Risk Management & OHS Presentation for Schools September 2014
What is Occupational Health & Safety (OHS)? OHS can be defined as: Providing a safe working environment Promoting and maintaining workers’ physical, mental and social wellbeing Protecting workers from factors that pose a risk to their health. All about making sure that people are safe, health and happy at work. 2
What is Occupational Health & Safety (OHS)? 3
Responsibilities of employers (schools) All schools are required by law to take reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of their workers and everyone in the workplace. Employers’ duty of care means they must provide: • A place of work that is safe and without risk to health. • Adequate facilities for the welfare of workers. • Appropriate tools, equipment and materials. • Safe systems or methods of work. • Any instruction and training necessary for workers to work without risk to their health and safety and that of others around them. 4
Responsibilities of employers (schools) Employers are responsible for identifying, assessing and controlling workplace hazards and risks. Employers must also consult with workers and students, regarding changes in work practices and when introducing new policies, plant and equipment or materials into the workplace. 5
Responsibilities of workers In OHS law, a worker is anybody who carriers out work for a person or organisation (including unpaid work). All workers are required by law to take reasonable care to ensure safety and health at work. They have a duty of care to take reasonable steps not to cause harm and to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of others. 6
Examples of worker responsibilities Follow the principles of good housekeeping , i.e. including keeping classrooms, floors and access routes clean and tidy, as well as storing equipment and materials properly. Ensure that potential dangers are handled properly , e.g. don’t leave cleaning products where students might access them. Take reasonable steps to prevent incidents, e.g. clean up a liquid spill to avoid the risk to somebody else slipping on it. Report any hazards that you see, e.g. inform somebody if you notice that an electrical cord is damaged and has wires exposed. 7
Responsibilities of officers (principals & business managers) Officers are individuals within an organisation who have a significant role in decision making and have a strong influence in the way the organisation manages its OHS issues. Officers share the same ‘duty of care’ that all workers have, but they have an additional obligation to exercise due diligence to ensure that the organisation also complies with its OHS obligations. 8
Example 1 – Teacher Mr Smith is a drama teacher and he regularly assists other staff and students prepare for the annual school concert by decorating the school hall. The morning of the concert he arrived early to assist in the preparations, when he noticed that one of the decorations had fallen off the wall. While he was waiting for helpers to arrive, he decided to try and reattach the decoration to the wall himself. Mr Smith used a ladder and unfortunately lost his balance. Mr Smith fell to the ground, breaking his wrist and injuring his shoulder. 9
Example 1 – Teacher Mr Smith/s injury caused him severe pain and he has never fully recovered from the incident. Mr Smith missed the school concert, was absent for the following two terms and had to rely on his family’s assistance for several months. Although Mr Smith’s intentions were good, his actions led to preventable injuries to himself, inconvenience to his family and avoidable costs to the school. A safer approach for Mr Smith would have been to immediately move the fallen decoration to avoid danger and wait until others arrived so they could assist with the replacing of the decoration. 10
Example 1 – Teacher Victorian WorkCover Authority - http://www.vwa.vic.gov.au/ 11
Legal considerations & Non compliance with OHS law 12
Examples of breaches of OHS laws A diocese was fined $19,125 plus costs after a 15 year old school student sustained burn injuries to his hands, legs, face and left ear when, during assembly of a portable gas camping stove, a gas canister released gas that ignited. The diocese failed to provide adequate training and information to students, adequate supervision of students, and adequate training and information to supervisors. 13
Examples of breaches of OHS laws A college was fined $80,000 following the death of a five year old boy who was crushed by a gate. The Court found the college had not properly maintained the gate. 14
Examples of breaches of OHS laws A company in Victoria was fined $300,000 for not ensuring adequate training and protective equipment and poor work practices after a 26 year old employee died changing a light bulb while carrying out maintenance on display signage in April 2006. 15
The tragic case of Brodie Panlock The case of Brodie Panlock's workplace bullying received widespread national attention and ultimately resulted in new legislation known as Brodie's Law being introduced in Victoria. 16
The tragic case of Brodie Panlock As a result of this case, Victoria enacted laws making serious bullying a criminal offence with jail terms of up to 10 years. 17
Areas of risk that can impact on a School Burglary/ Theft Water Fraud Damage Cyclone/ Liability Storm Issues Work Education Health & Fire/ Arson Risks Safety 18
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Keeping Your Parish Safe Forum
Keeping Your Parish Safe Forum
Keeping Your Parish Safe Forum
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Presentation title footer
Areas of common hazards and risks in Schools • Stress / Occupational • Slips and trips Violence /Workplace • Manual handling Bullying • Volunteer management • Motor vehicles / driver • Contractor management fatigue • Emergency Management • Working in isolation • Cash handling • Fall from heights • Working bees/Fetes • Hazardous chemicals • Fire /dangerous goods • Asbestos • Working with children 26
What can you do to manage hazards in your school environment? Common physical injuries from carrying out everyday manual tasks and work activities, include: Eyestrain from extended periods looking at a monitor. Muscle fatigue from repetitive tasks such as typing. Maintenance related tasks – shifting furniture, sports equipment, etc. 27
Your working environment • Laptops and mobile • Ergonomics devices • Office safety • Hazards of laptop use • Setting up your chair • Laptop purchasing tips • Adjusting your chair • Setting your work area • Setting up your desk • Standing at a • Setting up your whiteboard monitor • Reading documents • Setting up your keyboard and mouse 28
What are hazardous manual tasks? A hazardous manual task requires a person to lift, lower, push, pull, carry or otherwise move, hold or restrain any person, animal or thing involving one or more of the following: • repetitive or sustained force • high or sudden force • repetitive movement • sustained or awkward posture • exposure to vibration Manual tasks account for over 40% of all workers compensation claims in Australia each year. Most of these injuries are preventable. 29
Example 2 – Volunteer Mei was volunteering at a School fete, working behind a food stall. The stall had been set up without ergonomics in mind. Drinks were located behind Mei, some foods were on a high shelf above her head, while paper bags and napkins were underneath a counter. As a result, Mei spent a lot of time stretching up, bending down and twisting around when serving customers. In addition, many items on the high shelf were out of Mei’s reach, so she had to climb onto a nearby chair in order to retrieve them. What could be done to control the potential risks involved with Mei’s activities? 30
Example 2 – Volunteer Mei recognised the potential dangers in this situation and addressed the potential risks by: Asking for some help in redesigning the set up of the stall. Setting up a new table with foods and drinks within easy reach. Not placing items at a height that cannot be reached easily. Think about how you manage the School kitchen/facility area. Could this be managed better? 31
Example 2 – Solution Victorian WorkCover Authority - OfficeWise – A guide to Health & Safety http://www.vwa.vic.gov.au/ 32
Preventing workplace incidents 33
What is a near miss? A near-miss occurs when an unplanned and undesired event takes place, but nobody is injured and there is no damage to equipment. 34
What is an incident? Any occurrence, including near-miss situations, which has the potential to cause personal injury, disease or death, or property damage. 35
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