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Assess & Improve
The Safety OfEnvironments
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IntroductionIn this section, we will look at:
relevant legislation and your obligations as a worker
what makes a suitable and safe environment, and
assessing, improving and reviewing identified risk areas.
On completion of this section, you should be able to compile andcomplete a checklist, assess any risks, determine necessary
improvements and evaluate the effectiveness of your improvements.
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Legislation
Every State or Territory will have legislation about Workplace Health
and Safety or Occupational Health and Safety.
States and Territories also have Childrens Services Legislation thatcovers how we must act in regards to Workplace Health and Safety
in Childrens Services.
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Who Is Responsible? You have seen from the above exercise that there is Legislation in
place to guide Workplace, Health and Safety within childrensservices. Legislation will impose penalties on employers whobreach the legislative requirements within the workplace and placeemployees and clients at risk.
Workplace, Health and Safety Legislation nominates that ALLpeople in the workplace have responsibilities to ensure the safety ofthe workplace.
This means that employers, contractors, people in control of aworkplace, designers and manufacturers, employees, visitors andvolunteers all have a responsibility to be alert and observant withinthe workplace, report any risk areas, correct or remove anydangerous situations and ensure the safety of everyone in theworkplace.
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As an employee:
you must follow the instructions and processes within yourworkplace
use any personal protective equipment provided for you in theworkplace
you must act in a way that protects from risk your own andothers health and safety
attend training as directed by your employer to ensure yourunderstanding of the workplace health and safety guidelineswithin your workplace, and
report any dangerous situations straight away to yoursupervisor/manager.
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What Is A SafeEnvironment?
A safe environment is one wherethe health, safety and hygienepractices are valued, assessed,written, taught and improved in acontinuous cycle that shows acommitment to providing a quality
environment for the employer,employees, visitors and childrenwho attend the service.
The environment is observed andassessed, staff are alert and scan
each day, hazards areremoved/repaired and allparticipants at the service worktogether to ensure safe practices.
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Assessing TheEnvironment
How can we do this?
Organise a Workplace Health
and Safety Committee for your
workplace. This could bemade up of parents and staff.
Hold regular meetings and
write Minutes for each
meeting.
You need to assess the
environment and identify thehazards and risks that could
cause injury or illness to children,
employees and visitors.
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Compile Safety Checklists.
Decide how to assess the risk.
Evaluate the effectiveness of
current Safety Policies.
Review and update current
Safety Policies, as needed.
Identify the areas that may
pose a risk within the service.
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Team Input
The old saying that many hands make light work alsoapplies to solving problems of riskthe more brains
the more varied and innovative the solutions!
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set the schedule for Safety
Checklists to ensure all areas
of the service are checkedregularly
review the completed
Checklists and assist with Risk
Assessments
brainstorm innovative solutions
to control potential risks
update the services Policies
and Procedures on an annual
schedule, as required.
The Workplace Health and
Safety Committee is one avenue
to involve parents and staff in
consultation and continuousimprovement. This committee
can:
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Compiling A Safety Checklist
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Scanning involves really looking
at all aspects of the environment,
both indoor and outdoor, up and
down, left and right, in cupboards,opening doors, and breaking
down large areas into smaller
ones.
Look at a wall and divide it intofour parts and look at each part
closely, so that you see any
fixtures, power points, electrical
cords, holes, paintwork and truly
evaluate the condition of eachpiece.
A comprehensive Safety Checklist
will help you to focus on the areas
within the services environmentthat could cause a problem or
risk.
To make the assessment more
comprehensive, you will alsoneed to scan the environment and
be alert for items that are not on
the checklist.
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Activity
Draw up a list of safety statements under each of the headings given
on the safety checklist on the next slide. Remember to write thestatements in a positive way, so that yes means compliance, eg.
All windows operate smoothly with latches in good working order;
all furniture is stable, tilt-proof and in good repair.
After developing your checklist, use it to undertake an assessmentof one childrens room at your service.
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SAFETY CHECKLIST: Check each area within the room and note yes for compliance; no for non-compliance and N/A for notapplicable.
ROOM: DATE:
Item Yes No N/A Action Required / Comment
Doors, Windows and Lighting:
Walls:
Flooring:
Curtains and Blinds:
Furniture and Fittings:
Equipment:
Electrical Fittings and Equipment:
Bathrooms and wet areas:
Any other items:
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Risk Assessment
In every situation, there can be a multitude of items that could cause
injury and harm.
