CHOOSE. Young People at Work. student text REVISED

Transcription

1 REVISED CHOOSE studet text Youg People at Work A educatio programme o the priciples of health ad safety i the workplace for seior cycle ad studets i further educatio

2 Published i August 2014 by the Health ad Safety Authority, The Metropolita Buildig, James Joyce Street, Dubli 1. Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publicatio may be reproduced, stored i a retrieval system, or trasmitted i ay form or by ay meas, electroic, mechaical, photocopyig, recordig or otherwise, without the prior permissio of the Health ad Safety Authority.

3 CHOOSE Youg People at Work

4 Table of Cotets Certificatio ad awards 1 UNIT 1 Startig work Uit cotets 4 Youg workers rights 5 Iductio 8 Health ad safety laws ad your workplace 9 UNIT 2 Workplace hazards Uit Cotets 14 Hazards ad risk assessmet 15 Maual hadlig ad ergoomics 24 Slips, trips ad falls 29 Fire safety ad first-aid 32 UNIT 3 Doig your job Uit Cotets 38 Workig at height 39 Workplace trasport safety 41 Chemicals 43 Farmig 48 Hospitality 51 Persoal protective equipmet (PPE) 53 UNIT 4 Roles, tasks ad you Uit Cotets 56 Safety officer ad safety represetative 57 Work eviromet 59 Workplace health ad well-beig 61 UNIT 5 Commuicatig Uit Cotets 70 safety Commuicatig the safety message 71 Accidet ad icidet reports 74 Safety statemet 77 Safety sigs 79 UNIT 6 Reflectios Uit Cotets 82 Case studies 83 Major assigmet 90

5 hsalearig.ie HSA Olie Courses follow us CHOOSE YOUNG PEOPLE AT WORK A educatio programme o the priciples of health ad safety i the workplace for seior cycle ad studets i further educatio Studet Workbook

6 CERTIFICATION AND AWARDS ew (INCLUDING DIGITAL BADGES) I additio to gettig a certificate of completio for Choose Safety programmes, you ca also ear digital badges for each uit of the programme you complete. The sectio below o Lear Stuff - Get Badges explais more about these badges. LEARN STUFF - GET BADGES WHAT ARE DIGITAL BADGES ABOUT? A badge is a symbol or idicator of a accomplishmet, skill, competecy or iterest. Badges ca represet achievemets ad skills ad commuicate successes. Learig ca happe aywhere, i schools ad also olie. Badges provide a digital proof that this learig has take place. Upo completio of oe of the Choose Safety programmes, or uit of the programme, a Ope Badge ca be awarded to you i recogitio of your icreased uderstadig of health ad safety. Ask your teacher to facilitate this for you. These are digital badges which you ca collect i a olie badge backpack ad use o your website or CV. HOW DO I EARN A DIGITAL BADGE FOR THE CHOOSE SAFETY LEARNING? WHAT DO I DO WITH THE BADGE? Whe you lear somethig with the HSA Choose Safety programme you ca ear a badge. You ca collect the badges you ear i your ow olie backpack so you ca show the badges you have eared to your teachers, parets, potetial employers ad frieds. HOW DO I CREATE A BACKPACK? To create your ow backpack, all you eed to do is to visit the website ad sig up. You will eed to use your ow address ad eed to create a password for this site. This will the sed you a to cofirm that it is really you! Oce you click the lik i the , you will have cofirmed your registratio ad ca access your backpack o backpack.opebadges.org You ca ow collect badges from a umber of sources. For example, if you are iterested i makig webpages you ca check out the to ear more badges that recogise the skills that you lear i webmakig projects. If you would like further iformatio about Ope Badges ad how they work, check out Choose Safety - Youg People at Work Whe you begi the Choose Safety course, or complete ay oe of six HSA Choose Safety Modules; Trasitio Uit or the Get Safe Work Safe olie course, you will ear a Digital Badge. Your teacher will submit your details to the HSA Ope Badge portal ad you will be ed details to accept your badge. 1

7 Choose Safety Digital badges Badge titles Choose Safety Digital badges Badge titles Uit 1 Iductio Choose Safety (Master) Uit 2 Workplace Hazards Choose Safety (Appretice) Uit 3 Risk Awareess Choose Safety Completio Uit 4 Resposibility Choose Safety Completio with Distictio Uit 5 - Commuicatio Get Safe Work Safe Olie Course Completio Uit 6 - Case Studies Uit 6 - Major Assigmet Choose Safety Trasitio Uit Completio Choose Safety Work Experiece Completio Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 2

8 ONLINE HEALTH AND SAFETY COURSES ew hsalearig.ie HSA Olie Courses A rage of olie health ad safety courses are available o These are short awareess raisig courses, useful for icreasig or refreshig your kowledge of health ad safety i the workplace. All of the olie courses are free ad accessible 24/7. They cover the followig sectors: Educatio Healthcare Trasport Small busiess Farmig Choose Safety - Youg People at Work Costructio Additioal courses will cotiue to be added to the site. 3

9 UNIT 1 STARTING WORK Uit Cotets 1 Youg workers rights 2 Iductio 3 Health ad safety laws ad your workplace Choose Safety - Youg People at Work UNIT 1 STARTING WORK 4

10 STARTING WORK UNIT 1 PART 1 We all start ew jobs at differet times throughout our lives This ca be a erve-wrackig time, tryig to lear the ropes, fidig your way aroud ad eve rememberig everyoe s ame ca be difficult i the first few weeks. Health ad safety laws are there to help you to have a safe, accidet-free ad happier time at work. This programme will help you to lear more about what your resposibilities are i the workplace to help keep you ad those aroud you safe. It will also give you a good idea of what you ca expect from your employer ad what should be i place to protect you. UNIT 1 STARTING WORK I Uit 1 you will lear about youg workers rights ad where to fid further iformatio ad support. You will also lear about iductio traiig ad what it etails. Uit 1 will fiish with a itroductio to health ad safety laws relevat to all workplaces. You will lear about the key resposibilities of employers ad employees i the workplace. YOUNG WORKERS RIGHTS All the relevat health ad safety legislatio ad regulatios apply to workplaces that employ youg people. For example, uder 18 s are ot allowed to operate liftig equipmet. I additio, uder 18 s are ot allowed to do work that: exceeds their physical or metal capacities exposes them to toxic substaces exposes them to radiatio ivolves extreme heat, oise or vibratio ivolves risks that they are ulikely to recogise or avoid because of their lack of experiece or traiig. The law sets miimum age limits for employmet, defies rest itervals ad maximum workig hours, ad prohibits the employmet of those uder 18 years of age o work late at ight see below Table 1: Workig Hours Uder 16 s ad Table 2: Workig Hours year olds. Employers must also keep specified records for those workers aged uder 18 years. The Miimum Age for Employmet Employers may ot employ those aged uder 16 i a regular full-time job. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work The Protectio of Youg Persos (Employmet) Act, 1996 is desiged to protect the health of youg workers, ad to esure that work doe durig the school years does ot put your educatio at risk. Youg Perso meas a perso who has reached 16 years of age or the school-leavig age (whichever is higher) but is less tha 18 years of age. 5

11 TABLE 1: WORKING HOURS: UNDER 16 S Maximum Weekly Workig Hours for Uder 16 s Age Term-Time Nil 8 Hours Work Experiece 40 Hours 40 Hours Maximum Week (35 hours) Maximum Day - 7 Hours Maximum Week (40 hours) Maximum Day - 8 Hours Summer Holidays At least 21 days free from work Early Morigs After 8am Night (with school the ext morig) Up to 8pm Employers may take o 14 ad 15 year olds o light work durig the school holidays, provided there is a miimum 3-week break from work durig the summer part-time durig the school term (over 15 years old, ad for a maximum 8 hours i the week) or as part of a approved work experiece or educatioal programme where the work is ot harmful to their safety, health or developmet. REST BREAKS: UNDER 16 s Half hour rest break after Daily rest break Weekly rest break 4 hours work 14 cosecutive hours off 2 days off, as far as practicable to be cosecutive TABLE 2: WORKING HOURS: 16 AND 17 YEAR OLDS UNIT 1 STARTING WORK Workig hours, time off ad rest breaks for 16 ad 17 years olds Maximum workig day Maximum workig week Half hour rest break after Daily rest break Weekly rest break Early Morigs Nights 8 hours 40 hours 4 1/2 hours work 12 cosecutive hours off 2 days off, as far as practicable to be cosecutive After 6am Up to 10pm Durig school holidays or weekeds where studet has o school the ext morig* *May work up to 11pm (ad ot before 7 am ext morig) (Requires Miisterial Approval). Further iformatio o the Act is available from the Natioal Employmet Rights Authority (NERA) (visit or Lo-call ). Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 6

12 ACTIVITY 1.A CLASS DISCUSSION Discuss the data i Table 1 ad Table 2. Do you thik these workig hours, time off ad rest breaks are reasoable? Are they adhered to? ACTIVITY 1.B LOG ON Search the web for more iformatio o employmet rights for youg people. Look for iformatio o miimum pay levels ad o use of equipmet. You could begi by lookig at the followig sites: UNIT 1 STARTING WORK Legal Referece Safety, Health ad Welfare at Work (Geeral Applicatio) Regulatios 2007, Protectio of Childre ad Youg Persos, Chapter 1 ad Part 6 The Safety, Health ad Welfare at Work (Geeral Applicatio) (Amedmet) Regulatios. TRAINING Do t perform ay task util you have bee properly traied. Fast Facts Make sure you put ito practice what you have bee traied to do. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work Ask about aythig i your traiig you are ot sure about. Ask for more traiig if you feel you eed it. The type ad amout of traiig you receive will deped o the job you are doig ad the risks associated with that job. For example, a office worker will require less safety traiig tha a costructio worker. 7

13 UNIT 1 PART 2 INDUCTION Startig work for the first time ca be a ervous ad excitig time i a youg perso s life. Periods of work experiece ad work-based learig may be the first time that youg people experiece the work eviromet. But there are dagers i every workplace, accidets ca ad do happe. Some accidets cause serious ijuries ad eve death but most ca be avoided. Make sure to ask plety of questios as this is your opportuity to fid out what is required of you ad to protect yourself from a occupatioal related ijury or illess. Whe startig work for the first time, you are 50% more likely to be ijured i the workplace tha more experieced workers. Choose Safety gives you the health ad safety iformatio you eed to help keep you safe at work. Fast Facts Should all ew workers (icludig studets o work experiece) receive iductio traiig? Yes, employers legally must provide istructio, traiig ad supervisio. Iductio traiig is a essetial part of the learig process. Whe you start a job or work experiece you should be give a iductio ad specific traiig for each ew job. This is whe you are told basic iformatio about the workplace so you ca stay safe. You should be told these thigs: the rules of your workplace. This should iclude a itroductio to health ad safety, first-aid arragemets ad evacuatio procedures i case of a fire or other emergecy ay kow hazards ad risks i your workplace what safety measures are i place what you must do to keep yourself ad others safe. Remember Key Poits to remember: Keep Cool Stay Safe Get to kow your surroudigs, your work base, the catee, rest rooms, exits icludig fire exits, first-aid statio if there is oe, parkig areas, etc. Kow who your supervisor is ad how to cotact him/her if required. Kow how to use your Persoal Protective Equipmet (PPE) if required. If you eed replacemets be familiar with the procedures for doig this. Traiig what traiig do you require? Emergecy procedures fire drill, first-aid. Your employer may ask you to read importat safety documetatio/rules ad ask you to sig a documet statig you have read ad uderstood these. - See Studet Checklist i HSA Publicatio Health ad Safety Matters for Studets o Work Experiece UNIT 1 STARTING WORK Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 8

14 UNIT 1 PART 3 UNIT 1 STARTING WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY LAWS AND YOUR WORKPLACE Health ad Safety law is there to protect workers (this icludes studets o work experiece) or those who may be affected by work activities. The Safety, Health ad Welfare at Work Act, 2005 is the primary legislatio coverig safety, health ad welfare i the workplace. The Health ad Safety Authority (HSA) has overall resposibility for esurig the 2005 Act is complied with. Who is resposible for safety? The short aswer is everyoe is. It is wrog to assume that employers are the oly oes resposible for creatig ad maitaiig a safe ad healthy workplace. Everyoe has a role to play. You will look at the key resposibilities of employers ad employees i this fial Part of Uit 1. EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES Protectio of Childre ad Youg Persos which icludes iformatio o: the employmet of youg persos risk assessmet circumstaces prohibitig employmet of a child or youg perso health surveillace hazardous substaces ad processes work youg persos may require protectio from. The aim of the Guide is to protect you ad your coworkers ad to prevet occupatioal accidets or ill-health occurrig. The documet ca be dowloaded from Choose Safety - Youg People at Work Employers are resposible for providig a safe ad healthy workplace. This icludes, for example, the provisio of safe plat ad equipmet, safe systems of work, traiig ad supervisio where required, ad persoal protective equipmet where required. There is also lots of health ad safety legislatio i place with some specifically for the Protectio of Childre ad Youg Persos. The Health ad Safety Authority (HSA) has produced a eleve-page guidace documet o the EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES Employees have a duty to protect themselves ad others. You must co-operate with your employer ad esure you are ot a dager to yourselves or others at work. If you are provided with persoal protective equipmet such as gloves, mask, hearig protectio, high visibility clothig, safety helmet, the you must use it as directed ad look after it. You should also report to your employer or supervisor ay matter that could give rise to a accidet occurrig, for example, if you otice usafe work practices or serious hazards. Never attempt to repair aythig yourself tell your supervisor. 9

