PPMENV320
Monitor and control environmental hazards


Application

This unit of competency describes the outcomes required to respond to environmental hazards, to participate in the investigation of safety incidents and liaise with internal and external bodies.

The unit applies to production operators/technicians and environmental officers in a pulp or paper manufacturing facility. This typically involves working in a facility with complex integrated equipment and continuous operations.

No licensing, legislative, regulatory, or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.


Elements and Performance Criteria

ELEMENTS

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

Elements describe the essential outcomes.

Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the range of conditions.

1. Identify environmental hazards and assess risks.

1.1. Identify environmental hazards and document according to organisational work health and safety procedures.

1.2. Determine cause and source of environmental hazard.

1.3. Assess severity of risks associated with hazard in line with organisational safety procedures.

1.4. Record and report hazards, location and associated risks to relevant personnel.

2. Respond to environmental hazards.

2.1. Activate alarms for environmental hazards where appropriate.

2.2. Implement appropriate controls according to severity of associated risks.

2.3. Report and document hazardous incident according to workplace procedures.

3. Liaise with internal and external bodies.

3.1. Notify relevant licensing authorities of environmental hazard if required.

3.2. Liaise with internal and external bodies in accordance with legal requirements and organisational work health and safety policy.

3.3. Monitor status of environmental hazard and provide updates to appropriate personnel on an on-going basis.

4. Participate in investigation of safety incident.

4.1. Participate in review of safety incident.

4.2. Review current work practices to consider improved safety outcomes.

4.3. Communicate proposed improvements according to organisational procedures.

Evidence of Performance

A person demonstrating competency in this unit must satisfy all of the elements, performance criteria and foundation skills of this unit, and must be able to provide evidence that they can:

participate in hazard identification activities and complete environmental risk assessments at least twice in line with required enterprise intervals

complete the following documentation in each case:

hazard identification report

risk assessment report

suggest methods for eliminating or controlling risks associated with hazards that have been identified

review at least one workplace practice, identify potential hazards, assess associated risks and complete a basic report recommending changes to the workplace practice to control risks.


Evidence of Knowledge

A person competent in this unit must be able to demonstrate knowledge of:

basic aspects of the relevant state or territory workplace health and safety legislation, specifically requirements for:

when, where and how hazards must be identified

when, where and how risk assessments must be conducted

consultation in the hazard identification and risk assessment process

work health and safety committees or work health and safety representatives as mechanisms for consultation

record keeping

reporting safety incidents and injuries to work health and safety authorities

common hazard risk assessment tools

format and use of appropriate hazard identification and risk assessment tools

methods for identifying hazards in the workplace

common methods applied to the assessment of safety risks, specifically the four-staged process model recommended and published by state and territory work health and safety authorities

common methods applied to controlling risks, specifically the five-stepped hierarchical process model recommended and published by state and territory work health and safety authorities

key features of common environmental hazards found in pulp and paper manufacturing facilities, associated health and safety risks and typical control measures including:

noise

light

odour

gas

smoke

vapour

liquid and solids

particulates

fumes

organisational policy and procedures for:

identifying, recording and reporting hazards and safety incidents

assessing and reporting risks associated with hazards

reporting hazards and safety incidents to internal and external authorities

investigating safety incidents.


Assessment Conditions

The following resources must be made available:

access to equipment, machinery and resources to monitor and control environmental hazards in a pulp or paper manufacturing facility

personal protective equipment required for monitoring environmental hazards

current plain English regulatory documents distributed by the local work health and safety government regulator

relevant personnel for the purposes of communicating information

proformas and standard documents for the following activities including:

hazard identification

risk assessment

safety incident reports

organisational work health and safety policies and procedures for identifying, recording and reporting hazards and safety incidents.

Competency is to be assessed in the workplace or in a productive environment that accurately reflects performance in a workplace.

Assessor requirements

Assessors must:

hold the appropriate assessor competency standards as outlined in regulations; and

be able to demonstrate vocational competencies at least to the level being assessed; and

be able to demonstrate how they are continuing to develop their VET knowledge and skills as well as maintaining their industry currency and assessor competence.


Foundation Skills

This section describes those core and employment skills that are essential to performance and are not explicit in the performance criteria.

Numeracy skills to:

estimate and record severity of risk associated with hazard in numerical terms using a risk assessment scale.

Oral communication skills to:

report clear unambiguous information about hazards, risks and safety incidents to internal and external people.

Reading skills to:

interpret written and graphic information in documents including:

workplace health and safety policies and procedures

hazard reports and risk assessment tools.

Writing skills to:

complete accurate workplace health and safety reports using proformas and other standard reporting documents.


Range Statement

Not Applicable