There should be a periodic (usually annual) review of hazards and risks and the effectiveness of measures taken to mitigate these.
The effectiveness of hazard and risk management should be checked to make sure controls are in place and working. For example, check training has been carried out, guards are in place, policies are communicated and followed etc. Monitoring can be carried out through audits, hazard reporting and injury, illness, near-miss injury reporting and investigation.
Once risk assessment has been completed, risks must be managed. Section 30 of the HSWA says risks to health and safety should be eliminated so far as reasonably practicable and if not reasonably practicable, to minimise them. When minimising risks use the hierarchy of control to choose the most effective control. 1 being the [...]
Hazards and risks are assessed by considering the likelihood and severity of injury or illness. Involve workers affected by the hazard or risk; their perception is important – they are exposed to the risk. Also consider broader information from across your organisation and industry. The matrix below is one matrix that can be used to [...]
Hazards should be identified by both management and workers. It is critical to involve workers in this process. They are the ones exposed to the hazards and risks and the most likely to be hurt if risk management fails. Hazards can be identified through: Considering hazards from equipment, machinery, vehicles, hand-held tools, the location and [...]
A hazard is anything that can cause harm. This includes a person’s behaviour where that behaviour has the potential to cause death, injury, or illness to a person. Risk involves assessing both the likelihood of harm and the severity of harm arising from a hazard. For example, a business identifies that there is a hazard of aggressive [...]
There should be an investigation into what happened and why, focusing particularly on any changes that could be made to prevent similar events in the future. Learn more about investigation methods with WorkSafe Reps course Stage 2 Managing Risks
Negative comment or action from the employer or PCBU Worry that they will be blamed for the event The paperwork or computer system for reporting is difficult Reporting is time consuming Don’t know how or who to report to. To overcome barriers to reporting, keep the reporting forms and system easy and make sure it [...]
Reporting systems should be easy to understand and use and workers should know how to access them. Workers should be commended for reporting; not blamed because an incident occurred. Injury and incident data should also be reviewed to look for patterns in injuries or incidents that may point to improvements that could be made: for [...]
A PCBU must, as soon as possible after becoming aware of a notifiable event, notify WorkSafe NZ of that event, using the fastest means available. This includes by phone or email or other electronic means. Once details of the event are communicated to WorkSafe NZ, WorkSafe NZ will tell the PCBU if they require written [...]