15 ACTIVITY 1.C CLASS DISCUSSION Read the followig excerpts from the Safety, Health ad Welfare at Work Act, Cosider why these are i the 2005 Act. How effective do you thik they may be i reducig accidet rates at work? EXCERPT A: a employer s duty exteds to:... maagig ad coductig work activities i such a way as to prevet ay improper coduct or behaviour likely to put the safety, health or welfare at work of his or her employees at risk.... preparig ad revisig adequate plas ad procedures to be followed ad measures to be take i the case of a emergecy or serious or immiet dager.... reportig accidets ad dagerous occurreces. Sectio 8 of the 2005 Act Discuss how each of these three duties may be performed by a employer of your choice. EXCERPT B: Every employer shall... esure that istructio, traiig ad supervisio is provided i a form, maer ad laguage that is reasoably likely to be uderstood by the employee. Sectio 10 of the 2005 Act UNIT 1 STARTING WORK Why is this provisio i the Act? Discuss the difficulties of performig this duty i, say, a large hospital. Cosider the implicatios of this law i a orgaisatio employig workers of may differet atioalities. EXCERPT C: A employee must ot egage i improper coduct or other behavior such as violece, bullyig or horseplay, which could edager aother perso at work or his or her safety, health ad welfare. Sectio 13 of the 2005 Act Why is this provisio i the Act? How ca violece, bullyig or horseplay affect aother perso s safety, health ad welfare? What are the other effects of such behaviour? Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 10

16 ACTIVITY 1.D INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE UNIT 1 STARTING WORK Which of the followig duties are the resposibility of maagemet ad which are the resposibility of employees? Rewrite the list of resposibilities i the correct colum. I some cases, a resposibility may belog to both the employee ad the employer. Provide a safe ad healthy workplace provide traiig wear suitable protective equipmet ad clothig idetify hazards i the workplace report a accidet or dagerous occurrece to the Health ad Safety Authority select a safety represetative provide adequate access for emergecy services pay pealties for breaches of health ad safety regulatios iform maagemet of a ew hazard Employer s Resposibility provide suitable protective equipmet ad clothig assess risks i workig i the buildig do ot work uder the ifluece of alcohol or drugs complete a writte safety statemet hold appropriate fire drills use equipmet properly report faulty persoal protective equipmet do ot egage i improper coduct such as bullyig or horseplay maitai equipmet regularly cosider special arragemets for vulerable workers such as traiees tell others of ew hazards explai what should be doe i the evet of a accidet where chemicals are ivolved, read the safety labels ad refer to the safety data sheets. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work Employee s Resposibility 11

17 END OF UNIT 1: SPEED TEST Q1. List three resposibilities of a employer ad three resposibilities of a employee? Q2. What activities must your employer esure you are ot exposed to? Q3. How may hours must you work before gettig a 30 miute break? Q4. What is the miimum age for regular full-time employmet? Q5. List three of the key items to be covered durig iductio traiig. INFORMATION AND TRAINING The Health ad Safety Authority provide lots of safety guidelies ad resources to employers ad employees. The Authority s olie learig portal hsalearig.ie is a useful resource for traiig purposes. The site icludes a series of health ad safety awareess courses for a wide rage of work sectors icludig: educatio healthcare trasport small busiess costructio agriculture. hsalearig.ie HSA Olie Courses May other orgaisatios provide practical iformatio ad assistace too. Employers groups are very active i promotig health ad safety at work. These represetative groups Fast Facts provide iformatio, traiig ad support to busiesses throughout the coutry. Brigig maagers of differet busiesses together for traiig or discussio helps to keep health ad safety matters high o everyoe s list of priorities. As ew regulatios are set (such as those for costructio, for workig at height or for use ad storage of chemicals), the employer represetative bodies play a importat role i gettig the message across. Similarly, the uios ad other groups who represet employees play a equally importat role i iformig their members of health ad safety matters. As it is the employee who is most at risk of ijury from workplace accidets, it is i the uios iterest that their members are well traied ad kow about best practice. The safest places to work are those where maagers ad staff commuicate ad co-operate effectively. Best practice occurs where maagers ad staff meet regularly to discuss how the system of work ca be improved ad made safer. This is most importat whe a machie or a ew work practice is itroduced ito a compay. UNIT 1 STARTING WORK Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 12

18 Make Notes

19 UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Uit Cotets 1 Hazards ad risk assessmet 2 Maual hadlig ad ergoomics 3 Slips, trips ad falls 4 Fire safety ad first-aid UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 14

20 WORKPLACE HAZARDS UNIT 2 PART 1 HAZARDS AND RISK ASSESSMENT Your ew workplace could be very busy. You will be exposed to ew ad ufamiliar tasks which may ivolve for example usig machiery, workig with had tools, or hadlig chemical products. You must be give traiig ad show how to complete the task correctly ad iformed of ay hazards/dagers associated with the task. 15UNIT Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Your Workplace may have Machies or Vehicles Hazards are everywhere ad ot always easy to maage. Everyday activities ivolvig hazards iclude choppig vegetables, mowig the law, ad crossig the street. You kow that due care is required whe carryig out ay of these tasks. You carry them out resposibly ad safely. However, prevetable accidets happe from time to time. We eed to take stock ad decide how ca we prevet somethig similar happeig agai. I this Uit you will look at workplace hazards ad the role of risk assessmet i accidet prevetio. Later i the Uit, ad to uderstad the cocept of risk assessmet better, you will cocetrate o some hazards commo to most workplaces: maual hadlig ad ergoomics, slips, trips ad falls, ad fire. Had Tools Chemicals Risk assessmet is fudametal to good health ad safety maagemet. It is simply about lookig at workplace activities to see what could potetially cause a accidet or ill-health, ad to make it safe. It is the employer s resposibility to esure risk assessmets are carried out ad writte records of such assessmets kept by the compay ad updated as required. The employer must also cosider visitors to the workplace, for example, customers, suppliers, sales represetatives, ad will also cosider those workig earby who may also be affected by the work activities beig carried out. Completed risk assessmets are icluded i a documet called the Safety Statemet. You may be directed to this iformatio durig your iductio traiig.

21 Risk assessmet is a three-step process. step 1 step 2 step 3 step 1 Idetify the hazard Assess the risk Apply the Cotrol IDENTIFY THE HAZARD The first step i the risk assessmet process is the idetificatio of hazards. This is simply idetifyig what could cause a accidet or ill-health i the workplace. Remember it is the employer s resposibility to esure that this work is adequately doe. I some istaces the employer may decide to delegate the work to a competet perso like a safety officer or a health ad safety cosultat. Some hazards are obvious, such as uguarded movig parts of machiery, dagerous fumes, electricity, workig at heights, or movig heavy loads. Less obvious, but at the root of may accidets, are hazards preseted by utidy workplaces ad poor maiteace. It is importat that hazard idetificatio does ot become over-complicated. Some workplaces will have fewer hazards ad hazardous activities tha others. step 2 Risk meas the likelihood, great or small, that someoe will be harmed by a hazard, together with the severity of the harm suffered. Risk also depeds o the umber of people who might be exposed to the hazard. The employer must cosider the followig: 1. Who is exposed to the hazard? 2. Is the hazard likely to cause ijury to my workers or others? ASSESS THE RISK. IS THERE A HIGH RISK OF INJURY, MEDIUM RISK, OR LOW RISK? 3. How serious could the ijury be? 4. Is the hazard well-cotrolled? For example is there adequate iformatio, istructio ad traiig? Are there adequate systems ad procedures? This helps employers to decide which risks eed immediate attetio. Those with the highest ratig eed to be dealt with first. Risk ca be measured usig the followig formula: Risk Likelihood UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS A hazard is aythig that could cause harm. severity of the potetial ijury umber of people exposed Some people like to measure risk umerically, usig the above formula. For example, if you assig a umber from 1 to 3 for each of the above, with 1 meaig low ad 3 high, the risk ratig may rage from 1 to 27. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 16

22 Others use plai words to describe the level of risk as low, medium or high. This is what the ratig meas: LOW RISK Very little chace of ijury ad, if ijury were to happe, it would be very mior. MEDIUM RISK Some chace of it happeig, ad the ijury could be quite severe (e.g. ijury to limb). HIGH RISK A good chace of ijury occurrig, ad the ijury could be serious or very serious. Low Medium High place to reduce accidets ad ill-health i the workplace. As already metioed the best cotrol is removig or avoidig the hazard altogether. For example, mop up a spillage as soo as it occurs, do ot overstack shelves or place goods i hard to reach areas, take regular breaks from VDU work. However, it is ot always possible to remove the hazard completely, so other meas of reducig the risk of ijury or ill-health must be cosidered. To do this most workplaces apply the Nie Priciples of Prevetio. You will see from the list below that removig the risk altogether is the first course of actio. If this is ot possible the the ext priciple is cosidered ad so o util Priciple 9 is reached. Traiig is importat but oly required if the risk assessmet deems it ecessary ad all other ecessary cotrols are i place. 17UNIT Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Aother way of thikig of measurig risk is the traffic light system Risk is the likelihood, great or small, that someoe will be harmed by a hazard. RECAP Risk assessmets must be reviewed ad updated as required, e.g. o the itroductio of ew techology, ew work procedures, or processes. I additio, they may eed to be reviewed after orgaisatio mergers, takeovers, or after dowsizig. Employees may also be asked to carry out a risk assessmet of their ow work activities. step 3 APPLY THE CONTROL The fial step i carryig out a risk assessmet is to decide what ca be doe to reduce the risk of ijury. This is called cotrollig risk. Durig this step the employer esures appropriate safeguards or cotrols are put i PRINCIPLES OF PREVENTION The core priciples that we should keep i mid whe cosiderig the correct approach to reducig or elimiatig risk are: 1) Remove the risk altogether, where possible. 2) Calculate the level of risk that exists ad caot be avoided. 3) Immediately take corrective actio that reduces the risk. 4) Adapt the work to the idividual. 5) Make chages to the work area. 6) Replace dagerous items. 7) Look after everyoe ad ot just the idividual. 8) Develop a safe policy relatig to this kid of risk. 9) Provide traiig or istructio ad, where appropriate, provide persoal protective equipmet. The logic of the procedure above is to take immediate actio, first to remove or miimise the risk, the to cosider the log-term solutio. Traiig is very importat but comes late i the list, as all other cotrols must be put i place before time is spet traiig staff.

23 RECAP Remember you are carryig out risk assessmets all the time i your everyday life so it s ot ew to you. The terms hazard, risk, ad cotrol may be ew but if you really thik about this you will see that risk assessmet is somethig we all do, sometimes without eve cosciously thikig about it. Fast Facts Most ijured body parts, Workers 2013 (HSA) Mai causes of o-fatal accidets BACK (23%) HAND (8%) LEG (8%) SHOULDER (6%) ARM (6%) FINGERS (9%) ANKLE (6%) Maual Hadlig (32%) Other Slips, Trips & Falls (18%) UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS No-fatal ijuries by trigger 2013 (HSA) All other triggers 30% Body movemet (o physical stress) 6% Fall from height 5% Fall o same level 18% Aggressio, shock, violece 5% Loss of cotrol, trasport or hadlig equipmet 4% Maual hadlig 32% Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 18

24 ACTIVITY 2.A BRAINSTORM List 25 hazards that ca be foud i a school. Remember hazards are everywhere, all workplaces have hazards. ACTIVITY 2.B CLASS DISCUSSION These illustratios (below) give some idea as to how risk ca be judged low, medium or high. Thik of the reasos why these ratigs are applied. Are there other thigs that should be take ito accout that are ot obvious i the drawigs (for example, the UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS locatio of the bus stop or the time of day)? Choose Safety - Youg People at Work ACTIVITY 2.C IN PAIRS 19 Usig the formula below, calculate the risk of each of the above activities. Risk = Likelihood (1 for ulikely, 2 for likely, 3 for very likely) x Severity of the potetial ijury (1 for little harm, 2 for harmful, 3 for very harmful) x Number of people exposed (1 for oe perso, 2 for a few, 3 for may) Your aswers will rage from miimum risk 1 to maximum risk 27.

