Follow workplace procedures for hazard identification and risk control

Reading: Follow workplace procedures for hazard identification and risk control1

2005

Follow workplace procedures for hazard identification and risk control 1

Hazard identification and risk control and the law...... 3

Occupational health and safety (OHS) law3

Employers’ duties3

Employees’ duties3

The hazard identification and risk control process ...... 5

Hazard identification...... 6

Types of hazards6

Identifying drug and alcohol abuse as a hazard7

Identifying hazards in the IT environment8

Occupational health and safety supervisor8

Receiving and installing new computer equipment8

Unpacking computer equipment 9

Safe lifting9

Storing computer equipment9

Installing computer equipment10

Routing cables10

User access10

Electrical hazards11

Earthing strap11

Cables12

Connectors13

Cleaning and maintaining computer equipment15

Occupational overuse syndrome15

Risk assessment...... 17

Risk control18

Information on hazards19

Codes of practice19

Material safety data sheets (MSDS)20

Safe working procedures...... 21

Safety signs and symbols21

Training22

Summary...... 23

Check your progress 23

Hazard identification and risk control and the law

Occupational health and safety (OHS) law

The law in New South Wales (and all Australian State and Territories) sets out the legal requirements for health and safety at work. The law describes the responsibilities of the various parties such as employers, workers, and people who supply equipment or chemicals to workplaces.

In NSW these requirements are mostly in the relevant legislation, that is, the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001. Further requirements are set out in various codes of practice and standards referred to in the legislation.

Employers’ duties

The law requires employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees and other people at the workplace, including clients and visitors. This is referred to as the employer’s duty of care. To fulfil this duty, employers must ensure that the premises, machinery and equipment, chemicals, systems of work and the working environment are safe and without risks to health. Employers also have to provide such information, instruction, training and supervision as may be necessary to ensure the employees’ health and safety.

Employers in New South Wales must use hazard identification and risk control process to fulfil these legal obligations.

Employees’ duties

Employees also have duties under the legislation. They must take care not to endanger their own or others’ health and safety. They must comply with the employers’ systems for ensuring health and safety, and they should take part in the hazard identification and risk control process. More information about OHS legal requirements can be found on the WorkCover NSW website at

Workers are entitled to expect safe and healthy working conditions, but they need to participate in arrangements made for health and safety in order to help create and maintain those good health and safety conditions. Success in managing health and safety risks depends on the participation and cooperation of workers. By reporting OHS hazards and following procedures that have been established to protect health and safety, workers can contribute to a workplace, which is safer for everyone.

While the main responsibility for making sure that work activities are safe lies with the employer/owner of a company, there is a general expectation that employees work safely and take care in what they do so as not to put themselves or others at risk.

Employees can be expected to:

  • follow procedures;
  • wear personal protective equipment (PPE);
  • report any safety problems; and
  • report incidents and injuries.

Employees do have a role to play in creating a safe workplace and in keeping it that way, but they are only able to meet these responsibilities if procedures such as personal protective equipment (PPE) and reporting systems are in place.

The hazard identification and risk control process

By following a hazard identification and risk control process, employers can anticipate the types of health of safety problems that might affect workers, and take action to prevent problems from occurring, or at least minimize the risk.

The process of managing risks is a three-step process:

1Find the hazards (hazard identification).

2Check them out and consider how likely it is that problems will occur, and how serious the consequences might be (risk assessment).

3Do what can reasonably be done to prevent accidents or injuries (risk control).

Measures put in place to control health and safety risks must be checked to see if they are actually working – that is, if they are successfully controlling the risks they were intended to control monitoring and evaluation of risk controls. The process of hazard identification and risk control can be applied to any type of work or risk.

Hazard identification

The first step in the hazard identification and risk control process is known as hazard identification. A hazard is anything with the potential to harm life, health or property. All the types of potential hazards present in a particular job or task need to be considered and the risks presented by these hazards need to be assessed to work out how likely they are to cause harm, and how serious the harm might be.

Hazards arise from:

  • the work environment
  • the use of machinery and substances
  • poor work design
  • inappropriate systems and procedures.

Types of hazards

Many kinds of hazards are found in workplaces.

