An introduction to the WHS workplace inspection

You should remember, though, that a WHS inspection is only one of many ways that hazards and risks are identified in the workplace

We need to actively look for hazards, before they become a problem, by using:

• Workplace inspections• Consultation• Looking at injury and illness records• Recording complaints• Observing the workplace

This slideshow will talk you through the process of doing a workplace inspection.

A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:

A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:

1. Identify hazards

(problems)

Identifying the hazards

A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:

2. Assess risks (harm)

Deciding on how much harm they can cause

A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:

2. Assess risks (harm)

Deciding on how much harm they can cause

(Which tells us how soon to fix them)

A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:

3. Risk control

(solutions)

And working out what the best solutions are for that hazard

A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:

Let’s explore that in a bit more detail.

Identifying the hazards (problems that might cause an injury) includes physically walking around the workplace looking for anything that might cause an injury.

Identifying the hazards (problems that might cause an injury) includes physically walking around the workplace looking for anything that might cause an injury.

Remember that you are not just looking for physical hazards, though. Psychological hazards are the cause of most time off in the community services sector, so keep a look out for things that might cause burnout or stress overload.

Identifying the hazards (problems that might cause an injury) includes physically walking around the workplace looking for anything that might cause an injury.

Remember that you are not just looking for physical hazards, though. Psychological hazards are the cause of most time off in the community services sector, so keep a look out for things that might cause burnout or stress overload.

Keep an eye out for situations of potential violence, too. Violence by clients is another cause of injuries in the Community Services sector.

Once we know the problem, we need to see how bad it can be.We need to think about how much harm it could cause, and how likely it is.First, lets look at how much harm it could do.. On the inspection form, it looks like this:

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MODERATE MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

A pretty minor injury that only needs minor

first aid, like a cut finger.

A major injury, like a broken

bone

Would cause a long term disability or

death

Now we look at how likely it is to happen…

2. Assess risks (harm)

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

e.g, Cut by broken glass, left on football field

e.g. Cut by broken glass, left in garbage bin

Then we can look at the two together, and give it a score out of six, like this:

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

Poison in cupboard- very unlikely to cause an injury

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

Poison in cupboard- very unlikely to cause an injury, but really dangerous if it did

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

Poison in cupboard- very unlikely to cause an injury, but really dangerous if it didSo it scores a three

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

Paper cuts- very likely to cause an injury,

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

Paper cuts- very likely to cause an injury, but not really dangerous if it did

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

Paper cuts- very likely to cause an injury, but not really dangerous if it didSo it scores a three

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

So.. How would you rate the idea of letting snakes loose on a plane?

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

So.. How would you rate the idea of letting snakes loose on a plane?

Yeah, probably not a good idea

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

And how about leaving an extension cable lying where somebody could trip and fall?

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

And how about leaving an extension cable lying where somebody could trip and fall?

Not as bad as snakes on a plane, but still pretty serious (and reasonably common)

This means that, by looking at how thing score, we can decide if they need to be addressed straight away:

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

.. Or if we can go on working, but fix them as soon as possible:

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

… or if we can plan to leave it a while, because it’s not very likely, and wouldn’t cause much harm anyway:

LIKELIHOOD:How likely is it that it will occur?

CONSEQUENCES: How severely could it hurt someone?EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR

VERY LIKELY 1 1 2 3LIKELY 1 2 3 4UNLIKELY 2 3 4 5VERY UNLIKELY 3 4 5 6

Our form might look like this:

Extension cord that could easily be tripped on

B B 2 ASAP

Our form might look like this:

Sharp knives in client kitchen area- potential self harm hazard

C A 2 ASAP

Ok, so now we’ve got a list of hazards (problems) and we know which are the most important to fix first.

How do we fix them?

Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety problems.

The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely

Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety problems.

The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely

Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety problems.

EXAMPLE:Remove the cable, Don’t have poisons on the property if you can help it,Don’t transport snakes on a plane.

The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely

Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety problems.

The next best way is to restrict it somehow-Substitute it with something better

The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely

Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety problems.

The next best way is to restrict it somehow-Substitute it with something better

EXAMPLEUse a different type of chemical, or paper that doesn’t cause cuts.

The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely

Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety problems.

The next best way is to restrict it somehow-Substitute it with something better OR-Isolate people from the hazard OR-Engineer a better way of working

The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely

Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety problems.

The next best way is to restrict it somehow-Substitute it with something better-Isolate people from the hazard OR-Engineer a better way of working

EXAMPLEMake sure the cables are tied back where they can’t be tripped on, Lock the poisons away if they have to be on the property,Keep safety guards on all machinery so nobody can get hurt by them,Use safety gates so kids can’t get where they shouldn’t be, Keep sharp knives away from people who might hurt themselves

The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely

Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety problems.

The next best way is to restrict it somehow-Substitute it with something better-Isolate people from the hazard-Engineer a better way of working

Finally, if you can’t do the above, set up administrative controls- signs and policies that stop accidents from happening.

The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely

Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety problems.

The next best way is to restrict it somehow-Substitute it with something better-Isolate people from the hazard-Engineer a better way of working

EXAMPLEA policy that says that children must be supervised at all times, Signs that warn people to keep away from hot surfaces or dangerous locations

Finally, if you can’t do the above, set up administrative controls- signs and policies that stop accidents from happening.

The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely

Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety problems.

The next best way is to restrict it somehow-Substitute it with something better-Isolate people from the hazard-Engineer a better way of working

Finally, if you can’t do the above, set up administrative controls- signs and policies that stop accidents from happening. Personal protective Equipment (PPE) is also a last resort

The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely

Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety problems.

The next best way is to restrict it somehow-Substitute it with something better-Isolate people from the hazard-Engineer a better way of working

EXAMPLEWear safety goggles as well as having barriers to stop people getting hurt by machines, not instead of.

Wear safety gloves when handling food, but also take appropriate precautions by using tongs and wise policies.

Finally, if you can’t do the above, set up administrative controls- signs and policies that stop accidents from happening. Personal protective Equipment (PPE) is also a last resort

Our form might look like this:

Extension cord that could easily be tripped on

B B 2 ASAPTape extension cord down so that it cannot be tripped on

Our form might look like this:

Sharp knives in client kitchen area- potential self harm hazard

C A 2 ASAPRemove knives from area, keep in staff office

DisclaimerThis guide is an introduction to the general principles of – 1.Identifying hazards2.Assessing the degree of harm/ risks3.Controlling the risks that you find.

It is up to you to put it into practice- if you need more information on a particular workplace health and safety issue, useful resources can be found at

www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au