Unit of competency details
SITXWHS004 - Establish and maintain a work health and safety system (Release 1)
Summary
Usage recommendation:
Superseded
Releases:
| 1 1 (this release) |
03/Mar/2016 |
Companion volumes:
Unit of competency
Assessment requirements
Training packages that include this unit
Qualifications that include this unit
Skill sets that include this unit
Accredited courses that have this unit in the completion mapping
Classifications
Classification history
| ASCED Module/Unit of Competency Field of Education Identifier | 061301 | Occupational Health And Safety | 09/Aug/2016 | |
The content being displayed has been produced by a third party, while all attempts have been made to make this content as accessible as possible it cannot be guaranteed. If you are encountering issues following the content on this page please consider downloading the content in its original form
Unit of competency
Modification History
Not applicable.
Application
This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to develop, implement and sustain effective, professional and contemporary work health and safety (WHS) management practices. It requires the ability to establish and review systems, policies and procedures designed to ensure a safe workplace.
The unit applies to all tourism, travel, hospitality and event sectors and to any small, medium or large organisation.
It applies to those senior managers who operate with significant autonomy and are responsible for making a range of strategic management decisions.
This unit incorporates the requirement, under state and territory WHS legislation, for businesses to take a systematic approach to managing the safety of their workers and others in the workplace.
No occupational licensing, certification or specific legislative requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.
Pre-requisite Unit
Nil
Competency Field
Work Health and Safety
Unit Sector
Cross-Sector
Elements and Performance Criteria
|
ELEMENTS
|
PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
|
|
Elements describe the essential outcomes.
|
Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element.
|
|
1. Establish and maintain a framework for health, safety and security.
|
1.1.Access and interpret key legislative documents to ensure WHS system complies with regulatory requirements, standards and codes.
1.2.Design a WHS management system to suit characteristics and needs of the organisation, in consultation with appropriate personnel.
1.3.Identify and provide adequate financial, human and specialist external resources to address WHS management practices.
1.4.Develop and clearly articulate WHS policies and procedures in a format readily accessible to all personnel.
1.5.Define and allocate health, safety and security responsibilities within relevant job descriptions.
1.6.Consult with key personnel, and develop and implement a plan for WHS training requirements.
1.7.Establish and monitor a system for keeping WHS records.
1.8.Establish and maintain systems to ensure communication of WHS information to personnel.
|
|
2. Establish and maintain consultative arrangements for the management of health, safety and security.
|
2.1.Establish and maintain appropriate consultative processes to suit characteristics and needs of organisation.
2.2.Plan for and ensure that consultation is conducted at times designated by legislation.
2.3.Resolve issues raised through consultation.
2.4.Provide employees with accessible information on the outcomes of consultation.
|
|
3. Establish and maintain practices for identifying hazards, and assessing and controlling risks.
|
3.1.Develop or access hazard identification and risk assessment templates that incorporate criteria for assessing risks.
3.2.Plan for and ensure systematic hazard identification at times designated by legislation.
3.3.Develop procedures for the ongoing identification of types of hazards designated by legislation.
3.4.Develop procedures for the assessment and control of risks associated with identified hazards.
3.5.Nominate within procedures the roles and responsibilities of personnel for hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control.
3.6.Take a lead role in controlling risks, including implementing interim or emergency solutions.
3.7.Manage the response to any incident or accident, and follow legislative requirements for notifying and cooperating with WHS government regulators.
|
|
4. Evaluate organisational health, safety and security system.
|
4.1.Assess and maintain ongoing compliance with occupational health and safety (OHS) or WHS legislation and regulatory requirements, standards and codes.
4.2.Consult with a range of personnel to elicit feedback on WHS policies, procedures and practices.
4.3.Assess effectiveness of WHS management practices and develop, implement, document and communicate improvements and changes to the WHS system.
|
Foundation Skills
|
Foundation skills essential to performance in this unit, but not explicit in the performance criteria are listed here, along with a brief context statement.
|
|
SKILLS
|
DESCRIPTION
|
|
Reading skills to:
|
- interpret unfamiliar and complex materials describing regulatory requirements for WHS management systems and internal reports providing operational feedback about the effectiveness of practices
- develop comprehensive yet easily accessible WHS policies, procedures and template documents.
|
|
Writing skills to:
|
- construct high level reports about the effectiveness of WHS management practices and rationale for any change.
|
|
Oral communication skills to:
|
- discuss training needs with key supervisory and management personnel
- interview personnel about incidents, accidents, or near misses.
|
|
Problem-solving skills to:
|
- allow for a logical evaluation of the characteristics and needs of the organisation in order to design a tailored WHS system
- take a lead role in controlling risks and implementing interim or emergency solutions
- manage the response to any incident or accident.
|
|
Teamwork skills to:
|
- consult with key personnel and incorporate their views to develop an effective WHS system.
|
|
Planning and organising skills to:
|
- plan for, establish and regularly monitor all components of a WHS management system.
|
Unit Mapping Information
SITXWHS601 Establish and maintain a work health and safety system
Links
Companion Volume implementation guides are found in VETNet - https://vetnet.gov.au/Pages/TrainingDocs.aspx?q=68c40a93-e51d-4e0f-bc06-899dff092694
Assessment requirements
Modification History
Not applicable.
