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Safety Matters - Rail, Tram and Bus Union of NSW

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Undertaking OHS Risk Management<br />

To be most effective risk management should become part <strong>of</strong> an organisation’s<br />

culture. It should be integrated into an organisation’s philosophy, practices <strong>and</strong><br />

business plans so that everyone in the organisation is involved rather than being<br />

viewed or practiced as a separate program.<br />

OHS risk management involves the process <strong>of</strong> hazard identification <strong>and</strong> risk<br />

assessment <strong>and</strong> control. Information is gathered, decisions made <strong>and</strong> actions<br />

taken to rectify OHS issues. It is performance based, allowing employers the<br />

flexibility <strong>and</strong> capacity to develop more effective solutions to workplace health<br />

<strong>and</strong> safety issues.<br />

Chapter 2 <strong>of</strong> the OHS Regulation 2001 imposes obligations on all<br />

employers to implement risk management processes in all workplaces.<br />

Employers must take reasonable care to identify any foreseeable hazard<br />

that has the potential to harm the health <strong>and</strong> safety <strong>of</strong> employees or any<br />

other persons in the workplace.<br />

The Regulation defines a hazard as ‘anything (including work practices or<br />

procedures) that has the potential to harm the health or safety <strong>of</strong> a person’.<br />

Hazard prevention <strong>of</strong>fers the best opportunity for reducing workplace<br />

injury or illness.<br />

Hazards arise from the workplace environment, use <strong>of</strong> plant <strong>and</strong> substances,<br />

poor work design, inappropriate systems <strong>and</strong> procedures <strong>and</strong> human behaviour.<br />

In order to control hazards we need to be aware <strong>of</strong> their existence. Hazards can<br />

be classified into five broad areas:<br />

• physical eg. noise, radiation, light, vibration<br />

• chemical eg. poisons, dusts<br />

• biological eg. viruses, plants, parasites<br />

• mechanical/electrical eg. slips, trips <strong>and</strong> falls, tools, electrical equipment<br />

• psychological eg. stress, boring work, violence or aggression.<br />

Hazard management plans can be developed after hazards have been classified,<br />

eg. a chemical hazard management plan.<br />

The OHS Act (Section 15(a) <strong>and</strong> Section 18) <strong>and</strong> Regulation (Chapters<br />

2 <strong>and</strong> 3) clearly identify a key role for OHS Committees <strong>and</strong> OHS<br />

Representatives in workplace risk assessments <strong>and</strong> ‘to investigate any<br />

matter that may be a risk to health <strong>and</strong> safety at the place <strong>of</strong> work’.<br />

<strong>Safety</strong> <strong>Matters</strong> A Guide for Workplace OHS Representatives<br />

SECTION TWO<br />

RAIL<br />

TRAM AND BUS<br />

39<br />

Monitoring OHS Programs <strong>and</strong> Procedures<br />

U N<br />

I O N

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