ICAITU004BOccupational Health and Safety Procedures

ICAITU004B
Apply Occupational Health and Safety Procedures

On completion of this unit learners should be competent in supporting the organizations’ Occupational Health and Safety principles and practices.
They should have the ability to:
1. Determine Occupational Health and Safety (OH & S) issues relating to immediate work environment.
2. Document and disseminate Occupational Health & Safety requirements.
3. Provide basic ergonomic advice.




Glossary

OOS
Occupational Overuse Syndrome, also know as Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). Caused by repetitive tasks and/or having poor posture.
Workstation
Includes the whole work area and positioning of – computer, monitor, keyboard, desk, chair, document holder and footrest.
Ergonomics
The study of the work environment in relation to the user.
Hazards
A situation or substance which could cause injury or illness.
Code of Practice
Guidelines which should be implemented to maintain safe work practices.
Manual Handling
Lifting or moving any equipment or other objects.
OHS Committee
A body of workplace employees committed to ensuring a safe work environment – attends regular meetings and carries out regular inspections.
Work Cover
The managing body for NSW Workplace Health & Safety
Accident Report
A document which should be filled out by anyone involved in workplace accidents/injuries, regardless of however minor they might be.
Worker’s Compensation
A special insurance-type payment made to any person who is injured or suffers a work related illness and needs time off work.
MSDS
Material Safety Data Sheets – specifies how to handle certain material and/or substances.


Activities


Exercise 1



1. An unhealthy work environment can lead to many problems, name some of these problems:

Stress, accidents, headaches, backaches, eye strain, low morale (anything else similar to these)
2. The study of the work environment in relation to the user is called ergonomics.

TRUE

3. Name some of the common complaints in relation to ergonomics.


Wrong type of chair – back and neck problems, stress on the body overall, Wrongly adjusted VDU – eye problems, headaches, glare problems, Environment – stuffy, too cold or hot, over air-conditioned, noisy, overwork Workstation arrangement – not practical, causes twisting or turning, cluttered or messy, frustrating and stressful
4. How often should you take a break when using a computer? every 3 hours once per day every 30 min.
Every 30 minutes
5. Your eyes should be level with the top of the screen. TRUE FALSE
6. If your feet cannot comfortably reach the floor what should you use?
Footrest
7. Repetitive Strain Injury is often referred to as OOS (Occupational Overuse Syndrome), is this correct?
Yes

8. If you suffer from eyestrain, what course of action should you take?
Have your eyes checked, wear glasses if necessary, adjust brightness and/or positioning of monitor
9. To be comfortable when you are working with the keyboard, your wrists should be resting on the desk.

TRUE

10.Describe what kind of chair you should have at your workstation.
An ergonomic chair, with adjustable height and back support, 5 feet with castors, seat should be made of cloth and angled away from your upper thighs, preferable with no arms (or lower enough to fit under the desk) and in complete working order.


Exercise 2

Questions:
1. Stress can be related to:
a. An ergonomic, well-planned workstation
b. Job overload and poor work design +
c. A happy work environment
d. None of the above

2. OOS stands for:
a. Occupational Overworked Syndrome
b. Often Occupationally Sick
c. Occupational Overuse Syndrome +
d. Any of the above

3. A VDU is another term for:
a. RSI
b. Chronic Stress
c. Monitor or screen
d. All of the above +

4. Which of the following is a hazard?
a. Chemicals
b. Poor work design
c. Electrical Problems
d. All of the above +

5. When lifting any heavy weight you should:
a. Keep your back straight +
b. Keep you knees straight
c. Hold the weight away from your body
d. Carry as much as you want


Exercise 3

1. In relation the Occupational Health & Safety Act what are the employer’s responsibilities?
Employer’s responsibilities:
a. Provide training for the use of any equipment in the workplace
b. Educate staff about occupation overuse syndrome
c. Outline correct lifting procedures for heavy weights
d. Establish a schedule of repairs and maintenance for equipment
e. Provide adequate lighting
f. Provide ergonomically designed furniture
g. Outline procedures for reporting potential hazards




