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June 2018. In This Issue:
OH&S @ Monash
Greetings

This year, organisations in Australia highlighted the importance of improved safety and health for young workers, who are often less aware of OHS risks and responsibilities. With 40 occupational deaths in Australia as of 20 April in 2018, 28 April serves as a reminder of the inherent risks that come with many jobs and the importance of continued commitment to workplace health and safety.

You can contribute to health and safety at Monash University by committing to raise awareness
of OHS in your workplace with your colleagues. Visit the OHS webpage for information on
specific subjects and emerging issues.

Watch this space for more information about the 2018 Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in
OHS, and the 2018 OHS Conference to be held at Monash on Wednesday 24 October 2018.

Norman Kuttner

Manager, OH&S
Five new compliance codes now available

Five new compliance codes (codes) that align to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 and Equipment (Public Safety) Regulations 2017 are now available.

The five new codes include:
  • Hazardous manual handling (previously the Manual Handling Code of Practice, 2000)
  • Facilities in construction (previously the Building and Construction Workplaces Code of Practice, 1990)
  • Confined spaces (previously the Confined Spaces Compliance Code, 2008)
  • Plant (previously the Plant Code of Practice, 1995)
  • Noise (a new code based off Your health and safety guide to noise, 2007, and the Guide for assessing and fixing noise problems and work, 2005)
Copies of the codes are available for download below.  The WorkSafet Advisory Service is available to answer any questions you have about the codes on 1800 136 089, Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm.

What has changed?

The new compliance codes have been updated to reflect the OHS Regulations 2017 and EPS Regulations 2017, and to reflect modern work practices.

Compliance Codes:

Confined Spaces
Facilities in Construction
Hazardous Manual Handling
Noise

More chemicals added to database to ensure worker safety



More than 750 chemicals have been added to the National Hazardous Chemical Information System to update classification information available for manufacturers, importers, suppliers and end users.

The update includes the addition of 755 chemicals and amendments to more than 600 currently listed chemicals.

The Hazardous Chemical Information System provides information on chemicals that have been classified in accordance with Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals
You can find details on the new and amended chemicals by using the advanced search feature to show 'chemicals revised this week'. 

The update incorporates classification information published under the Inventory Multi-tiered Assessment and Prioritisation program run by the  National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme.

For more information about working with chemicals see the Safe Work Australia website .

Changes to Model WHS Regulations to Protect Workers Exposed to Lead Processes

Safe Work Australia consulted with regulators, unions and industry groups in developing a Decision Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) Managing the risks associated with lead in the workplace: blood lead removal levels and workplace exposure standard in August 2016.

Ministers responsible for work health and safety considered the RIS, and the majority agreed to reducing the current permissible blood lead levels and workplace exposure standard to better protect workers who may be exposed to lead at work. The model WHS Regulations have been amended to reflect this decision.



Monash University Welcomes On-Campus Chief Pilot for Drone Activities



Anthony Marsh has commenced in the position of the Monash University On-Campus Chief Pilot for Remote Piloted Aircraft (RPA)/Drones, established within the Buildings and Property Division.

Anthony will be supporting Monash University to ensure the legal and safe management of all RPA activities conducted on Monash campuses, and will assist with the development of the University's own Remote Piloted Aircraft Operators Certificate (ReOC).

Having served as an Aerospace Engineer in the Royal Australian Air Force, Anthony is now involved in several commercial drone projects across varying industries. With over 500 hours of first-hand commercial RPA flight experience, Anthony has overseen RPA operations involving multi-rotor, fixed wing and more recently powered-lift/hybrid aircraft across an array of specialised technical applications.

Anthony also holds a Private Pilot licence ('real' plane) and is currently completing a night rating.
As part of the On Campus Chief Pilot position, Anthony provides assistance, support and advice related to RPA activities submitted through the RPA/Drone Flight Proposal   Eform .  The eForm  and associated documentation is applicable to all University RPA/Drone activities and must be completed prior to any flight. This includes RPA/Drone activities completed by Monash staff, students and any contracted pilots.
Monash OH&S provides additional specific risk management advice and support to assist stakeholders safely manage RPA activities. For more information related to RPA/Drone activities and safety management, please see the Monash University OH&S Remote Piloted Aircraft (RPA)/Drone information page https://www.monash.edu/ohs/info-docs/safety-topics/remote-piloted-aircraft-drones .
 
OHS Considerations When Working Away From Campus

Monash University has an overall responsibility to ensure every employee is provided with a safe working environment that is, so far as is reasonably practicable, without risk to health and safety. The Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 defines a workplace as:
"...a place, whether or not in a building or structure, where employees or self-employed persons work."

As such, Monash University's duty of care extends to all areas where staff are receiving remuneration for occupational duties, including when staff are working from home, during arranged work placements, in external campus offices or other Monash controlled/non-controlled entities. Working from home arrangements pose specific OHS risks which should be assessed and mitigated to minimise hazards and reduce the potential for employee injuries, with such hazards including employee ergonomic factors, staff monitoring and supervision and the suitability of the environment to enable work to be conducted safely. 