25 ACTIVITY 2.D INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE i. Suppose you are workig i a office ad are required to sit at a computer for most of the day. a. List all the hazards o ad aroud your desk i the office. b. Rate the risk of each hazard that might cause harm. Say whether each oe is: - Likely to cause ijury (high risk) - Could possibly cause ijury (medium risk) - Very ulikely to cause ijury (low risk) c. Calculate a umerical value (1 to 27) for each risk. Hazard High risk (value) Medium risk (value) Low risk (value) ii. Imagie you are workig as a detal assistat. Repeat questios a, b ad c above. UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Hazard High risk (value) Medium risk (value) Low risk (value) ACTIVITY 2.E IN PAIRS Compare your list with that of aother studet i your class. Try to agree a commo list of hazards ad the level of risk associated with each. Oe of you will report back to the class. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 20

26 ACTIVITY 2.F INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE Do you cosider each of the followig to be true or false? True False 1 The most commo ijury by body part (i workplace accidets) is the back. 2 Slips, trips ad falls are the least-commo cause of workplace accidets. UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS 3 It is the employee s resposibility to esure risk assessmets are carried out. 4 A hazard is aythig that could cause harm. 5 Hazards are ot always obvious. 6 Maual hadlig causes almost oe-third of accidets i the workplace. 7 The first priciple of prevetio is adapt the work to the idividual. 8 The top three o-fatal accidet triggers (2013) were fall from height, maual hadlig, ad fall o the same level. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 21

27 ACTIVITY 2.G INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE List the activities you ormally do i your everyday life where there is some risk of ijury, the complete the rest of the table. Typical activity What could go wrog How likely is this to happe Cotrols cyclig to school fallig, crashig, becomig etagled, beig kocked dow, equipmet failure, loss of cotrol medium to high risk (fair possibility of a accidet ad the ijury could be severe or fatal) Wear a helmet ad protective gear Be clearly visible Follow every rule of the road Avoid dagerous routes Slow dow Maitai your bike computer games eye trouble muscular pai electrocutio headaches stress, obsessio ACTIVITY 2.H IN GROUPS low risk (mior discomfort likely, uless used excessively) Use for short period oly Take frequet breaks Adjust chair, desk ad VDU heights Wear glasses if required Adjust VDU cotrols Cosider room lightig UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS I a group of three, select a classroom i your school with practical tasks for example, Art room, Home Ecoomics room, ICT room, Sciece Laboratory, Techology room. 1. Compile a hazard checklist for the classroom selected see sample checklist (to be provided) Calculate the level of risk ad idetify if the hazard is a high, medium or low risk. 2. Usig the checklist idetify ad categorise the hazards i the room, referrig back to what you have leared so far. 3. Oce completed, assess the level of risk by determiig who might be harmed ad how. Cosideratio should be give to: the umber of persos exposed to the hazard the frequecy of exposure to the hazard duratio of exposure to the hazard potetial failure modes routes of exposure. 4. Cofirm what cotrols are i place to maage the hazard ad what other cotrols eed to be put i place to reduce the risk of ijury ad ill-health. Remember legislatio, code of practices ad stadards state the miimum requiremets for the workplace. Oce the above project is completed, your teacher will able to use the hazard checklist to esure the classroom your group selected, is safe for studets, staff ad visitors. Well doe! Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 22

28 ACTIVITY 2.I SPOT THE HAZARD Ca you spot what has the potetial to cause a ijury the hazard? Choose Safety - Youg People at Work UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS 23

29 UNIT 2 PART 2 MANUAL HANDLING AND ERGONOMICS The lack of effective maagemet of the hazard of maual hadlig results i oe third of all reported workplace accidets. Ijury ca occur whe workers are requested to hadle heavy loads without beig provided with suitable liftig equipmet. Such ijury ca impact o may parts of the body as a result of the heavy or awkward loads that may have to be hadled. The mai risk factors relatig to maual hadlig iclude force (e.g. heavy loads), high repetitio, ad awkward postures. Maual hadlig is ot just about liftig. It icludes lowerig, pushig, pullig ad restraiig. Activities such as these occur i jobs o farms, i hospitals, costructio, retail ad elsewhere. The most importat aspect of safe maual hadlig is the risk assessmet. That is, cosideratio ad plaig is eeded before the liftig or hadlig takes place. It is worthwhile spedig time to uderstad the work that has to be completed to idetify the maual hadlig that has to be carried out, the potetial risks ad the potetial solutios. This could result i reduced risk of ijury, smarter systems of work ad reduced absece from work. It may be your best momet s work all week! The followig factors should be cosidered for maual hadlig activities: Task Idividual Load Eviromet Task Do I eed to lift this? Is there aother way of doig this work? Is it repetitive liftig? Too streuous? Twistig Bedig the truk Reachig with outstretched arms Reachig overhead Isufficiet bodily rest or recovery Idividual Previous back pai or ijury Posture Physical capability Clothig are they loose, avoid eck accessories e.g. scarves, ties, jewellery Gloves have they grips? Footwear - shoes/ boots steel-toe caps, flat, o-slip soles? Check guidelie weights for male ad females Load Is load too heavy? There are guidelie weights which ca be used to determie if the load is safe. Too large? If the load is large, it is ot possible to follow the basic rules for liftig ad carryig (keep the load as close to the body as possible); thus, the muscles will tire more rapidly. Difficult to grasp: this ca result i the object slippig ad causig a accidet; loads with sharp edges or with dagerous materials ca ijure workers. Ubalaced or ustable: this leads to fatigue ad ueve loadig of muscles, because the object s cetre of gravity is ot i the middle of the worker s body. Difficult to reach: reachig with outstretched arms, or bedig or twistig the truk takes greater muscular force. Of a shape or size that obscures the worker s view, thus icreasig the possibility of slippig/trippig, fallig or collidig with somethig. UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 24

30 UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Eviromet Aswerig YES to ay of the followig questios idicates a icreased risk, particularly of back ijury: a. Are the floors ad surfaces uderfoot ueve or slippery? b. Are there differet floor levels i the workplace? c. Is the workplace utidy with a lack of attetio to housekeepig details? d. Are there extremes of heat, cold, wid ad humidity? e. Are there high levels of fumes, dusts, gases or vapours? f. Is there excessive vibratio? g. Is the task performed i a cofied space? h. Is the lightig iadequate? Referece Ergoomics i the Workplace HSA ISBN Priciples of safe liftig: 1. Clear the area of obstacles 2. Give yourself plety of room 3. Cosider the weight ad shape of the load 4. Keep feet hip-distace apart 5. Stad with feet i directio of where you are goig 6. Place feet firmly o the floor 7. Bed your kees, ot your back 8. Grip firmly usig palm of your had 9. Keep close to the load, arms i lie 10. Keep load close to your cetre of gravity The questio i your mid should ot be How do I lift this? It should be, Do I eed to lift this? Is there aother way of doig this work? If you choose to go ahead with the liftig or movig, you should cosider the followig: Is this load likely to be heavy, or very heavy? How should I grip this thig? How should I stad ad bed? Are there obstacles alog my iteded route? Do I eed help? Do I eed advice? Have I received traiig i hadlig it? x Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 25

31 WHAT IS ERGONOMICS? Ergoomics is a set of ideas o how to desig tasks, tools ad equipmet to allow for comfortable ad safe use. Ergoomics is simply about fittig the task to the perso. The core priciples of ergoomics are: pla the work i advace vary your posture as ofte as you ca always complete a risk assessmet before work begis avoid over-reachig or workig above shoulder height avoid over-stretchig joits (e.g. elbows) keep loads close to your body whe liftig limit the weight of ay load that requires liftig avoid liftig loads above shoulder height avoid repetitive bedig seek traiig i maual-hadlig techiques. avoid twistig of the upper body Musculoskeletal disorders is the techical term for ay pai or ijury that affects muscles, ligamets, joits or erves. This is the most commo form of work-related ijury. They may be caused by a accidet or by logterm exposure to low-itesity repetitive tasks. I this case, the ijury builds up over time, ofte without the worker s kowledge. Typical risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders are: poor posture icludig twistig liftig, carryig, pushig or pullig heavy loads repetitive work vibratio excessive heat or cold. Fast Facts WRULDs are a particular type of musculoskeletal disorder: work-related eck ad upper limb disorders caused by work or the eviromet i which the work takes place. Though symptoms develop over a log time, they ca be very severe ad may force sufferers to chage job or to retire. Workers o a assembly lie ad o supermarket check-outs ad those who sped a log time i frot of a computer may be particularly at risk to this ijury. Overuse of the muscles of the hads, wrists, arms or shoulders o a repeated, ofte daily, basis causes ijury to these muscles. This results i iflammatio that is ever give a chace to recover, as these everyday activities ivariably cotiue. The computer keyboard ad mouse are ofte blamed for WRULDs, but caot be charged with sole resposibility. The huma body was ot desiged to sit huched over a desk. Poorly positioed ad orgaised workstatios add to the problem. Do ot forget: the loger someoe puts a strai o muscles by sittig icorrectly without takig a break, the more likely the body will suffer the cosequeces. WRULDs ca also occur at home. Computers are ever preset, ad everyoe is at risk of ijury by repeated use of computer games, whether they are had-held, o mobile phoes or played o the TV or computer. Text-messagig, too, may cause problems i the logterm. A good rule of thumb is keep chagig what you are doig. Tese muscles do ot fuctio correctly. This meas that someoe uder stress is much more likely to suffer muscle damage. Teis elbow ad golfer s elbow are two commo examples of other overuse sydromes. They have bee aroud for a log time ad you do t have to play teis or golf to suffer from them. UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 26

32 ACTIVITY 2.L INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE Cosider this shelvig uit that may be foud i a storage area. There are four shelves. The uit reaches eight feet from floor level. Decide where the followig categories of storage box should be placed. (TOP) SHELF NO 4 (TOP) SHELF NO 3 UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS 1. What is happeig here? 2. Is the workstatio suitably set up? 3. Do you thik the scree, keyboard, ad mouse are positioed correctly? ACTIVITY 2.J CLASS DISCUSSION 4. Do you cosider the office to be a low risk work eviromet? 5. List four hazards associated with workig i a office. (TOP) SHELF NO 2 (TOP) SHELF NO 1 Frequetly used items Rarely used items (light) Heavy loads Rarely used items (heavy) ACTIVITY 2.K IN GROUPS Source a awkward load (ot a heavy oe) from somewhere i your school. You could use a combiatio of empty cardboard boxes or plastic cotaiers. Place some light cotets i oe or more of the boxes/cotaiers such as plastic bottles, teis balls, or similar. Thik about how the activity could be improved to reduce or avoid maual Choose Safety - Youg People at Work hadlig risk factors. 27

33 ACTIVITY 2.M IN PAIRS View both pairs of illustratios below. Explai how the work system i each eviromet has bee improved by applyig the priciples of ergoomics. Physical Effort too streuous Difficult to grasp Body is i ustable positio Load is too heavy Load is too heavy Load is too large Difficult to grasp To see more illustratios like those above visit ad search for maual hadlig case studies. UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 28

34 UNIT 2 PART 3 SLIPS, TRIPS AND FALLS ew Key areas to cosider iclude: UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Slips, trips ad falls are the secod most commo cause of workplace ijuries. I 2013 there were more tha 1,200 slips, trips ad falls reported to the Health ad Safety Authority. A quarter of those icidets led to the ijured perso missig over a moth from work. Help prevet slips, trips ad falls. Spills should be reported ad removed straight away. Avoid wet floors as far as possible. Avoid floors that are beig cleaed. Be careful ad pay attetio o steps ad stairs. Exercise cautio eterig buildigs i the rai. Keep floors ad access routes clear. Wear the correct ati-slip footwear. Do ot create ay trip or slip dagers. Spills High risk areas Over-used warig sigs Evirometal clealiess Shoes & Footwear Pedestria Surfaces 1. Spills Spills ca occur i every workplace ad the resultig wet surface icreases the likelihood of a slip or fall occurrig. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work Report trailig cables, ueve walkways, or poor lightig. Areas close to sources of liquid require particular attetio, e.g. food preparatio areas, self-service drik areas, waterig areas such as those i florists or garde cetres, wash-up areas such as those i hotels ad restaurats, workplaces where siks are used, welfare facilities ad wash rooms. Walk-i chiller ad freezer floors ca be particularly hazardous if wet. 29

35 2. High risk areas The floor i a workplace must be suitable for the type of work activity that will be takig place o it. Where a floor ca t be kept dry, people should be able to walk o the floor without fear of slippig. It should be slip resistat ad fitted correctly to avoid slip hazards. Small fruit/vegetable items, some with a high liquid cotet e.g. grapes, tomatoes, may be a high slip risk if they fall oto the floor. Wet floors may be more commo i workplaces such as hairdressers, grocery shops, restaurats ad eateries, catees, hospitals ad similar work eviromets. Slip resistat floorig should be used, especially where a floor may get wet/cotamiated. 3. Over-used warig sigs Warig sigs do ot physically keep people away from wet floors ad do ot substitute for ecessary protective measures. For programmed/routie floor cleaig, a system that keeps pedestrias away from wet/ moist floors, e.g. physical barriers or cordos should be used. Segregatio must ot prevet emergecy access/egress. High risk areas iclude trasitio areas, where pedestrias move betwee surfaces with very differet levels of grip, the most obvious beig pedestrias goig from wet to dry at etraces ad exits. Areas where levels chage, e.g. slopes, ramps, steps/stairs, uexpected holes, bumps, draiage chaels, are aother high risk area. Cotrol measures iclude: the provisio of slip resistat surfaces proper lightig chages i level are highlighted the provisio of proper drai covers the top ad bottom of stairs are kept clea ad tidy. avoidace of carryig items o stairs, e.g. by use of dumb waiters. Rule of Thumb: High gloss, highly reflective = high risk Particular attetio must also be give to areas that may become slippery durig severe weather. Grit or salt may be helpful to deal temporarily with sow or ice. Warig sigs must be removed whe they o loger apply. 4. Evirometal clealiess Good housekeepig stadards are everyoe s resposibility; therefore procedures to esure good housekeepig are vital. These may iclude: Esure the walkways through the workplace are kept clear o trailig cables, o obstructios. Tidy as you go - do t leave tidy up util the ed of shift. Keep floors ad access routes clear. Keep particularly messy operatios away from pedestria routes. Dispose of packig material ad other wrappigs carefully. Do ot leave them lyig aroud the floor. Use the correct type ad right amout of floor cleaig chemical too little may ot remove soilig ad too much may leave a slippery residue. UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 30

