WHS compliance and risk management

Welcome

There are lots of systems in our workplaces today that we need to have in place

First Aid compliance is no exception

Most people engage their local safety shop and purchase something like the ‘workplace first aid kit’, Install it and think they comply.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Lets take

a

look at the law

The Law states that there are three aspects of first aid that must be considered

1You must have adequate equipment

• Failure to have this can cost you 60 Penalty units

• One current unit is $100, that’s $6,000

1

You must have adequate equipment

• Failure to have this can cost you 60 Penalty units

• One current unit is $100, that’s $6,000

2

You must have an adequate number of and appropriately trained staff

• Failure to comply here is another 60 Penalty units

• Another $6,000

3

1

2

You must have adequate equipment

• Failure to have this can cost you 60 Penalty units

• One current unit is $100, that’s $6,000

You must have an adequate number of and appropriately trained staff

• Failure to comply here is another 60 Penalty units

• Another $6,000

You must have regard to your risks

• The nature of the work you do

• The nature of the hazards

• Your workplace size and location

• Number of workers etc

3

1

2

You must have adequate equipment

• Failure to have this can cost you 60 Penalty units

• One current unit is $100, that’s $6,000

You must have an adequate number of and appropriately trained staff

• Failure to comply here is another 60 Penalty units

• Another $6,000

You must have regard to your risks

• The First aid Code of Practice (Section 3.1) states ‘The contents of first aid kits should be based on a risk assessment’

If you were found non- compliant to these laws and perhaps fined. What could it cost in the follow up civil case if the worker could no longer work and or needed special equipment to function in their daily lives

1 Lets take a look at adequate equipment

1 Lets take a look at adequate equipment

2 Lets take a look at adequately trained and an adequate number of trained Workers

What type of business are you ?

• ‘low risk workplace’ ( Library or Office)

• ‘high risk workplace’ ( where workers can be exposed to hazards that could result in serious injuries )

• ‘remote high risk workplace’ ( both high risk and outside of a timely response from emergency services )

1 Lets take a look at adequate equipment

2 Lets take a look at adequately trained and an adequate number of trained Workers

What type of business are you ?

• ‘low risk workplace’ ( Library or Office)

1 first aider for every 50

• ‘high risk workplace’ ( where workers can be exposed to hazards that could result in serious injuries )

1 first aider for every 25

• ‘remote high risk workplace’ ( both high risk and outside of a timely response from emergency services )

1 first aider for every 10

1 Lets take a look at adequate equipment

2 Lets take a look at adequately trained and an adequate number of trained Workers

What training do the staff need ?

• Qualifications must be nationally recognised training

• Qualifications must be refreshed on a regular basis

• Level of training should be identified using the risk management approach.

1

Lets take a look at adequate equipment

2 Lets take a look at adequately trained and an adequate number of trained Workers

What training do the staff need ?

• Qualifications must be nationally recognised training

• Qualifications must be refreshed on a regular basis

• Level of training should be identified using the risk management approach.

1 Lets take a look at adequate equipment

2 Lets take a look at adequately trained and an adequate number of trained Workers

3 Lets take a look at having regard to your risks.

Do you have hazardous machinery ?

Can emergency services respond in a timely manner

?

Do any of your staff have any special health needs that you need to know about ?

Have you consulted with your staff about your first aid requirements ?

Do you have vehicles?

How many separate buildings do you occupy ?

Do you need a kit in each building?

Is a bolt to the wall cabinet appropriate ? Or do you need a grab bag kit ?

Some of the challenges

Some of the challenges

We provide equipment to family day care who find themselves under varied stakeholders and education department governance. We needed to consider

• What additional considerations did they have relating to the education department and working with children ?

• What things did staff need quickly with limited notice like Vomit Bags ?

• How could they address minor cuts in children ?

Some of the challenges

We provide equipment to 2 trophy trucks that compete in the ‘Finke Desert Race’. We needed to consider

• How can they access their kit while they are in their race suits, upside down, stuck in their harness and on fire ?

• How will this equipment work after they have been underwater numerous times during the day, covered in mud and dust and vibrated to within an inch of its life ?

• How could it weigh less to help with over vehicle weight ?

Some of the challenges

We provide equipment to a nursing home with areas outside of clinical governance. We needed to consider

• What areas were outside of clinical governance (Mens Shed, Kitchens, maintenance workshops, Site tradesman etc) ?

• How would they deal with Skin integrity issues ?

• How would they provide Coverage on their buses ?

Some of the challenges

We provide equipment to the Riverbend Medieval Society who have events of a medieval nature while in full costume. We needed to consider

• How would the equipment not interfere with the medieval theme and be discrete ?

• How would they manage Heat Exhaustion without any Air conditioners or refrigeration ?

• What training do the Staff need ?

• How do they manage no power and no mobile coverage ?

• What sort of weapon injuries might they need to deal with ?

Some of the challenges

We provide equipment to a charter aircraft company that requires to be audited by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). We needed to consider

• What equipment is needed if the plane crashes and how many people do they need to treat ?

• How do we keep the weight and space to a minimum without compromising life saving equipment ?

• What training does the pilot need ?

Some of the challenges

We provide equipment to the Takura Rural Fire Brigade who put themselves in front of bush fires. We needed to consider

• How could we ensure robust, fail safe, effective and easy to use equipment ?

• How would it be maintained and checked after a fire fighting event and annually ?

• What would be needed if their shed was to become a community centre ?

Some of the challenges

We provide equipment to a church who have a large demographic of aging parishioners and a history of incidents. We needed to consider

• How could they make the equipment accessible and yet discrete ?

• What was the incident history ?

• How could they ensure tamper proofing so that the church admin could keep a track of when first aid was being used ?

Some of the challenges

We provide equipment to a lifestyle camping television show film crew who find themselves a long way from help if they need it. We needed to consider

• How they communicate outside of UHF and mobile coverage ?

• How they can be evacuated outside of the range of a helicopter ?

• What level of training do they need ?

• What might they need to deal with and what equipment do they need ?

Some of the challenges

We provide equipment to an animal refuge who have a group of volunteers who walk the dogs every morning around a cane paddock. We needed to consider

• What if a volunteer gets bitten by a snake half way around the cane paddock ?

• How would we deal with a heart attack given they are not within a timely response time?

Some of the challenges

We provide equipment to a dive boat who find themselves in the ocean. We needed to consider

• How they also need to comply with the Maritime Safety Authority Law ?

• How would they deal with a life threatening bleed from a shark attack ?

• What equipment did they need for decompression Sickness ?

• Based on Flow rates. How much oxygen do they need per hour and how many hours will it take to return home ?

• Can they call in a helicopter ?

• Will they be able to have at least 2 staff who are trained in

The Message

Its not that hard, go and have a look at what you currently have and ask yourself.

• what could go wrong.

• how bad that could be

• do I have appropriate equipment and training in place to cover that

• How do we periodically review our