Monash University Human Resources have a procedure to assist Managers and Supervisors with the safety management of staff regularly working from home. In most circumstances, an OHS assessment of the employee's home office is conducted by Monash Employee Assist to evaluate if modifications or equipment is needed to enhance the safety of the proposed work site. As such, all Professional and Academic Staff, Supervisors, Managers and Safety Officers must familiarise themselves with the University management processes, outlined in the following document:

Adhering to the noted procedure will ensure staff conduct their work safely and in accordance with University requirements. Employees' wishing to regularly work from home should discuss requirements with their Supervisor and obtain approval via the formal arrangements noted in the aforementioned procedure.

Additional information and support related to working from home arrangements can be obtained from Monash University's Occupational Health & Safety or Human Resources teams. 

 
Cost of health-related work incapacity revealed

The scale and cost of health-related work incapacity in Australia has been estimated in a new study by Monash University researchers.

The study estimated that 786,000 Australians who were unable to work due to ill health, injury or disability received some form of income support from a Commonwealth, state, territory or private source in 2015-16, totalling around $18 billion.

Driven by an innovative public-private sector partnership, the research identifies opportunities to improve health and productivity outcomes by better aligning benefit systems through a national collaborative effort.

The Cross Sector Project: Mapping Australian Systems of Income Support for People with Health-Related Work Incapacity was produced by Monash University's Insurance Work and Health group, led by Professor Alex Collie.

It was commissioned by the Collaborative Partnership to Improve Work Participation - a public-private sector initiative that aims to deliver sustainable benefits for Australia's working age population.
The partnership was founded by federal workers compensation insurer and work health and safety regulator Comcare.

Comcare CEO Jennifer Taylor said researchers considered data and services across the systems that support people to work - workers compensation, social security, veterans compensation, superannuation, life insurance and motor accident compensation.

The Collaborative Partnership to Improve Work Participation was established by Comcare to drive new approaches to improving participation for Australians with health conditions that limit their ability to work.

Through a range of projects, the partnership is working across sectors including workers compensation, life insurance, superannuation, disability support and employment services to improve disability employment and return to work rates for people experiencing work incapacity through illness and injury.
 
World Immunisation Week 24-30th April 2018

Immunisation saves millions of lives and is widely recognised as one of the world's most successful and cost-effective health interventions. The WHO holds World Immunisation Week every year in the last week of April - It aims to highlight the collective action needed to ensure that every person is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Consider "immunisation for life" and what vaccinations you may need dependent on your health, age, lifestyle and occupation.
  • Health - health issues such as heart, lung or kidney conditions
  • Age - At different ages you need protection from different diseases.
  • Lifestyle - lifestyle choices such as travelling overseas
  • Occupation - Some jobs expose you to a greater risk of contact with diseases for example, being a first aider, working in day care centre or some laboratories.
For more information on Immunisation for life refer to the following link: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/immunisation-deciding-which-vaccines-you-need

For more information regarding Monash University workplace immunisations please see the immunsation grid on the OHS website.
 
Evolving Directions in Safety

Recently as part of a Safety Awareness Program sponsored by the Science, Engineering and Information Technology Faculty's guest speaker Dr. Carl Gibson spoke on changing approaches to risk management.

The audience was given some fun tests and examples demonstrating how the human brain cannot absorb all the information received from the external environment, can be easily distracted and thus may not aware of the surrounding environment. We can become so focused on a work task that we are conducting for example that we are not aware of potential hazards around us. Situational awareness in simple terms is knowing what is going on around you. A skill that can be developed.

His research has also shown that people conducting hazardous tasks become normalised to the level of risk they are exposed to because they may perform the same task over and over again without an adverse event occurring. They then tend to then place themselves at a higher risk of exposure to a hazard because the perceived risk is lower than actually present.

How can we reduce the likelihood of this occurring? Perhaps involve other workplace inspection teams and safety personnel to review your work areas and hazardous tasks? We can educate staff and students to be aware of other activities being conducted around them in labs and workshops and mindful of the safety of others.

Dr. Gibson also discussed that accidents are often attributed to what is commonly called human error. He explained that human error isn't a cause of accidents, it is a consequence of a whole range of factors that contribute to an accident occurring. These causal factors must be considered when conducting investigations.
 
Stay up to Date With Health and Wellbeing

Many events and activities are available for you to join! To stay up to date on these events, please visit us at one of the following platforms
  • W: monash.edu/wellbeing
  • E: wellbeing@monash.edu
  • Facebook: facebook.com/monashwellbeing
  • Workplace: monash.facebook.com/groups/monashwellbeing/
New Environmental Hazard & Incident Reporting Module to go Live in SARAH

OHS and ES are pleased to advise that Environmental Incident Reporting will soon be going live in the SARAH  Hazard/Incident Reporting module. This will enable environmental issues to be dealt with separately and effectively.

If you have any comments or questions about the Environmental Incident Reporting Module please feel free to contact Michelle  Giovas, Sustainability, Compliance & Integration Officer, on Ext 51018 or michelle.giovas@monash.edu.

                        For general questions, click here to email the OHS Helpline

 

To view the OHS newsletter from our website. Visit our Webpage page here.