2. What are the employee’s responsibilities?
Employee’s responsibilities:
a. Adjusting equipment to suit themselves
b. Reporting potential hazards
c. Adhering to safety regulations regarding issues such as power, lifting, housekeeping
d. Considering the welfare of themselves and others in the workplace
e. Taking frequent breaks when doing repetitive tasks


3. What sort of injuries does the OH & S Law cover?
In relation to IT injuries
a. Being injured during a lunchtime game in the grounds of the organization/company
b. An assault by another employee
c. An accident in the office or workshop
d. An accident while traveling between job locations for work purposes
e. An accident at a social function held by the organization/company


4. List some of the changes made to the workplace as a result of OH & S Laws.
Some changes to the workplace;
a. Safety signs warning of danger
b. Compulsory protective clothing where it is necessary
c. Regular maintenance of air conditioning units
d. Regular inspections of the workplace and follow up of hazard reports
e. Hazard control
f. Emergency drills
g. Safety audits
h. Documentation for work-related incidents, accidents injuries and illnesses


5. Name some of the functions of the OH & S Committee.
Functions of an OHS Committee
a. Investigate issues brought to its attention by employees or employers
b. Assist in the development of a safe work environment
c. Ensure there are appropriate recording procedures for accidents
d. Attempt to resolve issues
e. May have other functions relevant to the type of workplace




6. Investigate what the following safety signs mean in the workplace.
A red circle with a line through it -
A green triangle
A yellow triangle
A blue circle
o Red-Indicates something that must not be done
o Green-Indicates where emergency equipment is kept
o Yellow-Danger warning
o Blur-Indicates the need for some type of safety equipment




7. Summarize the Hierarchy of Controls.
controls – training, job rotation, scheduling of Hierarchy of controls
a. Elimination – removing the risk.
b. Substituting – replacing equipment or substance with a better or less risky one
c. Engineering controls – designing or redesigning a better work area.
d. Administrative work, risk control.
e. Personal protective clothing and equipment – to provide a barrier to any hazard.


8. If you were asked to move a computer from one place to another, what safety precautions would you take?
Safety precautions
a. Turn off all components at the wall
b. Unplug all the power leads
c. Disconnect all cables from the computer components keyboard, printer, mouse etc
d. Use a trolley if it is a fair distance to be moved to or,
e. Lift the equipment with bent knees, keeping the equipment close to your body and your back straight.


Case study 1



You are an employee of Bits & PCs Computer Services Company and one of your tasks is to attend the helpdesk enquiries for two hours every day. There are three of you doing this during a normal day, but on this particular day one of your workmates is off sick and you are asked to do his two hours as well as your own.
Along with this you also have some urgent tasks that you feel you really need to try and do in between enquiries. The day begins quite well and you seem to be making progress, however, you start to get very busy on the helpdesk and you end up working through lunch.
Later in the afternoon, you decide it is time to have a quick break. In your rush, you trip over the electrical leads hanging down beside the desk and land on an open PC case, cutting your hand and badly bruising both knees as you hit the floor!
You are not seriously hurt, but shaken and your hand will need some attention to stop the bleeding.
1. Fill out the information on the Injury/Investigation Report below, using all your own details and the relevant information from the above case study.









Case study 2

Choose an appropriate office or workplace with at least one computer workstation and carry out the following tasks:
· Investigate the OH & S practices which are in place
· Identify any environmental breaches
· Identify any electrical hazards
· What OH & S reporting procedures are there?
· Is the furniture ergonomically designed?
· In all these areas recommend any OH & S improvements you feel are necessary.

Simulated workplace:
Erik’s European Motor Mechanic Workshop
Scenario: The workshop has just got license to inspect motor vehicle for road worthiness for the RTA.
Part of the resource requirement is to set up a PC which can be network to the RTA mainframe server.
Our task is to set up the PC workstation for a workshop. We need to set this up in compliant to WORKCOVER REGULATION.

1. Analyze the floor plan of the workshop and identify an area which we can put this workstation.
2. Examine the environmental issues required by WORKCOVER.

