Business Case Study

You have recently taken ownership of a small convenience store. You decide to do a hazard identification walk. This is a report that you produce: “Upon entering the store I noticed small pools of water left by customers shaking their umbrellas, and taking off their coats. There are still a lot of boxes of stock left in the aisles. Some are over 15 kilograms in weight. The work areas around the cash registers look very aged, with cardboard being used underneath one of the staff’s chairs so it remains balanced. Behind the cash registers cables to the computers are laid out on the floor. The electrical socket that is used for the printer / fax and the EFTPOS machine appears to have become loose. One of the staff members smells of alcohol, and appears to be under the influence of another substance

1. A hazard identification template has been provided for your answer. From the above report complete the template. (25 marks)

Hazard
Possible Harmful Effects
Risk Factor-
High, Medium, Low
Possible Employer Action to Prevent Accident
Slippery Floor
People slipping over
Medium
Provide floor mats
Put up warning sign
Boxes all around
Obstruction of people´s path
Medium
Manage the place to fit all the boxes according to the needs. Remove from the way Chair without balance
Staff might fall over
Medium
Change the chair to a new one
Cables laid on the floor
People getting stuck
Medium
Hide them from people´s way
Electrical socket lose
High voltage
High
Change to a new one
Staff under alcohol influence
Behaviour might change / can be aggressive
High
Do not allow people drinking before working hour

2. Of the hazards you have identified, choose one that would force you to make wholesale changes to eliminate. (1 mark) Staff under alcohol influence. This sort of behaviour is not accepted and must be totally controlled in order to guarantee that the staff team is sober and have total control of what is being said or negotiated. Plus, the consumption of alcohol during working hours is illegal and can result into a very serious problem with the government or business license. a) How will you ensure that new hazards are not created by the proposed changes, and existing hazards are controlled? (2 marks) It will be guaranteed that controlling procedures are being made and also e staff members will be prepared to identify and possible hazards that can appear. Through procedures and monitoring tasks, it will be possible to analyse if new hazards are being created and how effectively the pro-active procedures are being taken.

3. Do you feel there are inadequacies in hazard identification with the above process? Why? (2 marks) No. The hazard identification related to the above process was done efficiently. Therefore, such problems were not supposed to exist once they are simple issues which can result into serious problems to the staff team and customers. It is important for any type of business to guarantee that all basic safety steps are monitored and managed with care. In other words, the identification proved that the small business was dealing with small issues but very dangerous hazards.

4. Who else might you consult with in regards to the above risk assessment process? This includes both the risk created and the control or elimination measure. (2 marks) Work force and previous employees, also officers and regulation departments might be helpful in order to identify the risk assessment process. Any person that can contribute to reduce risks will be welcome to present an idea regarding what can be done and eliminate the risks involved. 5. What other procedures could you use for selecting and implementing risk controls? Risk control

Example
Eliminate
Removing the hazard, eg taking a hazardous piece of
equipment out of service.

Substitute
Replacing a hazardous substance or process with a less hazardous one, eg substituting a hazardous substance with a non-hazardous substance. Isolate
Restricting access to plant and equipment or in the case of substances locking them away under strict controls. Engineering
Redesign a process or piece of equipment to make it less hazardous. Isolating the hazard from the person at risk, eg using a guard or barrier Administrative
Adopting standard operating procedures (SOPs) or safe work practices or providing appropriate training, instruction or information.
Personal Protective Equip.
The provision and use of personal protective equipment could include using gloves, glasses, earmuffs, aprons, safety footwear, dust masks.

(2 marks)
Part B – Project
You have now owned the above business for 1 year, and have decided it is time to improve your WHS policies 1. What would you include in a WHS induction and training program? (5 marks) It is useful to start with an WHS Induction Policy, a Procedure outlining how induction will be implemented within the organisation, and a Checklist for Managers/ Supervisors to use during the Induction Process. The Policy and Procedure will need to be written by the organisation, which could be modified to suit each organisation. The literacy and language of inductees should be taken into account when preparing the induction program. The contents of an WHS Induction Policy will include:

the commitment of the business with respect to providing WHS induction training to employees and others working at the site the responsibilities of various people within the business who will provide the WHS induction training, such as managers and supervisors resources which may be needed for the WHS induction program (eg time, information) signature of senior management, and a date of commencement of the policy. 2. Develop a system for WHS recordkeeping. Include what records you would keep, and for how long. (4 marks) sets out the organisation´s WHS Policy and objectives

establishes procedures to give effect to the WHS Policy and objectives assesses and reviews the effectiveness of the procedures adopted achieves conformance with the organisation´s WHS Policy and objectives demonstrates conformance internally and externally (certification) The records should be kept for the entire life of the organization, in order to keep on track it´s improvements and conformities. 3. Devise a method to measure and evaluate your WHS management system. (3 marks)

The measurement and evaluation stage checks that the system is operating effectively. Activities include workplace inspections, testing of equipment (e.g. machine guards), incident management and auditing. It helps to capture findings from incident and inspections and improve systems. It will be measured by number of accidents or injuries, percentage of identified hazards that have been actioned, employers training etc. 4. Despite repeated warnings about the dangers of leaving boxes of stock in aisles, staff members continue to do it. What improvement could you make to your WHSMS to solve this problem? (2 marks) Every week an inspection will be made and a report created. For each non-conformity found, such as boxes left on site, the responsible staff will be actioned and an advertence will take place. It is important to monitor and keep the procedures control up to dated. If that not happen, the staff will keep leaving boxes of stock in aisles because for their thought, it does not matter if the boxes are in the aisles or not. So, monitoring and reporting it make them think how important is to keep the boxes in the right place and what the risks are to block aisles in case of emergency.