a) These procedures outline the University's legislative responsibilities in respect of risk management of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and operate under the framework of the University's Risk Management Policy.

b) OHS risk management is an integral part of the University's OHS Management System and combines technical, consultative and managerial approaches to identify any foreseeable hazard that has the potential to harm the health or safety of staff, students, contractors and visitors to the University.

c) Managers are responsible for managing risk to health and safety in the workplace over which they have influence and control.

a) 'OHS Risk'is the significance of a hazard in terms of the probability and severity of an injury or illness occurring as a result of the hazard.

b) 'OHS Risk management' is the term applied to a logical and systematic method of identifying, analysing, assessing, controlling, monitoring and communicating risks associated with any activity, function or process, in a way that will enable organisations to minimise OHS risks and maximise OHS strategies (WorkCover NSW).

c)'Risk Assessment' is the overall process of estimating the magnitude of risk and deciding what actions will be taken.

d) 'Safety Support Officers' (SSO) refers to designated staff who, as part of their duties, carry out workplace inspections in consultation with employees.

e)'OHS Committee' refers to a group of employee and management representatives who collectively discuss and develop ways of improving the systems for managing health and safety.

f) 'OHS Representative' refers to employees who are the designated point of contact for individual employees seeking to provide information about OHS matters. They are the consultative link between management and employees on OHS issues.

a) Hazards can be generally classified into five broad areas:

• Physical e.g. noise, light, UV radiation, heat, and cold;
• Chemical e.g. hazardous substances, poisons, vapours, and dust;
• Biological e.g. plants, parasites, and viruses;
• Mechanical/electrical e.g. slips, trips and falls, plant and equipment, ergonomics, and manual handling; and
• Psychological e.g. stress, boring/repetitive work, violence/aggression.

b) Clause 9(2) of the OHS Regulation 2001 states that the University is responsible for identifying all foreseeable hazards, in particular, those arising from:

• Work premises;
• Work practices, work systems and shiftwork;
• Plant;
• Hazardous substances;
• Presence of asbestos;
• Manual handling and occupational overuse syndrome (OOS);
• Layout and conditions of the workplace;
• Biological organisms, products and substances;
• Physical working environment (electrocution, drowning, fire, explosion, slips, trips and falls, contact with moving or stationary objects, noise, heat, cold, vibration, static electricity and contaminated atmospheres);
• Confined spaces; and
• Workplace violence

c) The University uses the following methods to identify hazards:

• Safety audits - annual internal safety audits are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the OHS Management System. The HR Manager (Workplace Health & Safety) provides an audit report and recommendations to the University Executive.
• Workplace inspections - systematic inspections of the workplace are conducted by a Safety Support Officer to identify the hazards that exist in the workplace. Depending on the work area, the type of inspection may be either:
• High risk e.g. laboratories, workshops, and art studios - these inspections are carried out monthly; or
• Low risk e.g. lecture theatres, administration areas and offices - these inspections are carried out four times a year.
• The Safety Support Officer, in consultation with employees, inspects and observes the workplace to identify any hazards. Hazards are documented on specific check sheets for the work area involved and recommendations provided for the Manager/Supervisor of the area. Where matters are not resolved, the Safety Support Officer may refer them to the Campus OHS Committee/Representative.
• Incident, Accident and Hazard Reports - these reports are completed each time an incident, accident or hazard occurs. Completed reports are forwarded to the HR Manager (Workplace Health & Safety) and a centralized register is maintained (the Workers Compensation Act requires a register of injuries be kept). The HR Manager (Workplace Health & Safety) also provides advice on the action to be taken to prevent a recurrence of the incident, accident or hazard.
• Injury and Illness Records - statistics are gathered from Accident, Incident and Hazard reports to identify the presence of hazards, particularly where there is a reoccurring incidence of injury. The HR Manager (Workplace Health & Safety) provides a monthly report on these statistics to the University's OHS Committee and an annual report to the University's Executive.
• Consultation - consultation is an integral part of the University's OHS Management System. In the workplace, Safety Support Officers consult with employees on OHS matters and bring any issues and concerns to the attention of the responsible Manager/Supervisor. The OHS Committee or OHS Representative communicates the safety concerns and issues of employees to management. This involves providing assistance and advice to management on OHS policies and Procedures and investigating immediate risks to Health and Safety. Safety Support Officers make recommendations on OHS issues that facilitate informed decision making by management. They also inform employees of OHS matters that may arise from managerial decisions such as introducing a new piece of equipment.
• Health and Environmental Monitoring - where particular risks to the health of people on University premises or to the environment exist, or are suspected, (e.g. air monitoring for detection of hazardous contaminants and noise monitoring for loudness), technical advice on hazard controls from both internal and external OHS practitioners is sought.
• Incidental Identification - If employees notice a workplace hazard they should report the details to their Supervisor/Head of Work Unit, or if safe to do so, rectify the identified hazard themselves.

a) Risk assessment involves making a decision about level of risk. It means estimating how likely it is that injury or illness will occur and how severe that injury or illness may be. The University uses 'Hazpak' (the WorkCover NSW risk assessment tool) to prioritise any hazard identified.

b) Further information can be obtained from WorkCover NSW.

a) Clause 11 of the OHS Regulation 2001 states that the University must eliminate any reasonably foreseeable risk and if this cannot be done, they must then control the risk to the lowest level possible.

b) The hierarchy of control measures used (as described in WorkCover NSW Health and Safety Notes) rated in order of preferred action, are:

• Eliminate the hazard - total removal of the hazard from the workplace;
• Substitute the system of work, plant or substance with something safer, e.g. less hazardous cleaning agent;
• Isolate the hazard from the employees, e.g. introduce a restricted work area in a laboratory;
• Engineering controls, e.g. fume hoods and machine guarding;
• Administrative controls, e.g. warning signs, rotation of tasks, training and routine maintenance; and
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), e.g. gloves, safety glasses and dust coats.

c) The University has developed work unit specific Safe Working Procedures to control the risk of injury or illness.

a) The operation of the OHS Management System is reviewed annually as part of the safety audit. This review provides the opportunity to adjust, build upon and improve the system's effectiveness. This continual improvement process:

• Identifies areas of opportunity for improvement of the OHS management system which leads to improved OHS performance;
• Determines the cause of non-conformance or deficiencies;
• Promotes the development and implementation of plans for corrective and preventative action to address causes;
• Verifies the effectiveness of the corrective and preventative actions.
• Documents any changes in procedures resulting from process improvement; and
• Makes comparisons with objectives and targets.