  • Chemical hazards are substances that can harm people’s health when they are breathed in or absorbed through the skin, or when they irritate the skin. Examples include some kinds of dusts, vapours and fumes. Cigarette smoke is a chemical hazard, as are asbestos fibres in the air. Substances such as pesticides, solvents, ozone, and toner can present chemical hazards. Chemical hazards can poison people or make them ill, if enough is absorbed into the body.
  • Physical hazards include electricity, noise, temperature, lighting, radiation and vibration. For example, excessive noise can cause noise-induced hearing loss, fine work done in poor lighting can cause eye strain, and excessive heat can cause a range of health effects, like heat stress.
  • Biological hazards such as infectious diseases can also be present in workplaces. For example, workers in a childcare centre can get contagious diseases from the children.
  • Lifting and moving loads can cause back injuries and other strain or sprain injuries. Occupational overuse syndrome can result from work practices and work organisation that involves people working in postures which are uncomfortable or which do not involve enough variety.
  • Psychological stress can result from workplace violence, bullying, threats or intimidation.

Employers need to identify whatever hazards exist in the workplace, and to do this they should consult workers, to find out workers’ views of any threats to their health or safety. Workers need to be able to contribute to this process by telling their supervisor of any potential health and safety problems they find.

Workers should note matters such as trip hazards, unsafe electrical installations, any type of unsafe situation or dangerous work practice, or anything else they think might be a health or safety problem, and bring these to the attention of their supervisor according to workplace procedure. Supervisors should take action to rectify the problem.

If the problem is not resolved, workers may need to report the matter to the workplace health and safety committee or the OHS representative. If the matter is still not resolved, workers could ask for advice from the state’s OHS authority, which in New South Wales is WorkCover NSW.

Management should also investigate all accidents and near misses to work out what could have been done to prevent them. Workers should co-operate fully in these investigations, reporting incidents according to workplace procedures.

Identifying drug and alcohol abuse as a hazard

Drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace must be seen as part of the hazard and risk control process. Employees must at all times carry out their duties and responsibilities in a safe manner. Where an employer believes that a person’s capacity to perform work in a safe manner may be impaired, the employer has the responsibility to ensure they are not in a position of personal risk, and they do not present a risk to the health and safety of others. A duty of care rests with employers. If an employer believes that substance abuse may be affecting workplace performance, they must take steps to ensure the health and safety of the individual, and other employees who may be affected by that individual’s actions. It is appropriate for the employer to remove the employee from any position of risk and refer the individual to an appropriate assessment agency eg medical practitioner.

Identifying hazards in the IT environment

OHS risk analysis consists of hazard identification, workplace assessment and risk control. Hazards are the main identifiable cause of workplace health and safety problems. They include:

  • machinery
  • chemicals
  • noise
  • electrical hazards
  • poor work design
  • poor management systems and procedures
  • human behaviour.

Once a hazard has been found it is then assessed as to its potential to cause damage and then a solution to the problem is sought.

Remember—find it, check it out, get it fixed.

Occupational health and safety supervisor

Hazards should be reported to the occupational health and safety supervisor. The occupational health and safety supervisor may be:

  • a person appointed to this position (in a large company)
  • the chairman or a member of the occupational health and safety committee
  • a safety representative.

Receiving and installing new computer equipment

Consider the situation where new computer equipment arrives at your company. This equipment needs to be unpacked, moved from one location to another and then installed at the workstation. Care must be taken doing all these tasks to avoid injury.

Unpacking computer equipment

  • Make sure there is enough room for you to unpack the equipment and enough lighting so you can see what you are doing.
  • Do not unpack in a hallway or area where someone is likely to be in danger of tripping over you and the packaging.
  • Don’t place boxes in doorways or at the top of stairs. It is illegal to block fire escapes.

Safe lifting

Good safe lifting techniques are crucial when lifting computer equipment or other objects. Even when the load appears small make sure you use the right technique.

Figure 1: How to lift safely

Before you lift, make sure you’ve cleared a space to put the equipment.

When lifting,

  • keep your back straight
  • bend your knees
  • hold the equipment you are lifting close to your body.
  • If you need help — ask for it or get a trolley.

Storing computer equipment

Sometimes, you might receive equipment before you’re ready. If you need to store computer equipment for a while before installing it, put it where it can be accessed easily. It’s better to store it in the original packaging. If you can’t, ensure the packaging is properly disposed of, and not just left lying around.

Installing computer equipment

When you’re installing computer equipment, consider the space and the user before you start the installation. If an existing computer is being replaced, don’t just assume that the new one should go in exactly the same position.

Routing cables

Remember also that you’ll need to route any cables and power leads so that they:

  • can reach to the appropriate connection point
  • won’t be in danger of being trodden on, rolled over by chairs, or in an area where there’s water or any other fluid
  • won’t be placed so that people can trip over them, or be in any danger from them
  • won’t be placed in such a way that a user could pull the cable, and so pull the peripheral onto the floor.