36 5. Shoes & Footwear Suitable footwear is importat. The footwear wor i a office is cosiderably differet to the footwear wor i a leisure cetre or by somebody who is movig aroud a lot as part of their job. Additioally, some jobs require special safety footwear such as costructio or maufacturig work. The type of safety footwear required is determied by a risk assessmet ad the employer provides this where ecessary. Safety footwear is usually classified as persoal protective equipmet (PPE). There is more iformatio o this i Uit 3. ACTIVITY 2.N CLASS DISCUSSION If this was your workplace what could you do to stop people slippig? Note: Not all safety footwear is slip-resistat. Safety may refer to impact protectio, chemical protectio, thermal protectio, etc. UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS 6. Pedestria surfaces Slip resistat pedestria surfaces are importat especially i areas where there is heavy traffic ad a risk of spillages or wet surfaces. Desigers, suppliers ad istallers of floorig have obligatios uder safety, health ad welfare legislatio. They must esure floorig is: desiged ad costructed to be used safely ad without risk compliat with relevat legislatio tested ad examied to meet requiremets. Iformatio ad updates o safe istallatio, use, maiteace ad cleaig must also be provided. Fact As a member of the restaurat service staff, Cormac a studet, slipped o a wet floor that had just bee mopped. The tray of crockery that he was carryig broke ad he suffered deep laceratios to his left had. This ijury required three separate surgical operatios to fully repair the damaged tedos ad Cormac was uable to work for several moths. He still has reduced movemet i his had. ACTIVITY 2.O IN GROUPS I groups of two complete a slips, trips ad falls survey of your workplace, your Home Ecoomics or other practical classroom usig the approach i the Mappig Tool (see lik below) ad complete a slips, trips ad falls risk assessmet. See for useful iformatio. For the Mappig Tool see Mappig_Slips_Trips_ad_Falls/Mappig_tool_rev1.pdf. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 31 Ijuries from a slip or a trip may ot seem very serious, but they ca be extremely paiful ad could stop you ejoyig your leisure time for a log time. A quarter of those ijured i otified slips, trips ad falls are off work for over a moth. Remember Get a grip, do t slip or trip.

37 UNIT 2 PART 4 FIRE SAFETY AND FIRST-AID Fire causes may ijuries ad deaths each year. Employers must take all reasoable measures to guard agaist the outbreak of fire ad pla measures to protect people s safety if fire breaks out. All busiesses should have a fire safety maagemet system that is based aroud the three key stages: Protectio Detectio Evacuatio Fire precautios iclude: all employees must be istructed o what to do i the evet of a fire escape routes must be clearly marked ad assembly poits easily idetifiable evacuatio procedures must be well kow to everyoe ad regularly practiced all equipmet must be ispected regularly. Smoke detectors, fire alarms, fire doors ad fire-resistat buildig material assist i prevetig the rapid spread of fire fire safety certificates are required for all ew buildigs ad for most reovatios or extesios to busiess premises emergecy lightig ad fire-fightig equipmet ca help save lives whe fire breaks out i the evet of a fire evacuate the buildig immediately ad call the fire brigade. WHAT IS FIRE? Fire is a chemical reactio which eeds three thigs to occur: If oe of these is ot preset, the fire caot start. If oe of these is take from a fire, it will go out. But how does a combiatio of the three create fire? OXYGEN Oxyge Oxyge + Heat + Fuel = Fire Heat Fire Prevetio Fuel You breathe oxyge (O2) every day. Without it you would suffocate. But did you kow that fire breathes oxyge too? Ad, like you, without oxyge, a fire will suffocate. Whe oxyge i the air combies with vapours give off by fuels, they create a flammable atmosphere. The, a source of igitio (a match or spark, say) ca cause it to combust. Without eough oxyge, igitio caot occur. I the opposite way, if there is too much oxyge, the vapours wo t be cocetrated eough to igite. The ratio of vapour to oxyge eeded is kow as the explosive or flammable limit ad is differet for each gas or vapour. UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 32

38 HEAT Combustio occurs whe flammable vapours mix with air (oxyge) ad are igited by a spark or flame. Solids give off flammable vapours by beig heated. Certai solids such as paper or flour appear to igite almost istatly. This is because they give off vapours ad reach a flammable temperature almost immediately. I fact, fie dusts dispersed i the air ca explode. They give off vapours ad igite so quickly it appears to happe istatly. Other solids such as timber take loger to igite, because they are more dese ad do t give off flammable vapours so easily. Liquids are differet. They are more ruy, for a start. Where solids eed to be heated to give off flammable vapours, some liquids give off vapours eve i cold weather. The ame for the lowest temperature at which vapour from a liquid ca be igited is kow as its flashpoit. The flashpoit of petrol is 43 C below zero, meaig that, eve o a very cold day, petrol ca still igite easily. FUEL We ve got oxyge ad heat, but we also eed somethig that will bur this is our fuel. Differet fuels bur at differet rates ad with differet itesities. Some types of fuel, uder certai coditios, ca bur at over 1000 C that s hot eough to melt alumiium! (By cotrast, the temperature of the surface of the su reaches aroud 6000 C.) The table below shows the temperatures that some types of fuels reach whe they bur. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS The burig temperatures of various fuels Fuel C Coal 300 Butae 420 Carbo 700 Carbo mooxide 300 Coke 700 Ethae 515 Hydroge 500 Fire Safety Statistics aroud 50 people die every year i the Republic of Irelad from fires, mostly i their ow homes most at risk are the uder-12 s ad over- 60 s most fire deaths occur durig witer most deaths by fire occur i homes with o fire alarms over 50% of fires i the home occur at ight (8pm 8am) most fires start i the livig room or bed room. Fast Facts Fuel C Methae 580 Natural gas 600 Peat 227 Petroleum 400 Propae 480 Wood 300 Fire detectors ad alarms are ecessary i may situatios such as where fires could break out without beig detected studets, staff or visitors to the school are isolated ad may ot be aware of icidets elsewhere i the buildig there is a risk of rapid fire spread evacuatio of large umbers of people required meas of escape are ot ideal people will ot be able to make their ow way out of buildigs there are legal requiremets for such equipmet 33

39 WHAT SHOULD I KNOW? Whe you start work you must kow what to do if there is a fire or other emergecy. This will usually be covered durig your iductio traiig. Make sure you kow: how to raise the alarm if you see a fire or other emergecy IDENTIFY SOURCES OF IGNITION You ca idetify potetial igitio sources by lookig for possible sources of heat which may get hot eough to igite material located close by. where the exit routes are ad where they lead to where the fire assembly poit is. Make sure to follow the procedures i place for safe evacuatio of your workplace. Workplaces usually carry out fire drills at least twice aually. These iclude: electrical, gas or oil-fired heaters hot processes, e.g. weldig or use of Buse burers cookig equipmet, hot ductig, flues ad filters aked flames poor electrical istallatio, icludig overloaded or damaged cables chemicals cigarettes, matches, lighters light fittigs ad lightig equipmet obstructio of vetilatio equipmet. UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS FOUR TYPES OF FIRE EXTINGUISHERS ARE IN GENERAL USE: Fire Extiguishers wood paper fabric Water Dry Powder all fires icludig electrical, may ot extiguish outdoor fires due to widy weather, very messy CO 2 flammable liquids electrical Never iterfere with ay fire-fightig equipmet. It s there to keep you safe! Foam flammable liquids oils fats Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 34

40 UNIT 2 PART 4.1 FIRST-AID Every workplace should have first-aid procedures i place. These will vary from workplace to workplace depedig o the size of the busiess ad the ature of the work. Some workplaces will have a desigated first-aider who will have udergoe occupatioal first-aid traiig. This is ot a madatory requiremet ad the decisio to appoit a occupatioal first-aider is made followig a risk assessmet. UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS ACTIVITY 2.P CLASS DISCUSSION What emergecy procedures are i place i your school or workplace? Where is the fire assembly poit? Whe you start work it is importat you kow: who is i charge of first-aid, who maages the first-aid kit who to go to if you require first-aid what to do i the evet of a emergecy. ACTIVITY 2.Q INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE Fid the twelve words associated with fire ad heat that are hidde i the grid below. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work C E E T U S R U O P A V O S D R D I O X I D E C M D F I Y O P A Y Z B V B C L E C W E S H X E G U O X W D Q D R F T D A S P A R K U Z W I E O S T N I O P H S A L F L N I G N I T E Z T B O P M O W K U W E D P P A X I N E R U T A R E P M E T 35

41 ACTIVITY 2.R IN GROUPS Orgaize your class ito small groups. Seek permissio to locate ad ispect all fire extiguishers i the school. Report your fidigs to the class. Or To fid out more about fire safety, visit the fire safety sectio of the Departmet of the Eviromet s website, Cosider the fire evacuatio drill i your school. Is it followed? Do you thik it is sufficiet? What improvemets would you make? ACTIVITY 2.S CLASS DISCUSSION What s wrog with this fire exit? END OF UNIT 2: SPEED TEST Q.1 What is meat by a hazard? UNIT 2 WORKPLACE HAZARDS Q.2 Why are cotrols ecessary? Q.3 Give five examples of slips, trips ad falls hazards that exist i may workplaces. Q.4 Why is it importat to lear about hadlig ad liftig items? Q.5 How ca work activities be improved to reduce or avoid maual hadlig risk factors? Q.6 Explai the fire triagle. Q.7 List four kids of extiguishers ad the type of fires they are desiged to extiguish. Q.8 Is it madatory to have a traied occupatioal first-aider i every workplace? Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 36

42 Make Notes

43 UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB Uit Cotets 1 Workig at height 2 Workplace trasport safety 3 Chemicals 4 Farmig 5 Hospitality 6 Persoal protective equipmet (PPE) Choose Safety - Youg People at Work UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB 38

44 DOING YOUR JOB UNIT 3 PART 1 Doig your job may ivolve several activities. Some of these may ivolve workig at height, workig i or aroud vehicles, or workig with chemicals. I this uit you will lear more about these activities ad how they may impact o you. This Uit will also focus o two very differet sectors where may youg people work, the farmig sector ad the hospitality sector. Uit 3 will heighte your awareess of the hazards associated with these sectors ad will provide you with iformatio o how to protect yourself ad others. UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 39 WORKING AT HEIGHT Falls from height result i may serious ijuries ad deaths every year. You do t have to be workig very high up to be killed or seriously ijured if you fall. Workig at height is work i ay place from which a employee could fall a distace liable to cause persoal ijury. This icludes workig o a scaffold or mobile platform, workig o the back of a lorry, o a telephoe pole, a ladder etc. Some examples of activities that are classified as workig at height ad are covered by the Work at Height Regulatios iclude: usig a kick-stool or step ladder i a stock room or library usig a mobile elevatig work platform to erect steel work usig workig platforms ad ladders to pait or clea chagig lamps or ceilig tiles i a office workig o the back of a lorry to sheet a load workig o top of a fuel truck climbig masts or poles riggig lightig for a cocert or stage productio usig haresses ad ropes professioally to istruct i abseilig or rock climbig workig close to a ope excavatio or cellar trap door erectig bill posters at a height erectig or workig o a scaffold workig o formwork at height. Activities ot covered by the Work at Height Regulatios iclude: walkig up ad dow a staircase i a office workig i a office o the upper floors of a temporary accommodatio buildig sittig i a chair. Cellar hatches are foud i may premises. Cellar hatches ca pose a serious dager ad it s very importat that proper precautios are take. Orgaisatioal measures are vital i esurig that cellar hatches ca be used safely.

