Occupational Safety and Health - Principles of Risk Management - Assessment Answer

Occupational Safety and Health Assignment

Assignment Task

PART 1

Carry out a safety inspection at your own workplace (if not possible, then at a workplace where you can negotiate an access for the purpose of this exercise, such as a petrol station, a retail store or similar).

1. Identify the widest possible range of occupational hazards.
2. For each occupational hazard identified by you, assess whether the current controlstrategies in place are adequate and satisfactory, complying with the legislative requirements. Refer to these legislative requirements.
3. If not satisfactory, propose improved control strategies for each such hazard.

Preparation and assignment instructions

For this part you are required to undertake research and if practical attempt to obtain Strategic and Operational Occupational Safety and Health Plans from organisations. Review the plans and assess how they compare against the researched legislative requirements.

Resources

The following resources will assist:

• Unit recommended texts
• Occupational Safety & Health Legislation
• Internet addresses provided

Part 2

• List and define the basic principles of risk management and briefly discuss the rationale of the concept and the advantages that it offers to an organisation.
• Develop the recommendations for your CEO that clearly articulate:

a) Why your organisation should implement the principles of risk management.

b) Your recommendations on an implementation process .

Preparation

Before starting this assignment, you should have gained a thorough understanding of the risk management principles, process, and their application aligned with the Occupational Safety and Health Legislative requirements.

Much information is available on risk management and its application in contemporary organisational strategies. You are encouraged to undertake research and attempt to obtain copies of an organisational Risk Management Policy and procedures. Importantly, you need to be clear on the principles of risk assessment, risk rating and prioritisation of the hazard/risk relationship as this will underpin the prevention of loss in the organisational plan.

Be prepared to demonstrate the reliability of your recommendations through supporting references. Most of all be clear on how the application of risk management strategies can reduce or eliminate occupational safety and health loss to the organisation.

Resources

The following resources will assist:

• Unit recommended texts
• Occupational Safety & Health Legislation
• Internet addresses provided and Australian Standards

Occupational Safety and HealthMy exercise involved carrying out a study at a petrol station in Victoria. I managed to come across some of the health hazards some of which were well managed while some were still posing a lot of risk for the workers. People around gas stations are faced with risks of physical, chemical, physiological, and biological hazards. Cases of gas incidences are usually high and especially the cases with fuel contact with the eye. A close look at a petrol station I realized that workers around the gas station are at risk of physical harm most of which come from the noise of vehicles and extreme temperatures most of which depend on the prevailing weather condition. Contact with fuel also provided chemical risks especially with contact to benzene. The diversity of clients that visit the station after every minute also possess biological threats to the station workers. They may include viruses, bacterial, and fungal infections. In this case we can define occupational accident as anything that may cause harm or endanger the life of an employee or other persons associated with the environment.

Part 2 Principles of Risk Management

The first principle of risk management is to be able to access the sources of information and data to identify any form of hazards or risks. That can be done through the review of the workplace sources of information as well as key input from the key personnel and OHS specialists. The second principle is to analyze the working environment while identifying any hazards. That is simply done through defining and identifying when the action for hazard identification is required within the organization. In addition, examination of tasks and environment can also be done to identify any situation upon which potential risk of health may arise within the organization. That can also be done through the workforce structure in which the organization and work relationships are identified with any potential risk of health. The next principle is always to assess the risks that are associated with the hazards. Assessment can be done through the identification of factors that could be contributing to the risk. It is also important at this stage to identify any risk control measures for each hazard noted. Basically, the adequacy of the current control measures can also be verified while taking account into the relevant standards and knowledge. It will be irrelevant to study the risk associated within the organization if one fails to identify the discrepancies that exist between the current controls and the required quality of control. Meanwhile it is necessary to prioritize all these hazards and document the methods and outcomes of risk assessment process. The next principle is to control the risk associated with the hazard. That can be easily done through a well-developed rang of control measures with collaboration of stakeholders while taking into account some of the outcomes of the risks as well as the hierarchy of control. Still while controlling the risks it is necessary to identify any potential factor that may be hindering the effectiveness of controls. Advices from OHS specialists is also important at this moment if necessary. In addition, relevant authorities may be accessed to initiate and maintain controls to avoid risks and hazards (OHS, 2012). The next important step is maintaining the identification and risk control process. Such measures are well done through risks registers that are relevant to the work place. Documenting and communication of risk procedures to the employees and key personnel is also necessary. Possible training and communication of outcomes of risk is also important. The last principle is to monitor and review the management of risks process while identifying the frequencies of occurrences of the risk and methods used to control them. It is also necessary to regularly review the effectiveness of risk management processes applied within the organization.

Recommendations for the CEO

Every organization requires that principles of risk management are applied because of the many benefits that come with it. According to AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009) the number one principle of risk management is simply identifying the hazard. That is then followed by the assessment of the risk which should be eliminated and controlled (New South Wales, 2012). The whole process should then be reviewed and monitored to reduce any form of occurrences

Control of risks within the organization also follows a hierarchy that requires strategies that either eliminate or control the risks that we have developed from the research process in the organization. I therefore that all members of the organization follow the following procedure or reducing and controlling possible risks and hazards.