3. Examine the ergonomic issues required from WORKCOVER.





OH&S REPORT FOR WORKSTATION

Eriks European Motor Mechanic Workshop

Background

This workshop has the following dimension: 900 M2 (30m x 30m), ceiling height 5 metres, 6 windows in the back, the exit is located on the left side of the building, in the front we have 2 roller doors. Inside of the roller doors there is a reception desk. This is located on the right side of the building on the back. The reception area is 8m x 8m (64 M2). The FIRST AID KIT is located in the reception area. The reception area is secured. The existing reception area has already one workshop. Right next to reception workstation there is enough footprint for the new workstation that connects to the RTA mainframe server.

As this reception area is isolated there is the barrier to isolate sound. This reception area has reverse cycle air-conditioning with climate control (humidity and temperature). There are sprinkles and smoke detector. In the workshop and reception area are separate fire extinguishers. They are CO2 based. CO2 fire extinguishers are good for electrical and oil based/hydrocarbon fires. There is fire blanket in the workshop. In workshop there is sufficient ventilation extract fumes and carbon monoxide. There is one window in the reception area. This is located on the right side of the area. As the result this does not affect excessive amount of glare from the screen. Inside reception area there are 6 sets of power points. Currently only two sets of power points are in constant use. Therefore, there are sufficient power points for the work station. Lighting requirements for the new workstation is an issue. There is insufficient artificial lighting in the propose area. For the current staff there are two trained mechanics and two apprentice mechanics. In addition, there is one clerk that does the administration work. The two mechanics as part of their training and experience have already the OHS skills and knowledge for the job. These two mechanics have the responsibility for training of the clerk and two apprentice mechanics on OHS WORKCOVER requirements.
The floor plan is given in figure 1








Recommendation:

Install the RTA computer in the office facing the door. Install another light above the computer. This would comply with the requirements of the WORKCOVER guidelines for environmental factors. For ergonomic requirements an additional ergonomic chair is purchased. The computer system is installed based on the WORKCOVER guide lines for the following:

1. The angle of the screen to the eye is max 30 degrees to horizontal. This is to protect the neck.
2. The key board is positioned to reduce stress on the risk.
3. The back rest is adjusted to ensure the back is vertical when seated.

The basic setup is given in Figure 2.

Basically this includes the setup oft he following: Chair, Desk screen, Documents Layout, Keyboard, Mouse, Environment, Telephone Operations and Headsets and Work Organisation.

The workstation adjustment requirement relates to Figure3:

The layout of the workstation is given in figure 4

Ireenes coffee shop

OH&S REPORT FOR WORKSTATION



Irene’s coffee shop

Completed by Ireene M.









Background


This workshop has the following dimension: 1600 M2 (40m x 40m), ceiling height 3 metres, 4 windows in the back, the exit is located on the back of the building and the main entrance is in front of the building. In the front we also have 2 large windows. Inside of the front doors there is 7 large tables and 5 cheers around them. There are also large counter desk. This is located on the back of the building. The counter area is 8m x 5m (45 M2). The FIRST AID KIT is located behind the counter.
There is kitchen on the right of the building on the back 400 M2 (20mx20m) It has 2 windows on the back and 2 entrances. One is located on the right side and the other in front. The kitchen has reverse cycle air-conditioning with climate control (humidity and temperature). There are also sprinkles and smoke detectors.
There is also reception in the middle of the building which has already one workshop. Right next to reception workstation there is enough footprints for the new workstation that connects to the RTA mainframe server. As this reception area is isolated there is the barrier to isolate sound. This reception area has reverse cycle air-conditioning with climate control (humidity and temperature).. In the kitchen and reception area there are separate fire extinguishers. They are CO2 based. CO2 fire extinguishers are good for electrical and oil based/hydrocarbon fires. There is also 2 fire blankets in the kitchen area.

