Title Page
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Intro: Thank you for meeting with us today. We are inspectors from WorkSafe ACT. WorkSafe are the regulator for the WHS Act and the WHS Regulations 2011. Our role is to work with businesses to educate, provide advice, and to ensure compliance with the Act and the Regs. We do this by conducting inspection programs such as this. We are focussing on musculoskeletal disorders because they consistently make up between 50-60% of serious workers’ compensation claims. Particular focus is on the aged care industry because they have a high frequency rate of MSD claims (14.7 serious injury claims per million hours worked). Today we have a few questions to ask firstly on the systems of work you have in place for managing this risk. Then we will do a walk around to have a look at things like the mechanical aids (hoists, trolleys, etc.) and how some hazardous manual tasks are done, like laundry tasks, kitchen tasks, etc. Do you have any questions before we start?
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Conducted on
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Prepared by
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Additional Inspector
Section 1: PCBU Details
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1.1- Registered Business Name
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Location
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1.2 - ABN
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1.3 - Trading Name
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1.4 - Contact name
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1.5 - Contact Email address
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1.6 - Contact Phone number
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1.7 - Notification of entry provided to
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1.8 - Do you have a Health and Safety Representative onsite?
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1.8.1 - Could you please ask them if they would like to be present for this inspection?
Section 2: Worker's Compensation and Labour Hire Licensing
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2.1 - Do you have a Worker's Compensation Policy?
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2.2 - Is this displayed along with the return to work information in a location easily accessed by workers?
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2.3 - Do you use Labour Hire?
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2.3.1 - How many labour hire workers do you use?
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2.3.2 - How often is labour hired used?
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2.3.3 - Which company do you go through for the labour hire?
Section 3: Workplace details
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3.1 - What services are predominately provided at this site? ie dependent living, palliative care
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3.2 - What shift rotation do you have in place? length and number of shifts in 24 hours
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3.3 - Approximately, how many residents do you have on the site?
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3.4 - How many workers are employed at the workplace? Full time, part time, casuals
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3.5 - Do you have any new or vulnerable workers? ie migrant/ visa workers/ English as a second language/ under the age of 24
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3.5.1 - Approximately, how many?
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3.6 - Do you know the approximate age of the facility?
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3.7 - Has the facility been renovated or modified since it was built?
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When were these renovations completed?
Section 4 : Training/ Instruction/ Consultation
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4.1 - What is the predominant mechanism used for Work Health and Safety consultation? ie HSRs, health and safety committee, meetings where WHS is an agenda item
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4.1.1 - What type of content is covered in consultation? Show us latest meeting minutes
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4.1.2 - If WHS committee meetings are held, what is the frequency of those meetings
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4.1.3 - How do you ensure all workers are provided all the information? ie day shift vs night shift
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4.2 - Do you undertake WHS inductions for all workers (inc. labour hire where used)? and can you provide evidence of the induction pack and associated records? WHS Act s19 (3) (f) provision of info training and instruction
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4.3 - What training and instruction is provided to workers for the use of people handling equipment? Evidence required. WHS Act s19 (3) (f) provision of info training and instruction
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4.3.1 - What is covered in this training?
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4.3.2 - How is the training provided?
Section 5: Hazardous Manual Tasks
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5.1 - Have you identified hazardous manual tasks for clinical and non-clinical settings (WHS Act s19 primary duty of care and WHS Regs s34 duty to identify hazards)
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5.1.1 -Provide an example of HMT for clinical settings ie patient handling
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5.1.2 - Provide an example of HMT for non clinical settings ie food services, laundry
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5.2 - Has a hazardous manual task risk assessment been completed? (WHS Act s19 (3) (c) safe systems of work, WHS Regs s60 PCBU must manage risks to health and safety relating to MSDs)
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5.2.1 - Are appropriate controls in place that are consistent with the hierarchy of controls? elimination, substitution, isolation, engineering first, then admin and PPE as supplementary controls. (WHS Act s19 (2) and (3) and WHS Regs s36 and s60)
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5.3 - Are safe systems of work (risk assessments, procedures, SOPs, risk registers etc.) reviewed and updated with regard to hazardous manual tasks? e.g. when new equipment is brought in or following a related incident. Evidence required. (WHS Act s19 and WHS Regs s37 maintenance of controls and s38 review of controls)
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5.4 - Have workers been provided with relevant information, training and instruction about avoiding MSD injuries? Inc. identifying MSD hazards, managing risks, using lifting and handling equipment. (WHS Act s19 (3) (f)
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5.5 - Is there a procedure for reporting incidents and hazards?
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5.6 - How do you ensure workers are reviewing patient care plans to implement patient handling controls and other health and safety related aspects?
Section 6: Plant and Equipment
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6.1 - Do you have a system in place to ensure people handling equipment is inspected and maintained?
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6.1.1 - Describe the system
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6.2 - How do you ensure you have suitable equipment for the range of residents and their specific needs?
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6.3 - Is people handling equipment stored appropriately? Describe how the equipment is stored
Section 7: Emergency Evacuation Plan
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7.1 - Do you have an emergency management plan?
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7.1.1 - What hazards are identified in the management plan?
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7.1.2 - Can you run me through the evacuation procedures?
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7.1.3 - Can you run me through how the facility tests the evacuation procedure? Are exercises / drills planned?
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7.1.4 - Can you run me through what considerations have been made for shift rotation ie day shift and night shift
Section 8: Psychosocial Hazards
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8.1 - Have you identified risks associated with workplace violence and aggression?
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8.1.1 - Show me ie risk register, risk assessment or a Standard Operation Procedure with the current controls in place
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8.3 - Do you have a workplace violence and aggression/ procedure/process?
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8.3.1 - How it is implemented?
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8.3.2 - How is it reviewed for its effectiveness?
Section 9: Worker Questions
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9.1 - Are you aware of what hazardous manual tasks are in the workplace
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9.1.1 - Can you provide an example of some
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9.2 - Have you been trained or provided adequate information by the workplace for managing the risks of hazardous manual tasks?
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9.2.1- Can you describe the training?
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9.3 - Are you aware of how to report a hazard and an incident?
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9.3.1 - Can you describe the process?
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9.4 - Are you consulted on work health and safety matters?
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9.4.1 - How often does this happen?
