, except the designated floor wardens, have moved to the assembly area. The supervising staff report to the brigade officers that there is smoke and fumes on the first floor. The brigade officers don respirators and enter the building. A search establishes that a small fire has started in the drying oven when technicians used it to evaporate off a flamable solvent. The incident is the result of a careless mistake. With the cause of the smoke fumes identified, the brigade officers organise for the air conditioning system to exhaust the fumes. Once the building can be accessed, the laboratory supervisor prepares an incident report, organises follow-up counselling for the laboratory staff and implements measures to prevent a recurrence of the hazardous situation.
A supervisor in the laboratory of a food processing company was concerned that an audit of the risks associated with the company's activities had never been performed. When individual risk situations were identified they were usually addressed on a case by case basis. The supervisor realised that this approach did not have the rigour to identify less obvious hazards. A risk audit was conducted in cooperation with the laboratory team to overcome this deficiency. The audit progressed well and was performed without unduly disrupting the primary functions of the laboratory. Several previously unrecognised hazards were identified. One of the more esoteric hazards concerned the use of proteases and lipases to selectively digest specific food components. Before the audit, these enzymes were thought harmless. However, it was discovered that these bacterial proteins could provoke a potentially fatal allergic reaction in sensitised individuals especially after inhalation. Furthermore, repeated exposure could induce sensitivity. After this hazard was identified, a standard operating procedure (SOP) was developed for handling these enzymes. Individuals likely to come into close contact with the enzymes were required to regularly undergo an allergen sensitivity test.

The seven key competencies represent generic skills considered for effective work participation. The bracketed numbering against each of the key competencies indicates the performance level required in this unit. These are stand-alone levels and do not correspond to levels in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).
Level (1) represents the competence to undertake tasks effectively
Level (2) represents the competence to manage tasks
Level (3) represents the competence to use concepts for evaluating and reshaping tasks.
Communicating ideas and information
(3)

Collecting analysing and organising information
(3)

Planning and organising activities
(3)

Working with others and in teams
(3)

Using mathematical ideas and techniques
(2)

Solving problems
(3)

Using technology
(2)