The toilets are located in the left side in the building. There are 4 of them. There are separate smoke detectors in each room.
In all workshop there are sufficient ventilation extract fumes and carbon monoxide. There is one window in the reception area. This is located on the right side of the area. As the result this does not affect excessive amount of glare from the screen. Inside reception area there are 6 sets of power points. Currently only two sets of power points are in constant use. Therefore, there are sufficient power points for the work station. Lighting requirements for the new workstation is an issue. There is insufficient artificial lighting in the propose area. For the current staff there are two trained mechanics and two apprentice mechanics. In addition, there is one clerk that does the administration work. The two mechanics as part of their training and experience have already the OHS skills and knowledge for the job. These two mechanics have the responsibility for training of the clerk and two apprentice mechanics on OHS WORKCOVER requirements.
The floor plan is given in figure 1
















Figure one


Floor plan Ireene’s coffee shop







Recommendation











Strains and Sprains
Potential Hazard
Teens often work serving food in restaurants. Serving food and bussing tables, especially while assuming awkward postures, may lead to back, neck, and shoulder strains and sprains. Specific potential hazards include:
• Balancing or lifting too many plates or glasses while serving or clearing tables.
• Balancing or lifting heavy trays above shoulder height.
• Lifting large, overfilled containers of dirty dishes.
• Repetitive reaching across tables to serve customers or to clear tables.
Moving and lifting tables and chairs to accommodate customers.

Avoid over-reaching across tables or booths.

Possible Solutions
Teen Safety Solutions









Employers have the primary responsibility for protecting the safety and health of their workers. Employees are responsible for following the safe work practices of their employers.
• Avoid awkward postures if you must carry trays, plates, or beverages. Serving with awkward postures such as unsupported elbow and finger postures can increase your risk for injury.
Limit the number of plates or items you will carry, realizing that carrying more than a couple items puts excessive strain on your arms and back and may lead to injury.
Unsupported elbow and finger postures

Use both hands to carry items such as coffee pots or water jugs and carry them with your elbows close into your body.
• Move the glass or cup to you, when pouring, rather than overreaching with a heavy coffee pot or water jug to fill a glass.
• Carry plates with your elbows close into your body to lessen the strain on your arms and back. Avoid bending at the wrist or extending upward at the fingers. Your shoulder, arms, and hands should be in a neutral position rather than bent at the wrist or extended upward at the fingers.
• Balance the tray on both your arm and hand.
• Alternate carrying tasks from hand to hand.
• Balance the load evenly, placing heavier items in the center of the tray.
• Make sure trays are serviceable and clean and dry and without defect before using.
• Stand by the person you are serving if possible, rather than reaching across tables and over people. In booths, pass the plates along, requesting that the people sitting closest to the edge of the booth assist you in passing the plates.

Get help to move tables and chairs, rather than lifting alone


Employer Solutions


Employers have the primary responsibility for protecting the safety and health of their workers. Employees are responsible for following the safe work practices of their employers.
• If space permits, provide serving carts to carry food, rather than requiring workers to carry heavy trays overhead.
• If space permits, provide workers with a server's station close to the serving area. This will decrease the distance that items need to be carried.


Manual Handling Regulations 1992

The act lays down minimum health and safety requirements for the manual handling of loads and requires a risk assessment of all manual handling to be made by a competent person. Employers must reduce and avoid the need for manual handling, and, where it is unavoidable, take measures to minimise risk, particularly from back injuries. The act sets out the weights and types of loads that can be handled. Employees have an obligation to comply with the regulations, and to use the right technique or equipment for lifting and handling jobs.

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992


Under these regulations employers must:
• provide suitable equipment for every task;
• ensure that equipment is in good condition and only used for suitable operations;
• provide training, instruction and information on all equipment;
• ensure equipment conforms with EC product safety directives.
The act specifically extends to maintenance operations and provision of warnings and markings on site.

Noise at Work Regulations 1988

The act sets out specific limits for noise levels, and the action required to reduce noise risk at each level.

Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992

The act describes equipment for protecting against risk to health and safety for all workers. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the last resort for personal protection, and it is only used when all other methods to make a task safe have been applied. Employers must ensure the suitability of PPE provided, maintain good PPE provision, provide storage for PPE when not in use, and give training and information on how to use PPE correctly.

All PPE must conform to current EU directives and should bear the ‘CE’ mark.
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995
The act requires that all accidents resulting in more than 3 days’ absence from work, or where the person cannot return to their normal tasks, or involving more than 24 hours in hospital, are reported. A responsible person must make a report. The act defines major injuries, dangerous occurrences and recordable diseases that must be notified. Specific reporting forms must be used and are available from HSE field offices.