User access

Also consider how the user will use the equipment. There’s no point having a device that needs to be accessed regularly (like a printer) placed under a desk. On the other hand, it may be possible to place a modem in a less accessible place.

If possible, discuss with the person who’ll be using the equipment where they’d like you to put it. For example, a monitor shouldn’t be placed so that light from a window reflects off it into the user’s eyes.

Electrical hazards

All employees should be given instructions for dealing with electrical hazards.

Take special note:
  • Always turn off the power at the power point and disconnect the lead. Just turning off the switch on the peripheral isn’t enough. It will still contain 240V.
  • Avoid overloading a power board or power point. Whilst most computer equipment doesn’t use more power than a power point can handle, you shouldn’t connect any high power appliances, such as heaters, to the same power point or power board. Ideally, the computer should have its own power point.
  • Where you need to use extension leads or power boards, make sure they’re not damaged, and if possible use ones with safety switches fitted.
  • Don’t poke tools into any peripheral device. Apart from doing damage to the device, you could also hurt yourself. For example, the voltages in the rear of a typical monitor can exceed 25 000 volts (yes,
    25 thousand)! Lethal voltages also exist in many other types of peripherals.
  • Make sure that there’s no water or other fluid in an area where a peripheral device is to be stored, installed or used. As fluids conduct electricity, they can both damage the device and endanger the user.

Earthing strap

Earthing straps should be used if you need to touch components inside a computer. The next screen explains how to use this strap.

The antistatic wrist strap wraps around your wrist, and is then connected to the outer casing of a PC (which is, of course, switched off and unplugged from the mains). If you need to switch the PC back on you must first detach the strap.

The earthing strap also protects the equipment because there is enough charge in your body to damage the sensitive electrical components in the equipment.

Figure 2: Earthing strap

Cables

Even though the outside of a cable may appear undamaged, the wire inside may be broken, which will make it inoperative. The following screen has instructions for care of cables.

Don’t twist or wind cables up tightly and avoid routing them around sharp objects or corners which could eventually wear through the insulation. Power leads can be lethal if damaged in this way.

Figure 3: Take care not to bend cables too sharply
or route them around sharp corners.

Frayed cords don’t have protective coating around the electrical wires. This is very dangerous. You may get an electric shock if you touch frayed cord. Report frayed cords to your supervisor. The cord should be replaced.

Before installing any computer equipment, always conduct a visual inspection of any cables and connectors to be used, and replace any that appear to have been damaged.

Connectors

Always make sure you check for damaged connectors and use the correct methods for plugging and unplugging them.

When you’re plugging a connector into a socket, always make sure that you line it up so that the pins can slide easily into the holes, without bending. A common fault is a single bent or broken pin, as seen the figure, which can be difficult to trace. Always visually check the pins in any connectors before plugging them in. Never plug a cable into a machine that is turned on. There is a risk of electric shock to the user and damage to the equipment due to the power surge.

Figure 4: Take care not to bend pins

Once you have plugged in the connector, tighten the screws by hand. Don’t over tighten these screws, as you may damage the connector, or make it difficult to remove.

Figure 5: Don’t over tighten screws

When removing a connector, never pull it by the cable. First loosen any screws, and then, holding the body of the connector, gently rock and remove the connector. If it doesn’t come out, check that the screws have been loosened fully, and then try again.

Figure 6: The right way to remove connectors

Some devices use an IEC connector for connection to the 240V power supply. An example is the backplane of the system unit, which has both a male and a female IEC connector, one to connect to the 240V power supply, and the other for connecting a monitor power lead.

Figure 7: IEC connectors

IEC connectors don’t have tightening screws, but rely on friction to hold them in place. Sometimes they may need to be wriggled in or out of place quite firmly.

Practise identifying cables and connectors

Turn the power off on your computer. Turn the power off on each of your peripherals that has a power switch. Also turn the power off at all power points being used and disconnect any plugs from the power points. Verify that the power is off by trying to turn on your computer and peripherals. Turn them off again.
On a piece of paper, sketch a diagram of your computer backplane.
Carefully unplug one of the cables from your backplane (either serial or parallel port) by first undoing the screws, and then gently removing the plug as described above.
On your diagram, note the type of connector, and what peripheral it is connected to. Is it what you expected? Reconnect the plug carefully, as described above, and lightly tighten the screws.
Repeat for all connectors on your backplane, ensuring you replace them in the correct positions. When finished, you’ll have a diagram of all the ports on your backplane, with descriptions.
Turn the power back on.

Cleaning and maintaining computer equipment