45 CONSIDERATIONS: Avoid workig at height if you ca ask your boss if the job ca be doe from the groud, for example, by usig a extedable brush to clea a upstairs widow select suitable work at height equipmet. If you have to use ladders esure it is safe to use them. Check they are i good coditio before you use them, ad set up ad secured correctly if work at height is outside, cosider the weather coditios. ACTIVITY 3.A IN PAIRS I Pairs 1. List seve workplaces where workig at a height is a regular occurrece. 2. List the type of ijuries that may result from workig at a height. UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB 3. Cosider the cotrols that could be put i place for two of the workplaces you listed i o.1 above 4. List the persoal protective equipmet (PPE) that may help to prevet a accidet or ijury while workig at a height. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 40

46 UNIT 3 PART 2 UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 41 WORKPLACE TRANSPORT SAFETY Every year, a substatial umber of accidets are caused by vehicles at work. It is because vehicles are widely used as part of daily life, that employers, maagers ad employees ofte fail to recogise that vehicles activities ca be dagerous i a workplace ad eed to be effectively cotrolled ad maaged to prevet ijury to persos. Some accidets are due to the vehicle beig usuitable for the task, faulty or poorly maitaied or maitaied usig utraied staff or usafe practices. Accidets are also ofte caused by failig to cotrol pedestria access to vehicle areas or lack of traiig of drivers. Employers ad the self-employed eed to be aware of the mai risks associated with vehicles that eed to be maaged to protect workers ad members of the public i the workplace. The activities most commoly associated with vehicle related deaths ad ijuries are: drivig for work reversig ad slow speed maoeuvres couplig ad ucouplig vehicle maiteace ad repairs loadig, uloadig ad load securig. Features of a Safe Workplace A well-desiged ad maitaied workplace should iclude appropriate traffic routes, sigage ad markigs. Keepig pedestrias ad vehicles apart, a oe way system ad good visibility will also be key features. Traffic Routes Suitable, clear, siged ad well-marked traffic routes will help esure safe movemet for all aroud the workplace. Sigage Appropriate sigage will help drivers ad pedestrias follow site rules. ew Pedestria Safety Pedestrias are people who travel o foot i the workplace. Effective separatio of pedestrias from vehicles (as far as possible), helps elimiate possible risks. Suitable, clear, siged ad well-marked pedestria routes will help make sure that pedestrias ca move aroud safely ad without risk of ijury. WHAT SHOULD PEDESTRIANS DO? always report to workplace receptio, site office or perso i charge wear high visibility clothig whe workig i the viciity of movig vehicles ad equipmet. Remember - you are ot always visible to drivers follow sigs, road markigs, speed limits ad oe-way systems do ot eter No Pedestria zoes or Vehicles Oly zoes do ot walk beside movig vehicles do ot approach a movig vehicle; wait util the driver ackowledges your presece ever walk behid a reversig vehicle. Remember: vehicles ca have blid spots keep a safe distace from movig vehicles. Oe Way System A oe way system with safe crossig poits helps esure that pedestrias ad drivers are more aware of likely movemets. Good Visibility Good lightig ad visibility will help drivers ad pedestrias see possible dagers ad each other.

47 FORKLIFT SAFETY A forklift is a powered truck used to carry, lift, stack or tier materials. They iclude pallet trucks, rider operated forklifts, fork trucks, or lift trucks. They ca be powered by electric battery or combustio egies. Forklifts are extremely useful workplace vehicles, as log as they are used safely ad appropriately by operators who are appropriately traied ad competet to use them. Forklifts ca be dagerous: they accout for 25% of ijuries at work. May workplace accidets ivolve people beig hit or ru over by forklift trucks (typically whe the forklift is reversig) because the driver did ot see them. Owig to their size ad weight, ijuries resultig from forklifts are geerally very serious. Accidets ivolvig them are ofte caused by poor supervisio ad a lack of traiig. ACTIVITY 3.B IN GROUPS Recet research carried out o behalf of the Health ad Safety Authority (HSA) idicated that all 111 orgaisatios surveyed said they had pedestrias movig aroud their workplace. Worryigly, 45% of these orgaisatios believed that pedestrias were ot aware of the risks associated with workplace trasport. Pedestrias may be employees, members of the public or visitig workers that pass ear vehicles i the workplace. This could rage from a maiteace egieer arrivig o site, to a customer walkig ear a fork-lift truck at a supermarket or builder provider s yard, or eve someoe passig ear a mobile crae. Your challege What ca you do to help keep all pedestrias safe? I groups of three select a workplace listed i above article ad provide solutios to keep pedestrias safe ad outlie the beefits of same. UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 42

48 UNIT 3 PART 3 UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 43 CHEMICALS Chemicals are part of everyday life. They ca be foud i the home i a wide variety of products, from pait ad washig powder to shampoo ad shower gel. They ca also be foud i the eviromet, either itetioally, for example from pesticides used i the garde, or uitetioally from pollutio. Chemicals are also preset i every workplace; eve i the cleaest, most moder office, it is possible to be routiely exposed to chemicals such as iks ad toers. Chemicals ca exist i may forms: Dust, fumes, fibres, powders Liquids Gases, vapours, mists Not all chemicals are harmful, but those which have the potetial to cause harm to huma health or the eviromet are referred to as hazardous chemicals. The hazards associated with chemicals iclude: Explosive Flammable Oxidisig Corrosive Irritat The effects of hazardous chemicals may be see: immediately after cotact: for example chemical bur or a explosio oly after a period of time: for example cacer. ACTIVITY 3.C IN PAIRS ew Sesitiser Carcioge Mutage Reproductive toxicity Hazardous to the eviromet Use a dictioary or website to fid the meaig of each of the words i the boxes above. CHEMICALS IN THE WORKPLACE How ca chemicals be hazardous to health? I order for a chemical to be hazardous to a perso s health, it must either be i cotact with or eter the body. Chemicals ca come i cotact with the body by beig: ihaled ito the body through your ose or mouth. Breathig i cotamiated air is the most commo way that workplace chemicals eter the body. absorbed ito the body through your ski, eyes, or ose. Some chemicals ca damage the ski or eyes (e.g. irritatio) or pass through the ski ito the body. igested ito the body through your mouth. Workplace chemicals may be swallowed accidetly if food or hads are cotamiated. ijected ito the body through the ski. Ijectio ca occur whe a sharp object (e.g. a eedle) puctures the ski ad ijects a chemical directly ito the bloodstream. Ihalatio ad ski absorptio are the mai ways you ca be exposed to chemicals i the workplace. Accidetal ijectio of chemicals ca be avoided by good safety practices. Accidetal igestio of chemicals ca be avoided by a combiatio of good ad hygieic practices such as washig hads ad prohibitig foods, driks, cosmetics ad tobacco products i the workplace.

49 WHERE CAN YOU FIND INFORMATION ABOUT CHEMICAL HAZARDS? The most importat sources of iformatio o the hazards of chemicals are the label ad the safety data sheet (SDS). Labels: Chemicals should be supplied with a label attached to the cotaier. The label gives iformatio o the chemical or product ame, the chemical hazards ad the precautios you should take to esure safe use. Ifo for Laudry Liquid Tablets/Capsules/Pods You should always hadle laudry capsules carefully ad with dry hads. These capsules dissolve quickly whe i cotact with water, wet hads, or saliva. Childre have required hospitalisatio followig igestio of the capsule cotets. Eye cotact with the cotets from ruptured capsules has also resulted i medical treatmet for severe irritatio ad ocular burs. It is really importat to keep these products locked up ad out of the reach of childre. Fast Facts ACTIVITY 3.D GROUP EXERCISE/ CLASS DISCUSSION Hazardous chemicals must display the appropriate hazard symbol or pictogram o their label. UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB Match the list of hazards below with their associated hazard symbol from the image above: Hazard Symbol Number Hazard Symbol Number Explosive Corrosive Oxidisig Gas Uder Pressure Flammable Hazardous To The Eviromet Carcioge, Mutage, Reproductive Toxicity Irritatio Toxic Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 44

50 The label will give you iformatio o: Clealt XYZ>99% w/w CAS The hazard pictogram Idetify all the hazards associated with the chemical Advice o safe use Acme Eterprises Ltd., 1 Acme Lae, Id Estate, Dubli 123 Phoe: UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB Warig Causes eye irritatio. Causes ski irritatio. Keep out of the reach of childre. Wear protective gloves/ protective clothig/ eye protectio/ face protectio. IF IN EYES: rise cautiously with water for several miutes. If eye irritatio persists get medical advice/ attetio. A chemical ca have more tha oe hazard associated with it. For example, it could be irritatig to the ski ad dagerous to the eviromet. It is importat to read the label carefully. 2 3 Fast Facts ACTIVITY 3.E IN PAIRS List some hazardous chemicals that may be foud i your home or school Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 45 Chemical Bleach Hazards listed o the label Irritat

51 SAFETY DATA SHEETS Hazardous chemicals used i workplaces are supplied alog with a safety data sheet. The safety data sheet provides importat iformatio o the chemical icludig: the idetity of the chemical the hazards associated with it what should be doe i case of accidetal exposure, fire or release of the chemical advice o how to store, use ad dispose the chemical safely. How to cotrol exposure to hazardous chemicals? Workplaces use the iformatio provided i the safety data sheet ad o the label to assess the risks associated with the use of the hazardous chemical ad to decide the appropriate cotrol measures to esure it is used safely. Whe decidig o appropriate cotrol measures for chemicals, a similar approach to that used for other types of hazards i the workplace is applied: Least preferred stop usig the hazardous chemical replace it with a less hazardous chemical separate or isolate the hazardous substace from the perso usig it make sure there are clear istructios o how to use, store ad dispose of the chemical safely use of persoal protective equipmet (PPE), e.g. gloves goggles Most preferred I practice, the cotrol measures used will deped o the hazardous properties of the chemical ad how sigificat the exposure will be. Some examples of differet cotrol measures are listed below: hadlig hazardous chemicals i a fume cupboard i a laboratory wearig gloves whe usig a irritat or corrosive chemical supplyig certai hazardous chemicals to cosumers with a child-proof opeig storig flammable liquids away from sources of igitio. Remember: The best way to cotrol risk to a hazardous chemical is to ot use it! Choose Safety - Youg People at Work UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB 46

52 ACTIVITY 3.F IN PAIRS From the list of hazardous chemicals which may be foud i your home or school, describe what the hazard is ad how it may be cotrolled. Chemical Hazards Cotrol measure Bleach Irritat Clear label Child proof cap Careful storage Use gloves ad goggles UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB Whe asked to use a chemical i the workplace: DO always follow the istructios o whe ad how to use it give by your employer wear ay persoal protective equipmet you have bee give read the label ad safety data sheet so you uderstad the hazards store chemicals i their origial cotaier wash your hads before ad after use if you are splashed with a chemical, wash it off at oce ad tell your employer always ask your employer if you are usure how to use or hadle a chemical. DON T x Top Tips use the chemical for a differet task tha the oe assiged by your employer mix chemicals without guidace or istructios eat or drik ear chemicals put chemicals ito ulabelled bottles or wrogly labelled bottles substitute a chemical without permissio from your employer pour chemicals dow the drai siff a chemical to try to idetify it. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work ACTIVITY 3.G IN PAIRS Select household products e.g. cleaig agets, weed killer etc. ad search olie for cleaig aget SDS. Tip search for the Supplier ame ad from this website you should be able to get a copy of the SDS. Discuss i class how you get o. 47

53 UNIT 3 PART 4 FARMING ew Farmig is a high risk work sector. If you do t live o a farm the chaces are you will visit a farm or eve secure work o a farm at some poit i your life. I recet years someoe has died every two weeks i a accidet o a Irish farm. Most of these fatalities ivolved farmers over 55 years of age. The highest proportio of workplace fatalities reported to the Health ad Safety Authority betwee were farm accidets. Durig 2013 aloe sixtee people were killed i the agricultural sector. Farm safety ad the prevetio of accidets o farms is very much a family affair as farms are uique workplaces icorporatig a home as well as a workplace. It is therefore crucial that everyoe kows about safety. LIVESTOCK OTHERS 14% 22% FARM DEATHS VEHICLES 29% UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB 18% FALLS, COLLAPSES 17% MACHINERY Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 48

54 MAIN CAUSES OF FARM ACCIDENTS IN IRELAND: SAFE TRACTOR SKILLS (14-16 YEAR OLDS) TRAINING tractors ad machiery. Most accidets ivolve beig struck by a tractor or movig machie, beig crushed by vehicles ad machiery, fallig from vehicles ad etaglemet i machiery such as i a diet feeder or ay machiery drive by a Power Take Off (PTO). Elderly farmers ad childre are at particular risk. farm vehicles ad machiery accout for the highest proportio of farm deaths ad accidets. People at risk iclude vehicle or machie operators ad others i the viciity. UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB KEYS TO PREVENTION ARE: traiig, good maiteace ad safe work practices. Childre uder 14 are ot permitted to operate tractors or self-propelled machies. A child or youg perso aged 14 or over may drive a tractor or self-propelled vehicle o the farm if they have atteded a formal traiig course ru by a competet traiig provider, ad they are closely supervised by a resposible adult. The youg perso must also demostrate the ability to operate the cotrols with ease. The Safe Tractor Skills course for year olds covers the followig: Safety checks before startig: Settig up a good drivig positio Safe Drivig Hitchig Tractor to other equipmet Operatig trailed machiery from tractor Checkig the terrai Practical Drivig Skills Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 49 NOTE ON POWER TAKE-OFFS (PTO S) The correct guardig of PTO drive shafts plays a crucial role i the safe use of agricultural machiery. Rotatig PTO shafts must be totally eclosed by the proper guard. Idividuals should ever attempt to free a blockage or adjust a machie without turig off the PTO ad the tractor first. Youg people ad iexperieced workers should always alert the perso i charge or a resposible adult whe they otice somethig is ot workig properly. NOTE ON DRIVING ON SLOPES Lad is ot always level ad experieced drivers should oly operate tractors or similar o hills. There may be a risk of overturig if the slope is steep or groud coditios are usuitable. Always exercise cautio ad if i doubt ask.