Work Effectively in an Information Technology Environment

ICAITTW001B
Work Effectively in an Information Technology Environment

http://hsc.csu.edu.au/info_tech/core/work/icaittw001b/Main_work_effectively.html

On completion of this unit, learners should be competent in assimilating into an information technology environment. This is fundamental for working in an organization.
They should have the ability to:
1. Comply with general information technology policies and procedures.
2. Promote the organisation and the Information Technology department in a manner consistent with the organisation's mission.
3. Identify information technology equipment, software and operating systems supported by the organisation.


Key Players
Key players are personnel within an organisation that are essential for the functioning of that section or department. Within an organisation key players may include:
Your supervisor
Your trainer
A manager
Helpdesk staff
Other colleagues in the department or division
There may be a number of key players outside your organisation that influence how information technology is used in your organisation. These may include:
Government departments
Vendors of information technology products or the customer
Professional bodies and societies such as the Australian Computer Society
Industry publications
Employer organisations and relevant unions

How do you promote the organisation? Organisations promote themselves through corporate advertising. This includes posters, brochures, listings in phone books, promotion of their mission statement within the organisation and having a presence on the internet
Policies & Procedures Each organisation will have its own policies and procedures.
. These policies and procedures may include -
Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) guidelines
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) guidelines
Guidelines outlining work practices in a department
The structure of departments within an organisation
Work agreements or enterprise bargains
Manuals on how to use technological equipment
Preventative maintenance procedures
Purchasing requisition procedures and documentation

Mission Statements A mission statement refers to the core business of the company, their general philosophy and customer service focus
Mission statements are readily accessible for viewing by the public as organisations publish them in documents, such as annual reports and overviews of the organisation.
Mission statements need to be concise and effective, for example, Big W's mission statement is "To provide our customers with the best quality merchandise at the best possible prices".
Another example of a mission statement is Australia Post's. Here is an extract from their mission statement, "Australia Post is committed to providing high-quality mail and parcel services to all Australians"
Organisational Charts An organisational chart usually includes job or position description, and in some cases the name of the person holding that positioA sample organisational chart is shown below:



















IT Functions department, division or an integrated function of an organisation.
The five general sectors of the Information Technology industry include:
computer hardware
communications hardware
packaged software
computer services
communication services
For example, in the Computer Services sector, information technology may be used for:
data processing
information storage and retrieval
computer maintenance
computer consultancy

Glossary

Anti-discrimination
The Anti-Discrimination Act (1997) is designed to protect your rights and to prevent discrimination. This includes equality in the workplace and in other aspects of your life.
Capital equipment
An object which is a financial asset needed for an undertaking or to perform a service. Generally, capital equipment is a financial asset that adds to the net worth of a business.
Code of conduct
Ethics agreement which details acceptable behaviour and conduct for a particular company or role.
Contractor
A person or organisation that agrees to provide materials or perform services at a specified price, especially for construction or development work.
Contracts
An employment agreement between employer and employee, which is enforceable by law. A contract of employment sets out the conditions and terms under which an employee accepts to work in a particular job, such as the wage or salary amount, number or spread of working hours and whether overtime is paid or allowed.
Computing support
The provision or maintenance of hardware and software assistance.
Consumables
Computer related goods, which are used in the daily use or maintenance of a computer system, for example ink cartridges for a printer.
Corporate hardware and software
Approved hardware and software products used within a business.
Deadlines
A time limit for the completion of a task.
Duty statements
Also known as a job description. A document which describes the purpose, expected activities and responsibilities of a particular job.
E business
E business (electronic business) is the conduct of business on the internet
EEO
Equal Employment Opportunity. Any person employing other people has to take care to treat those people fairly, and not to discriminate on the grounds of race, sex, marital status, physical or mental impairment or sexual preferences.
Employer/employee rights and responsibilities
The duties and conformable rules or guidelines for a worker who is hired to perform a job, the employee, and the person or company that employ workers, the employer.
External client
A customer or someone who pays for goods or services who is independent of the organisation delivering the service.
Help desk
A department within a company that responds to technical questions. Most large software companies have help desks to answer user questions. Questions and answers can be delivered by telephone, email or fax .
Internal client
A customer within the limits of the organisation.
Mission statement
A declaration of a company's vision and role statement.