Performance Evidence
Evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit in the context of the job role, and:
- establish and implement a complete work health and safety (WHS) system that covers the following components:
- adequate facilities for the welfare of employees
- appropriate management of incidents or accidents and notification to WHS government regulators
- availability of information, instructions, training and supervision that ensure employees’ health and safety
- safe:
- machinery, equipment and materials
- premises
- provision of entrances and exits that are safe
- systems of work
- work environment
- evaluate and identify improvements to WHS practices within the above system
- develop comprehensive WHS system documents to support above system
- demonstrate management practices that must be established and maintained for compliance of above system with state or territory occupational health and safety (OHS) or WHS legislation.
Knowledge Evidence
Demonstrated knowledge required to complete the tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit:
- structure, characteristics and needs of the organisation that the WHS system must address
- objectives, components and comprehensive details of relevant state or territory OHS or WHS legislation:
- actions that must be taken for legal compliance
- employer responsibilities to provide a safe workplace
- requirement to consult, designated times for consultation and acceptable consultation mechanisms
- requirements for the use of WHS representatives and committees, and their roles and responsibilities
- designated times for hazard identification and categories of hazards that must be identified
- acceptable mechanisms for hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control
- requirements for record keeping and acceptable record keeping mechanisms
- requirement to provide information and training
- employee responsibilities to ensure safety of self, other workers and other people in the workplace
- employee responsibility to participate in WHS practices
- objectives, components and comprehensive details of WHS codes of practice and standards developed by industry or regulatory bodies
- ramifications of failure to observe OHS or WHS laws and codes of practice
- methods of receiving updated information on OHS or WHS laws and codes of practice
- components of WHS management systems
- considerations in the formulation of WHS policies and procedures:
- consultation
- emergencies
- evacuation of staff and customers
- handling chemicals and hazardous substances
- hazard identification and reporting
- incident and accident management and notification to WHS regulatory authorities
- incident and accident reporting by staff
- ongoing monitoring of risk control
- overall organisational approach to WHS
- participation of personnel in WHS management practices
- responsibilities of employees to ensure safety
- risk assessments and reporting
- safe work practices
- secure management of:
- cash
- documents
- equipment
- keys
- people
- diary, whiteboard or suggestion box used by staff to report issues of concern
- fact sheets to fully inform personnel about WHS rights and responsibilities
- formal WHS representatives and committees
- formal meetings with agendas, minutes and action plans
- informal meetings with notes
- WHS discussions with employees during the course of each business day
- recording issues in a management diary
- regular staff meetings that involve WHS discussions
- seeking staff suggestions for content of WHS policies and procedures
- special staff meetings or workshops to specifically address WHS issues
- staff handbook containing WHS information
- surveys or questionnaires that invite staff feedback on WHS issues
- time requirements for hazard identification:
- when changes to the workplace are implemented:
- before the premises are used for the first time
- before and during the installation or alteration of any plant
- before changes to work practices are introduced
- when any new information relating to health and safety risks becomes available
- approaches to assessing the effectiveness of WHS management systems:
- monitoring the ongoing effectiveness of risk control methods
- reviewing:
- incidents, accidents or near misses
- WHS reports
- WHS statistics
- methods used by the specific industry sector and organisation to:
- conduct consultation when developing policies and procedures
- communicate WHS policies, procedures and safe working practices
- conduct ongoing WHS consultation
- evaluate the effectiveness of WHS management practices
- sources of assessment criteria for assessing risks:
- developed by external consultancy services
- outlined in Australian standards
- self-determined for the organisation as part of a WHS management system
- suggested by industry associations for use by member businesses
- consultative arrangements for WHS
- employee roles and responsibilities in WHS management practices
- legal obligations and ramifications of failure to comply
- location of first aid kit and emergency evacuation plan
- WHS training information and updates
- policies:
- overall approach of organisation to WHS
- participation of personnel in WHS management practices
- responsibilities of employees to ensure safety
- procedures
- specific risk control measures relevant to the workplace
- specific regulations and codes of practice
- use of:
- hazard identification reporting documents
- risk assessment template documents
- formats for and inclusions of:
- policies and procedures
- WHS templates for hazard identification and risk assessment
- incident, accidents, or near miss reports
- reports that document the evaluation of systems and required changes
- WHS record keeping systems
- diaries of meetings
- agendas for and minutes of meetings
- committee members
- consultation decisions and follow up actions
- hazard identification
- incident or accident notifications to WHS regulatory authorities
- incident, accident, and near miss reports and related statistics
- policies and procedures
- risk assessments
- risk control actions
- training plans
- training undertaken.
Assessment Conditions
Skills must be demonstrated in an operational tourism, travel, hospitality or events business operation for which a tailored WHS management system can be established and monitored. This can be:
- an industry workplace
- a simulated industry environment.
Assessment must ensure access to:
- computers, software programs, printers and communication technology used to administer the development of a WHS system
- organisational specifications:
- relevant state or territory WHS legislation
- current plain English regulatory documents distributed by the local WHS government regulator
- codes of practice and standards issued by regulatory authorities or industry groups
- WHS information and business management manuals issued by industry associations or commercial publishers
- current commercial policies and procedures, and hazard identification and risk assessment template documents
- team for which the individual establishes WHS management practices; this can be:
- teams in an industry workplace who are assisted by the individual during the assessment process; or
- individuals who participate in role plays or simulated activities, set up for the purpose of assessment, in a simulated industry environment operated within a training organisation.
Assessors must satisfy the Standards for Registered Training Organisations’ requirements for assessors.
Links
Companion Volume implementation guides are found in VETNet - https://vetnet.gov.au/Pages/TrainingDocs.aspx?q=68c40a93-e51d-4e0f-bc06-899dff092694