55 ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES (ATVS) / QUAD BIKE may ATVs have o differetial, so the vehicle speed ad placig of your body weight is crucial for safe corerig. ACTIVITY ACTIVITY 3.H INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE You are asked to help o a eighbour s farm durig the summer moths. You will be ivolved i: movig sheep from field to field, brigig feed to cattle i pasture, drivig a tractor, usig a rage of tractor attachmets, dosig aimals with veteriary products. Most people kow what a quad bike is. This is a allterrai vehicle (ATV) which ca be extremely useful for farmers or those workig o farms where the terrai is difficult to avigate by tractor, or is bumpy or ueve. However, cautio is required. The mai reasos ATVs are ivolved i accidets ad ijuries are: lack of structured traiig ad/or experiece excessive speed carryig a passeger or a ubalaced load tippig o a bak, ditch, rut or bump a steep slope combied with other factors, e.g. groud or load coditios towig excessive loads with ubraked equipmet o persoal protective equipmet (PPE) such as a helmet wor. Key cosideratios iclude: the risk of overturig o slopig groud professioal traiig is essetial before usig a ATV (1 day s duratio) ever carry a passeger o a ATV wear persoal protective equipmet (PPE), icludig a helmet ATV s require o-goig maiteace as specified by the maufacturer. Farmers must check that: tyre pressures are correct brakes give a straight stop the throttle operates smoothly i all steerig positios Idetify the top te hazards you feel you will ecouter. How do you propose to deal with those hazards? How will you commuicate your suggestios or cocers to the farmer? ACTIVITY 3.I IN GROUPS (a) Discuss how the Govermet, the Health ad Safety Authority, Third Level Agricultural colleges, IFA, Teagasc, ad other farmig bodies could further get the message across to the farmig commuity about the eed to farm safely. (b) Decide o suitable themes for a TV advertisig campaig o farm safety. Discuss how this will help spread the farm safety message throughout the farmig commuity ad if there are other suitable ways to promote ad highlight farm safety. ACTIVITY 3.J CLASS DISCUSSION Watch the short video watch?v=w5l1hzwo--o from the HSA website, Survivor Stories, Episode 8: Thirtee year old boy i tractor accidet. Discuss the impact this video makes. What did you lear from this video? How ca similar accidets be preveted? UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 50

56 UNIT 3 PART 5 HOSPITALITY ew May youg people are employed i hotels, restaurats, caterig ad bars. These are busy active workplaces with lots of hazards. Good practice is ecessary to safeguard workers ad those who may be affected by the work activities beig udertake. UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB There are may examples of good practice foud i the accommodatio ad food service sector. Some examples are: wheels or castors fitted to the legs of machies, equipmet, furiture so that it ca be moved easily a locked cage fitted aroud machies to prevet uauthorised use ew staff usig kives required to wear a cut-proof glove o their o-kife had for the start of their traiig use a start-of-shift ad ed-of-shift checklist for essetial safety precautios routie area-by-area audits carried out to eable selfassessmet, leadig to improvemets. Maual hadlig ad slips, trips ad falls are the most commo causes of accidets i the hospitality sector ad have already bee covered earlier i Uit 2. Cuts are also a major risk for those workig i accommodatio or food preparatio. May accidets occur because items slip whe they re beig cut or kives do t move i the directio required. I may cases large kitche kives are used for tasks where a smaller, safer kife could be used. Falls from height, which was covered i i Part 1, is aother hazard. I additio burs ad scalds ca cause some terrible ijuries. For example, a blast of heat or steam ca be released whe opeig hot ove doors or, removig saucepa lids durig cookig. Steam ca cause very serious burs. Oil i deep fryers is particularly hazardous. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 51 Fallig objects may be particularly dagerous. As far as possible avoid storig items at height cosider safer alteratives wherever possible. Great care must be take whe stackig items at a height, especially cotaiers of liquid likely to slosh aroud whe moved or heavy or awkward items. Bar ad receptio staff are exposed to the risk of robbery of stock or cash, ad difficult customers ca expose staff to a risk of violece.

57 ACTIVITY ACTIVITY 3.K CLASS DISCUSSION ACTIVITY 3.L INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE You have bee asked by the Hotel Maager to list the top te hazards you ca idetify i his hotel commercial kitche. He wats you to rak them i order of their seriousess ad the risk of ijury to staff ad the compile a set of cotrol measures for the top five. You have just begu your summer job i a local restaurat. Iitially you are asked to take out the rubbish to a compactor at the back of the premises. You have ot bee show how to operate the compactor ad feel usure about how to put the cardboard ito it. See publicatio o Safe Hospitality Parts 1 to 7 for useful iformatio to complete the above activity. You may wish to use the table below to complete this activity. What should you do? Hazard Risk (*H,M,L) Cotrol UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB *H=High, M=Medium, L=Low Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 52

58 UNIT 3 PART 6 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) PPE (persoal protective equipmet) is used to miimise the risk or the severity of ijury. It should ever be cosidered as the first or primary lie of defece. I fact, all other cotrol measures should be put i place before or i additio to PPE. UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB take ote of sigs tellig you what PPE you eed to wear Top Tips wear your PPE the way you have bee show. It may feel strage at first but you will soo get used to it look after your PPE. Do t led it to ayoe else maitai ad clea your PPE, particularly seal of face mask that fits over your ose ad moth. Store face mask i a bag separate to glasses or other PPE to prevet crosscotamiatio tell your boss if ay of your PPE is damaged or eeds to be replaced. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work Remember PPE is there for your protectio 53

59 ACTIVITY 3.M INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE ACTIVITY 3.N INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE PPE Which of the followig are persoal protective equipmet? Ladders, goggles, ear plugs, drill, safety boots, scaffoldig, high visibility vest, coveyor belt, hard hat, face mask, safety haress, gloves, fire extiguisher, VDU. 1. What type of ijury may occur without proper cotrols such as PPE? 2. Choose the correct PPE eeded to safely perform the followig tasks: cuttig wood cleaig machiery workig at a height road markig dispesig drugs weldig hairdressig. Idetify the eight items of PPE i the list above. Explai briefly why each provides some persoal protectio. Give examples of workplaces where each item of PPE is likely to be foud. END OF UNIT 3: SPEED TEST UNIT 3 DOING YOUR JOB Q.1. Give four examples of workplace trasport hazards. Q.2. List four mai causes of farm accidets. Q.3. What are the key cosideratios for operatig a ATV? Q.4. Idetify three chemical hazards which affect huma health. Q.5. Name two mai ways you ca be exposed to chemicals i the workplace. Q.6. Name the two most importat sources of iformatio o a hazardous chemical. Q.7. Idicate the type of iformatio you would except to see o the label of a hazardous chemical. Q.8. List four occupatios that may require PPE. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 54

60 Make Notes

61 UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU Uit Cotets 1 Safety officer ad safety represetative 2 Work eviromet 3 Workplace health ad well-beig UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 56

62 ROLES, TASKS AND YOU UNIT 4 PART 1 You will experiece lots of differet roles i your workplace. Not oly are you a employee, you are also a co-worker, a represetative of the compay, ad a valuable staff member. I Uit 4 you will lear about resposibility, ad the role of the safety officer ad the safety represetative. These roles are commo to most workplaces, particularly large workplaces. You will also lear more about your work eviromet i this Uit ad how to keep safe ad healthy i your job. UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 57 SAFETY OFFICER AND SAFETY REPRESENTATIVE Every employer is required to maage safety ad health at work so as to prevet accidets ad ill-health. The Safety, Health ad Welfare at Work Act, 2005 requires employers to: idetify the hazards carry out a risk assessmet prepare a writte safety statemet. This helps employers ad other duty holders to maage employees safety ad health, ad get the balace right betwee the ature of ay safety ad health problems ad what has to be doe about them. The employer may decide to appoit a safety officer to maage health ad safety operatios ad to cosult ad act o his / her behalf i relatio to health ad safety matters. However, resposibility for health ad safety always rests with the employer. The maagemet of health ad safety must ivolve cosultatio betwee the employer ad his/her employees, who are required by law to co-operate with the employer i the safety-maagemet process. Employees are etitled to select a safety represetative to represet them o safety ad health matters i cosultatio with their employer. This is ot a legal requiremet. However, most workplaces particularly larger oes will have oe. Whe you start your job you should be itroduced to this perso or at least kow who they are ad where they are statioed. Do t worry if there is o safety represetative. This is ot uusual. A safety represetative ca: immediately ispect where a accidet, dagerous occurrece or immiet risk to the safety, health ad welfare of ay perso has occurred or is preset ivestigate accidets ad dagerous occurreces ivestigate complaits relatig to safety, health ad welfare at work that have bee made by a employee whom he or she represets accompay a ispector carryig out a ispectio receive advice ad iformatio from ispectors i relatio to safety, health ad welfare at the place of work make represetatios to the employer o safety, health ad welfare at the place of work. It is agaist the law for a employer to pealise or threate to pealise a employee with respect to carryig out his/her lawful duties as safety represetative reasoable time off to acquire kowledge ad traiig to carry out fuctio without loss of pay cosult with other safety represetatives at the same place of work or other places of work cotrolled by the same employer.

63 It is agaist the law for a employer to pealise or threate to pealise a employee with respect to carryig out his/ her lawful duties as safety represetative. Employer groups, Trade Uios, ad professioal bodies represetig employees play a equally importat role i iformig their members of health ad safety matters ACTIVITY ACTIVITY 4.A SHORT PRESENTATION Make arragemets with your teacher ad school pricipal or safety officer to visit oe of the work rooms i your school. Groups of six could visit the art room, woodwork room, sciece room or similar. Make a record of the meetig. Choose ay format you wish such as a edited tape recordig or video, a collage of photographs or illustratios, a oral report or a iterview trascript. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU 58

64 UNIT 4 PART 2 WORK ENVIRONMENT ew Your workplace should be safe for you ad you should be comfortable workig there. Your employer must also cosider the work eviromet durig the risk assessmet process. This icludes heatig, lightig, idoor air quality, vetilatio, oise vibratio, ad electromagetic radiatio. Employers must also esure that the workplace is safe ad comfortable for idividuals with disabilities, ad that the workplace is compliat with curret Regulatios. UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU COLD HOT NOISY YOUR WORKPLACE MAY BE MESSY POORLY LIT At high or ucomfortable temperatures, especially whe ot caused by temporary weather coditios, a meas of coolig should be provided. I other work eviromets appropriate persoal protective equipmet (ppe) may eed to be wor, for example, i a chilled room eviromet a worker may require gloves, body-warmer, hat, o-slip safety boots/shoes. LIGHTING Widows, skylights ad glass partitios i offices must be so arraged as to prevet the excessive build up of temperature at workstatios from excessive sulight. Blids ca help alleviate heat or glare from sulight. Use of lowemissivity glass ad whitewashig of widows are other possible solutios to excessive heat from sulight. DUSTY VENTILATION Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 59 TEMPERATURES There is o maximum temperature stated uder the regulatios but as a guidelie a miimum comfortable workig temperature for idoor sedetary workers is 17.5 degrees cetigrade. I extremely hot weather coditios, measures such as for example, the provisios of fas, provisio of cold water dispesers ad regular water breaks for staff, the relaxatio of formal dress codes, the itroductio of flexible workig patters etc., ca assist i maitaiig comfortable workig coditios. Appropriate vetilatio should also be i place i the workplace. Each eclosed workplace must be adequately vetilated. I most cases the atural vetilatio provided through widows ad doors will be adequate. However i some cases forced vetilatio may be required.