Activities
Exercise 1
Using your work placement company or another organisation that you are studying, write a 2-3 page report which addresses each of the following points.
Identify the name, address, telephone and fax numbers of your organisation
Identify and briefly explain the role of the key players in the organisation.
Create an organisational chart for your organisation.

What is the mission statement of the organisation?
If it is not written down, is there an implied mission statement?
What does the mission statement mean to the employees ?. How does it help them to assimilate into the workplace?
Briefly list and explain the information technology functions within the organisation.
Identify information technology equipment in use in the organisation
hardware,
software (including operating system software),
description of any special information technology equipment used in the workplace.
Find out and write down the telephone number and location of your nearest branch of the Australian Computer Society.
Find out where the following policies and procedures are located in your organisation and write down where they are kept.
Occupational Health & Safety
Equal Employment Opportunity
Purchasing Guidelines
Information Technology Trai
Exercise 2
Identify career options in the Information Technology industry.
Your task is to create a profile of a person currently working in the Information Technology industry.
Create a questionnaire to be used to gather information.Include questions that will enable you to gather informationon:
§ Name
§ Job title
§ Name of company
§ Job description or role
§ Information Technology skills required to do this job
§ Salary (optional)
§ Length of time at current job role
§ Training or qualifications required
§ How did you get this job?
§ Future career aspirations
Use desktop publishing software to create a personal career profile - including a scanned photo or photo taken using a digital camera. A Sample format is included below to help you
Exercise 3
Choose an information technology workplace and complete the exercises below.
Locate samples of information that the organisation distributes to its customers. This could include pamphlets, booklets and posters that advertise various aspects of the organisation. What does this information reveal about the organisation?
Does the organisation have guidelines that direct the way in which the organisation is promoted? If so what are they, if not why aren't guidelines necessary?
Exercise 4
Complete the exercise on "Rights in the Workplace", which is located on the Worksite website. This will test your knowledge on rights and responsibilities in the workplace.
Click on this link to access the exercise.
Exercise 5
Complete the exercises on "Unions have millions of members", which is located on the Worksite website. This will test your knowledge on the role of unions.
Click on this link to access the quiz.
Case Study
Email Policy
The following links to the Australasian Legal Information Institute have some interesting information regarding the use of e-mail in the workplace. This is an area that has hit the media and the courtrooms recently due to employee claims of unfair dismissal and invasion of privacy.
The section of the website called, Privacy Law and Policy Reporter, publishes articles relating to privacy and computing. Read the article titled E-mail Privacy
The article recommends that organisations publish their email policy so that employees are aware of the correct use of email and the consequences of any breach of the email policy.
Task 1
Locate your work placement or another organisation's email policy. Briefly outline the acceptable use of email for your organisation. Are the consequences of breaching this policy documented ? If so what are the consequences?
Employees and emails
Look at this web site Read the section Legal Setting of employment. This section discusses the topic of surveillance. Computer software can now monitor every keystroke that an employee makes for as little as $99. This section also refers to "cyber slacking", which is the use of email and the internet during work time posing a threat to productivity.
A well publicised court case involving the use of email during work time was between Ansett and one of its employees, Ms Gencarelli. Ms Gencarelli was a union delegate and she distributed information via email which was critical of Ansett's role in the negotiations with her union. She was dismissed for "unauthorised business use" of email. The case went to court and the judge ruled that the use of email was "authorised business use" and Ms Gencarelli was reinstated.
You can read the details of this case here under the heading Employees and emails
Task 2
Computerisation has increased productivity, however, it also has the capacity to decrease productivity. How?
What strategies are some companies implementing to monitor employees use of computers during work time ? Is this ethical?
Do you agree with the judge's ruling in the case between Ms Gencarelli and Ansett ? Why or why not?