Look around your home. Where do you store your medications and
cleaning products? Are sharp knives accessible to children? Do you
use extension cords? Are there trip hazards such as a cord, rubbish,
hose?
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Risk Assessment is a process involving the following
procedures:
identify possible hazards (through checklists and
scanning
lighting
flooringfalling objectsliftingtemperaturenoise
misuse of equipmentchemicals or poisonous materialssharp objects
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assess the likelihood of risk is it likely to
happen? What could the result be? (minor injury,
major injury, fatality) How often are we exposed tothe risk? (daily, annually)
decide how to control, minimise or eliminate the
risk
implement the measures decided (action plan)
monitor and evaluate the result and effectiveness
of the measures taken (remember that,
sometimes, we can create other hazards while
trying to minimise the original hazard).
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Hazard GroupsThere are six general groups of hazards:
1. Physical Noise, vibration, poor lightening, electrical, heat & cold,
dust, fire, explosion, unguarded machinery,
overcrowding & slippery floors
2. Chemical Gases, dusts, fumes, vapours & liquids
3. Ergonomic Tool design, equipment design & task design, work
(postural) station design & manual handling
4. Radiation Microwaves, infra-red, ultraviolet, lasers & X-rays
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5. Psychological Shift work, workload, dealing with the
public, harassment, discrimination,
threat of danger, stress etc.
6. Biological Infections by bacteria, viruses, fungi
& parasites.
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Example:
The service has identified a potentialrisk after completing the Safety
Checklist and scanning the centre as
the checklist was completed. Staff
found that the carpet square in the
room had a frayed corner thatchildren/staff/visitors could catch their
foot on. This is a potential hazard.
To assess the likelihood of risk the
following table was used on the next
slide.
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Is it likely to happen? What could the result be? How often are we exposed to the
risk?
Highly unlikely Minor Injury Infrequent
Not likely Moderate Injury X Occasional
Likely Major Injury Frequent X
Extremely likely X Fatality Constant
Crosses on the first line represent minor risk, line two
moderate risk, line three high risk and crosses on thebottom line indicate very high risk. Our assessment shows
an average score of HIGH RISK and means we need to do
something about the potential risk, very quickly.
A ti Pl &
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Action Plans &Timeframes
The next step in the Risk Assessment process is to review the options
for controlling the potential risk, and set the actions and timeframes
needed.
In order of priority, the methods of controlling risk are: Elimination of the hazard
Substitution of the hazard by a lesser hazard
Isolation of the hazard
Redesigning to overcome the hazard
Administrative process to minimise the hazard
Use of PPE personal protective equipment
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Using the example of the frayed carpet square, you
could use the following methods to control the hazard:
Elimination remove the carpet square from
use and have the edges repaired
Substitution we may have another carpet thatcan be used
Redesigning the carpet square may be able
to be turned around, so that the frayed edge is
under a shelf unit and no longer a hazard.
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Evaluation The last step in the Risk Assessment Process is to evaluate the
effectiveness of the control measure that has been implemented.
All steps in the process must be documented and dated.
In our example about the frayed carpet square, if we used
elimination, and removed the frayed carpet and replaced it with a
new square or had the edge repaired, we have solved the risk in that
instance. The action and the result need to be documented and
signed off by the Workplace Health and Safety Committee.
A review three months later can be undertaken to ensure that the
risk remains controlled.
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SummaryAs you have worked through this section, you have seen that each
state has different legislation for:
Workplace health and safety (or occupational health and safety),
Regulating your service type (long day care, family day care, outside
school hours care). However, there are many aspects of this
legislation which are common to all States and Territories.
Every service or family day care scheme should have writtenpolicies and procedures for all health and safety issues that might
occur. These must be evaluated annually, with input from clients,
peers and community.
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The process for ensuring safe environments is to:
check the environment regularly, using scanning and
checklists
document potential hazards and rate theirseriousness
look at effective ways to rectify the problem through
elimination, substitution, isolation, redesign,
administration or personal protective equipment
(PPE).
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Everyone is responsible for health and
safety issues workers, managers,
owners, visitors, volunteers and clients. If
you see something that is a possible risk,
you have an obligation to report that risk.This includes dangerous situations in the
community as a whole, as well as within
your home and workplace. This should
become a way of living.