65 DUST AND FUMES Workplaces such as factories ad workshops ca cotai a lot of dust ad fumes. To combat this extractio systems are istalled. These eable cotamiats to be filtered out from the clea air ad miimise worker exposure to dust ad fumes. Systems used to extract dust ad fumes should be well-maitaied, ad checked regularly. NOISE Noise ca be a problem i workplaces. A geeral rule of thumb is, if you have to shout to have a coversatio i your work area, the this is a idicatio that oise levels are too high ad eed to measured, to cofirm what improvemet measures ca be take to prevet people damagig their hearig or sufferig hearig loss. Such improvemet measures may iclude the removal or isolatio of the oise. For example, a oisy machie could be set up i a separate room from workers. Fixed machies should have oise-dampig moutigs. Shields ad soudabsorbig coverigs could also be used. Workers exposed to high or repetitive oise levels should be provided with hearig protectio. HOUSEKEEPING Trailig cables, goods stacked too high o shelves, ad materials left radomly o floors ad walkways are some examples of poor housekeepig. These ca all cotribute to workplace accidets. Essetially, it is importat that you keep your workspace tidy ad free from clutter. This will prevet slip ad trip hazards or the risk of goods fallig o you. Workplace coditios iclude: A. Heat B. Light C. Noise D. Vetilatio E. PPE Select the correct aswers. Quick Quiz Choose Safety - Youg People at Work UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU 60

66 UNIT 4 PART 3 WORKPLACE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING The term psycho-social refers to those types of hazards that are ot physical but istead affect how people feel. Health may be see as ot just the absece of illess but the presece of well-beig. Maitaiig a sese of well-beig ad a positive outlook o life ca add greatly to our quality of life. People who are cotet, with a healthy attitude ad stregth of mid ad spirit, are geerally better equipped workers. 61UNIT Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU However, those workers with low self-esteem or with low morale are ofte less productive. They are also more likely to experiece a accidet at work. Later we will cosider ways by which employers ad employees ca promote a positive sese of well-beig. First let s cosider the egative psycho-social factors that may become hazards i the workplace. STRESS Stress is a egative reactio to all kids of pressure i all aspects of life. For may people, pressure such as that from a upcomig exam or a importat sports evet is easily tolerated. We feel uder pressure, but also feel able to cope. For others, pressure ca be less easily dealt with. Whe pressure builds up, ad is t dealt with, we experiece stress. Stress is a state of beig; it is seldom permaet. It affects us metally how we thik, emotioally how we feel, ad physically our bodies ad our biology. Eatig, sleepig, digestio ad activity patters are altered whe we are stressed. So, some types of pressure lead to stress, others are motivatig ad do t lead o to stress. Pressure that teds ot to lead to stress has some commo elemets. Firstly, it is usually associated with somethig we do volutarily such as the pressure from a football or teis fial we are participatig i. Pressure which teds to motivate rather tha stress us also teds to be short lived the pressure mouts, we are aware of it, ad the a evet happes the game ad the the pressure is over. Pressure which is motivatig rather tha stressful also has other factors which differ from perso to perso. This has to do with our copig style/capacity ad our willigess to take cotrol ad to access support. If we feel able to cope with it or feel we have some cotrol over it ad there is some support available to us whe dealig with the pressure, it is less likely to cause us stress. So, ot all pressure leads to stress. Where pressure has led to stress i a perso, there are similar symptoms for everyoe, although ot everyoe will feel or experiece them to the same degree. Normally, there is a alteratio i how we feel about thigs geerally ad a tesio i our bodies which makes everythig more difficult to accomplish. Imagie: Imagie yourself jugglig three balls at oce. You feel fie jugglig 3 balls, you are well able for it ad do t feel axious about oe fallig, because if oe does fall, you ca just stop ad start over agai. However, imagie you are jugglig 5 balls, ad you feel you caot do it, that oe will fall ay secod, that someoe might throw you aother ay time, ad if they fall, you will face lots of criticism ad wo t be able to start up agai. Imagie that sceario for a few secods ad how you would feel. That feelig, that experiece of heighteed vigilace ad fear, is the basic igrediet i stress.

67 ACTIVITY ACTIVITY 4.B CLASS DISCUSSION Cosider these two questios: Q.1 What causes stress? Q.2 What ca a perso do to reduce stress levels i their life? Q.3 What ca employers do to reduce stress at work? ACTIVITY 4.C CLASS DISCUSSION Q.1 What types of pressure might be associated with positive ad egative outcomes? Q.2 Does the persoality type matter? Q.3 Does the situatio matter? Q.4 Does age ad/or geder matter? Bullyig We are familiar with discussios about bullyig i schools. Bullyig i the workplace is ot discussed early as much. It is a serious issue ad ca cause great distress to may workers. Bullyig at work may take the form of oe or more of the followig: physical or verbal abuse, exclusio, pesterig, aggressio, itimidatio, udermiig, excessive moitorig, withholdig iformatio, blamig, igorig, humiliatig or treatig less favourably. For a behaviour to be bullyig, it must be repeated, iappropriate ad disrespectful to the basic rights of every huma beig. Discuss with aother studet each of the followig matters relatig to bullyig: ways by which a worker may feel bullied i the workplace who is affected by bullyig? why does bullyig occur? why is it a serious issue? ACTIVITY 4.D IN PAIRS what ca a employer ad employee do to remove the risk of bullyig i the workplace? who else ca help to remove this hazard? is bullyig at school differet to bullyig at work? UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU ACTIVITY 4.E SHORT PRESENTATION Prepare a presetatio o ONE of the followig workplace hazards: Excessive oise Poor lightig Stress Poor Housekeepig Your presetatio may take the form of a writte project poster drama piece paitig or art piece collage video radio piece. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 62

68 ACTIVITY 4.F BRAIN STORM ACTIVITY 4.H IN GROUPS UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU 1. Discuss the role that ca be played by each of the followig i promotig positive well-beig amog workers: employer parets govermet fried trade uio school spouse / parter work colleague employee 2. What do you uderstad by the followig terms: self-cofidece / self-esteem / self-image 3. Complete a braistorm o the cocept of work-life balace. ACTIVITY 4.G IN GROUPS I groups of FOUR, cosider how each of the followig cotributes to a greater sese of idividual well-beig. The list the top te factors i the list which you, as a group, cosider to be the MOST importat i determiig a sese of well-beig. Do you thik that a older perso would make a differet list? I the same groups of FOUR, cosider how each of the followig may have a egative ifluece o a perso s sese of well-beig. Agai, try to list the top te factors which you, as a group, cosider to be the MOST egative ifluece i maitaiig a sese of well-beig. Bullyig, Stereotypig, Domestic Violece, Peer Pressure, Learig Difficulties, Materialism, Eatig Disorders, Uemploymet, Alcohol, Family Break- Up, Stress, Relative Poverty, Low Level of Educatio, Relatioships, Bereavemet, Addictio Sport, Physical Activity, Work, Music, Commuity, Empathy, Wealth, Freedom To Make Choices, Relatioships, Religious Faith, Acceptig Diversity, Effective Law Ad Order, Support, Good Nutritio, Proper Social Facilities, Uderstadig Learig Difficulties, The Right to Vote. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 63

69 ACTIVITY 4.I INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE COMPLETE A WHEEL OF LIFE. Note: The wheel of life is divided ito 8 segmets that are importat to you i life. Take some time to reflect o each segmet. The assumig that the cetre of the wheel is 0 ad the outer edge is 10, rate your level of satisfactio with each area. Remember the wheel of life is about fidig happiess ad balace i your life. Wheel of life Choose Safety - Youg People at Work UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU 64

70 ACTIVITY 4.J CLASS DISCUSSION Earlier we discussed the importace of a employee s sese of well-beig. Where this is udermied, more accidets occur. Cosider ways (cotrols) that may help to promote a positive sese of well-beig for each of the followig workers: productio-lie worker ewly traied garda child care assistat waiter/waitress i a busy restaurat UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 65 HUMAN BEHAVIOUR It s ot always what we do, but how we do it, which causes accidets Huma behaviour cotributes to accidets i a umber of ways, for example: Huma error Whe cosiderig huma behaviour ad performace, we ackowledge that people are ot perfect ad we all make mistakes. At certai times of the day (towards the ed of a shift, for istace) we may be more likely to make a mistake as we are tired, or are focused o gettig home. If we have stresses comig from outside the workplace or from withi it, we are more likely too to make mistakes our mids are ot o the job i had. If we are rushed, or have may other distractios, we may ot have eough cocetratio capacity to properly atted to a task. For istace, if there is loud oise occurrig whilst we are tryig to work to a tight deadlie o a meticulous task, we are more likely to make errors which might cause or lead to a accidet. I order to address ad prevet mistakes - as mistakes ca sometimes lead to accidets - the type of error beig made eeds to be addressed. This usually ivolves comig at the issue from two perspectives: the idividual ad his or her characteristics, age, geder, type of learig style, risk takig tedecies etc, ad the perspective of the wider, orgaisatioal culture, maagemet systems ad prevailig climate, traiig give ad reward systems i place. To recap huma error ivolves slips, lapses or mistakes. These types of huma error ca happe to eve the most experieced ad well-traied perso. 1 Slips ad lapses Slips ad lapses ca occur i very familiar tasks which we ca carry out without much coscious attetio. This usually occurs whe: the task is very familiar ad requires little thought. People cofuse two similar tasks tasks are too complicated ad log-wided the mai part is doe but the fier details are missed steps i a procedure do t follow aturally there are distractios ad iterruptios.

71 Slips ( Whoops ) Not doig what you re meat to do. Examples of slips iclude: performig a actio too soo i a procedure, or leavig it too late, e.g. ot closig the lid o a bottle properly omittig a step or series of steps from a task, e.g. forgettig to switch the kettle o while makig a cup of tea carryig out a actio with too much or too little stregth, e.g. liftig a heavy object performig a actio i the wrog directio, e.g. pressig the reverse butto istead of the forward butto o equipmet doig the right thig but o the wrog object, e.g. usig the wrog size picture hook for hagig a picture. 2 Lapses Forgettig to do somethig, or losig your place midway through a task. Examples of lapses iclude: forgettig to mop up floor takig your mask off to talk to a colleague ad the forgettig to put it back o forgettig to put o fume hood. 3 Mistakes Mistakes are decisio-makig failures. The two mai types of mistake are rule-based mistakes ad kowledgebased mistakes. They arise whe we do the wrog thig, believig it to be right. Examples of mistakes iclude: Factors which cotribute to people makig mistakes work eviromet e.g. too hot, too cold, poor lightig, restricted workspace, oise extreme task demads e.g. high workloads, borig ad repetitive jobs, jobs that require a lot of cocetratio, too may distractios social issues e.g. peer pressure, coflictig attitudes to health ad safety, coflictig attitudes of workers o how to complete work, too few workers idividual stressors e.g. drugs/medicies ad alcohol, lack of sleep, family problems, ill health equipmet problems e.g. iaccurate or cofusig istructios ad procedures orgaisatioal issues e.g. failig to uderstad where mistakes ca occur ad implemet cotrols, such as traiig ad moitorig. Your employer may avoid rule-based mistakes by icreasig your situatioal awareess of high-risk tasks o site ad providig procedures for predictable o-routie, high-risk tasks. Alteratively to avoid kowledge-based mistakes your employer should esure proper supervisio for iexperieced workers ad provide job aids ad diagrams to explai procedures. Risk-takig behavior must also be discouraged. If someoe udertakes a usafe act ad gets away with it, the potetial cosequeces of that act should be made clear to all cocered. Lead by example ad do t take chaces yourself. If you feel that somethig is usafe, the stad back ad thik about the best way to deal with it. If you ca t deal with it tell your supervisor or employer. Workplace accidets are ofte the result of huma behaviour, i.e. cuttig corers, rushig a job, takig chaces...thik about the cosequeces of a bad accidet ad make sure you do everythig you ca to avoid it. UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU makig a poor judgemet whe overtakig, leavig isufficiet room to complete the maoeuvre i the face of ocomig traffic; ad a operator misiterpretig the soud of a machie breakdow ad failig to switch off immediately. Why do mistakes occur? doig too may thigs at the same time doig too may complex tasks at oce time pressures. Do t make the mistake of thikig that the resposibility for worker safety, health ad welfare rests solely with your employer. Safety is everyoe s resposibility. As a employee, you must ot egage i ay improper coduct that could edager your ow safety or health or that of ayoe else. This is the law. Your behaviour ca also be a hazard if you act i a way that ca cause harm, whether itetioal or uitetioal, to your colleagues e.g. shovig someoe dow steps or jokigly pushig someoe ito aother worker. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 66

72 DISTRACTIONS Mobile phoes ad other media: WORKPLACE RISK ASSESSMENT UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 67 There may be a policy i place i your workplace prohibitig the use of mobile phoes or other media durig work hours. If there is o such policy try ot to use them while workig. Usig these will affect your cocetratio, which could lead to a accidet. Top Tips Top Tips Tell your frieds ad family ot to call or text you durig work time uless it is a emergecy. Oly text or phoe durig your break or at luchtime. If you have to use your phoe at other times make sure you use it i a safe place. If you liste to music you wo t be able to hear warig souds, such as the fire alarm, vehicles reversig or someoe shoutig. Remember Be aware Take care Shockig Fact A experieced forema, i charge of a road resurfacig operatio was talkig o Facts his mobile phoe whe he was ru over ad killed by a reversig lorry. The lorry s reversig souder was workig but the forema was distracted by his mobile phoe coversatio. ACTIVITY 4.K IN GROUPS I this activity you work i groups of four. You must agree a commo respose to the scearios described, before oe of you reports to the whole class. Read each of the followig scearios. Idetify what the bad practice is ad why. Commet o who acted resposibly ad who acted irresposibly. How should the matter have bee hadled? Sceario 1 A employee tells her supervisor that there are exposed wires at the back of the microwave i the staff kitche. The supervisor fails to report this to the maager. Two days later aother employee receives a electric shock while usig the microwave. Sceario 2 A employee tells his boss about a slippery surface o the steps leadig to the storeroom. The cause seems to be wor floor-tiles. The employer moves the employee to a differet task i aother area of the plat. The employer does ot fix the problem. Sceario 3 You are asked to collect a box cotaiig some cleaig stuff from the storeroom dowstairs. You are told the cotaiers are i umarked boxes somewhere o oe of the top shelves. After much difficulty, you fid the boxes ad brig them back to the office. Sceario 4 You are a studet o work experiece i a large hardware store. You have bee asked to mix cemet-based mortar to assist i the repairig of a wall i the outside storage area. Though you have see this doe may times ad helped your father mix mortar some years ago, you are ucertai as to safe practice. I particular, you do ot uderstad the labels o the side of the cemet bag.

73 Sceario 5 You are workig i a busy hotel. You have become aware that the receptioist, o a temporary cotract, is hadlig a lot of telephoe calls alog with checkig people i ad out, ad dealig with geeral equiries ad complaits. She appears to be stressed ad icreasigly tired ad distat. The hotel maager ad supervisor do ot seem to be aware of the pressure the receptioist is uder. She has asked you ot to say aythig i case she is cosidered to be usuited to receptio duties. She is also hopig to have her cotract made permaet i the future. You decide to remai quiet ad tell obody. Sceario 6 A trasitio-year studet o work experiece i a farm equipmet store is asked to hop o to a forklift truck to move it three metres out of the way before a delivery va arrives. The studet is ot traied to drive a forklift. END OF UNIT SPEED TEST Q.1. Q.2. Q.3. Q.4. What is the mai differece betwee a safety officer ad a safety represetative? List four factors that cotribute to a comfortable work eviromet. Name eight everyday activities that are beeficial for idividual well-beig. What ca a employer do to create a more comfortable workig eviromet for the employee? Choose Safety - Youg People at Work UNIT 4 ROLES, TASKS, AND YOU 68

74 Make Notes

75 UNIT 5 COMMUNICATING SAFETY Uit Cotets 1 Commuicatig the safety message 2 Accidet ad icidet reports 3 Safety statemets 4 Safety sigs UNIT 5 CCOMMUNICATING SAFETY Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 70

76 COMMUNICATING SAFETY UNIT 5 PART 1 COMMUNICATING THE SAFETY MESSAGE A cocer for may workers, especially those o work experiece ad those workig part-time, is kowig how to tell maagemet that there is a ew or icreased risk i the workplace. If they see somethig usafe should they report it? Will they be cogratulated or side-lied for havig expressed cocer? 71UNIT Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 5 COMMUNICATING SAFETY Procedures are usually discussed durig iductio traiig or workers may lear from their colleagues, or from readig work otices. If i doubt it is good practice to ask a resposible perso, such as a supervisor or safety officer. Maagemet, too, have cocers about commuicatig matters of health ad safety. What is the best way of tellig staff or customers about ew health ad safety cocers? I the same way, govermet must carefully cosider the style ad method of their commuicatio of health ad safety matters. Laws must be clear ad easily uderstood. There are lots of ways by which the message of workplace safety ad health may be commuicated to employers, employees ad the public. These iclude: govermet publicatios guidelies ad codes of practice published by the Health ad Safety Authority ewspaper, radio ad TV ads professioal jourals ad trade magazies workplace otice boards meetigs ad trade cofereces billboards ad public posters traiig courses ad mauals HSA-sposored evets. Which of these do you thik is the most effective method of gettig the message across? Of course, the most used system of commuicatio today is the iteret. A good place to start a search o health ad safety is the Health ad Safety Authority s website: A site that provides key iformatio i a simple format is Log o to these sites ad see the latest ews, advice ad statistics that relate to health ad safety at work. SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE AT WORK ACT (2005) The Safety, Health ad Welfare at Work Act (2005) cotais legal requiremets aimed at improvig the health, safety ad welfare for all workers. Its core focus is the avoidace or reductio of risk to people at work. It outlies clearly the duties of employers ad employees i reportig ad reducig the risk of workplace accidets. It also provides the Health ad Safety Authority with eforcemet powers icludig the ability to prosecute or close dow workplaces.

77 ACTIVITY ACTIVITY 5.A CLASS DISCUSSION Read the followig excerpts from the Safety, Health ad Welfare at Work Act (2005). Cosider why these are i the 2005 Act. How effective do you thik they may be i reducig accidet rates i work? Excerpt A: a employer s duty exteds to:... maagig ad coductig work activities i such a way as to prevet ay improper coduct or behaviour likely to put the safety, health or welfare at work of his or her employees at risk.... preparig ad revisig adequate plas ad procedures to be followed ad measures to be take i the case of a emergecy or serious or immiet dager.... reportig accidets ad dagerous occurreces. Sectio 8 of the 2005 Act Discuss who a employer may eed to commuicate with i performig these duties. Excerpt B: Every employer shall... esure that istructio, traiig ad supervisio is provided i a form, maer ad laguage that is reasoably likely to be uderstood by the employee. Sectio 10 of the 2005 Act UNIT 5 COMMUNICATING SAFETY Discuss the differet ways a employer ca provide istructio, traiig ad supervisio to his/her employees. Cosider the difficulties of performig this duty i a large compay employig workers of may differet atioalities. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 72

78 Excerpt C: A employee must ot egage i improper coduct or other behaviour such as violece, bullyig or horseplay, which could edager aother perso at work or his or her safety, health ad welfare. Sectio 13 of the 2005 Act Discuss the effects of workplace violece, bullyig or horseplay o a idividual. What measures ca a employer put i place to prevet such behaviour? UNIT 5 COMMUNICATING SAFETY Excerpt D: Every employer shall idetify the hazards i the place of work uder his cotrol, assess the risks preseted by those hazards ad be i possessio of a writte assessmet of the risks. Sectio 19 of the 2005 Act Why is this provisio i the Act? What ca be doe to eforce this regulatio? Does your school meet this requiremet? Excerpt E: Choose Safety - Youg People at Work A employer shall ot pealise a employee for... makig a complait or represetatio to his or her safety represetative or employer or the (Health ad Safety) Authority as regards ay matter relatig to safety, health or welfare at work. Sectio 27 of the 2005 Act Why is this provisio i the Act? Do you thik employers would be wise to pealise or attempt to pealise workers who report icidets of poor health ad safety i their workplace? Would you make such a complait? 73

79 UNIT 5 PART 2 ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT REPORTS All workplaces should have a agreed procedure for reportig ad recordig accidets, icidets or dagerous occurreces. This is importat for may reasos such as the prevetio of future, similar accidets occurrig. Workplaces usually record details of a accidet i a accidet log book. I this way, the accidet, its causes ad ay subsequet ijuries are clearly documeted. Such records assist maagemet i decidig cotrol measures that may eed to be implemeted or improved to prevet further accidets. Dagerous occurreces that result i o ijury must also be reported. It is also importat to examie ear misses where a ijury almost occurred. All accidets that result i a fatality or i a ijury resultig i the loss of more tha three days work, excludig the day of the accidet, MUST be reported to the Health ad Safety Authority. This ca be doe olie through the Authority s website The formal recordig of workplace accidets helps the Health ad Safety Authority to compile accurate statistics o the rage ad occurrece of accidets at work. These i tur assist policy makers i agreeig procedures, developig guidelies or regulatios aimed at reducig the frequecy of such accidets. All fatal workplace accidets are ivestigated by Ispectors from the Health ad Safety Authority. Some o-fatal accidets ad dagerous occurreces are ivestigated also. Followig a ispectio, the Authority ca choose from a rage of optios icludig verbal advice or oe of the followig: a improvemet otice: the employer is istructed to make particular improvemets to the workplace or to the system of work by a give date a prohibitio otice: the employer must cease work i a area or activity thought to pose a immediate risk of serious persoal ijury. UNIT 5 COMMUNICATING SAFETY Failure to comply may result i prosecutio leadig to fies ad / or imprisomet. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 74

80 ACTIVITY 5.B INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE Read the followig accidet report ad aswer the followig questios: Q.1 Where did the accidet happe? Q.2 How did the accidet happe? Q.3 What treatmet did the worker receive? Q.4 Do you cosider that this accidet was easily avoidable? Explai your aswer. NOTICE OF ACCIDENT Details of ijured perso: Name: Joe Rya Address: Bellview, Kilmoy UNIT 5 COMMUNICATING SAFETY Occupatio: Farm labourer Date of Birth: 29/04/1965 Sex: Male Date / time of accidet: 6.50 am, 12/08/2014 Describe the type of work the perso was doig at the time of the accidet: Joe was preparig to bale hay. He was attachig a baler to the power take-off shaft (PTO) of a 1993-registered tractor. Describe the eviromet where the accidet took place: The accidet took place i the yard of Marti McKea s farm. It was a dry, bright morig. The yard cotaied a lot of farm machiery. Describe what happe at the time of the accidet: Joe s shirt got caught i the PTO which was ruig at the time. Joe became etagled i the PTO. Describe the ijuries icurred: Joe received major ijuries. He suffered severe abrasios to his chest. His left arm was seriously etagled i the machiery ad was later amputated. Outlie the immediate aid give to the ijured perso: As Joe was workig aloe, he did ot receive aid util the ower, Mr McKea, heard calls for help. Mr McKea tured off the tractor. As he was uable to disetagle Mr Rya, he called for a ambulace. This came thirty miutes later. Medics were able to remove Joe from the machiery. He was take to St Luke s Hospital, twety-three miles away. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work Outlie the cosequeces: Fatal: o Ambulace / doctor called: yes Hospitalisatio: yes Period of absece from work: Joe remais o sick leave. It has ot bee decided if he will be able to retur to farm work Details of otifier: Mr Marti McKea Type / ame of busiess: farm Today s date: 15/08/

81 ACTIVITY ACTIVITY 5.C ROLE-PLAY I this exercise you are asked to role-play. Read the accout below of a icidet that occurred ad the details of the part your character played. Due to the circumstaces of the accidet ad the subsequet evets, a meetig has bee called betwee maagemet ad the worker ivolved. I character, you must prepare your thoughts before the meetig begis. The you will role-play the meetig i class. I preparatio for the role-play you should: get all your facts right list your resposibilities i relatio to health ad safety be clear o your role i the icidet aticipate what the other characters are likely to say decide what you wish to achieve from the meetig write everythig dow. Whe ready, each group acts out its role-play. This is viewed by the rest of the class. A class discussio may follow. You will be asked to play the part of oe of the followig: a. Paul Walsh b. Ger Byre, a colleague of Paul s c. Jae Brea, maagig director of Brea s Desig d. Damie Browe, Paul s supervisor o the day ad a seior maager for Brea s Desig. Descriptio of icidet Paul Walsh is a appretice paiter workig with Brea s Desig. The compay was cotracted to redecorate a block of a large pharmaceutical compay called DCC. Paul s job icluded carryig 10-litre cotaiers of pait from the compay va outside the buildig. To do this, Paul had to walk up a flight of stairs ad through a clea area where a critical stage of the drugmaufacturig process took place. Everyoe eterig this area has to wear complete persoal protective clothig, icludig shoe covers. O the day of the accidet, Paul was carryig two 10-litre cotaiers up the stairs. He was carryig oe cotaier o each shoulder. He was wearig all the required protective clothig. Paul lost his footig o a step of the stairs ad fell. His kee was badly hurt ad he has sice suffered from acute backache. Paul received o traiig from Brea s Desig o how to carry large weights ad o traiig from DCC o workig with protective clothig. ACTIVITY 5.D CLASS DISCUSSION Look at BeSMART.ie - Busiess electroic safety maagemet ad risk assessmet tool. What is this tool ad how will it beefit small busiesses? What are the advatages of olie tools such as BeSMART for (a) idividuals (b) busiess? UNIT 5 COMMUNICATING SAFETY Choose Safety - Youg People at Work 76

82 UNIT 5 PART 3 SAFETY STATEMENT Safety must to be maaged o matter what size a workplace is. The Safety, Heatlh ad Welfare at Work Act 2005 states that all employers must complete a safety statemet. This is a documet outliig the compay s health ad safety policy alog with a risk assessmet of all activities carried out there. It is a record of what the compay iteds to do to provide a safe eviromet for its workers ad all others i cotact with the compay. UNIT 5 COMMUNICATING SAFETY IDENTIFY THE HAZARD ASSESS THE RISK APPLY THE CONTROL It is most importat that the safety statemet is about ACTION ad ot about the statemet itself. Writig the safety statemet is ot the key thig. What matters most are the actios take, as outlied i the statemet. The safety statemet must be brought to the attetio of all employees ad to ay other persos at the place of work who might be exposed to the specific risks outlied i the safety statemet. Whe brigig the safety statemet to the attetio of employees, it must be i a form, maer ad, if ecessary, a laguage that ca be uderstood by employees. Choose Safety - Youg People at Work The procedure for writig up ad actig o a safety statemet is the followig: cosider the legislatio that applies to this idustry look for the hazards decide the levels of risk decide the cotrols required take actio immediately write dow all observatios, actios ad decisios look back o progress made make further chages as the eed arises. How ca studets o work experiece access the compay s safety statemet? The safety statemet must be made available to studets o work experiece. Some employers give each employee a copy of the statemet. Others make it available at a cetral locatio e.g. o the compay otice board or itraet site. Sometimes the employer may refer to the safety statemet as the safety policy. You must read the safety statemet carefully, particularly the risk assessmet sectios relatig to your job, ad esure that you fully uderstad this iformatio. If i doubt, ask. 77