The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment:

To demonstrate competence in this unit, a candidate must be able to provide evidence of addressing the OHS risks specific to their technical or specialist workplace role, both in relation to their own health and safety, and to the health and safety of others who may be affected by their work

Evidence gathered by an assessor to determine competence will include:

written or verbal responses to scenarios and case studies

provision of workplace examples

evidence from workplace supervisor reports

portfolio of workplace documentation

Evidence of workplace performance over time must be obtained to inform a judgement of competence

Products that could be used as evidence include:

Responses to case studies, scenarios

Completed reports, plans, risk registers, products

Written directions, emails, memos and other information

Reports from team leaders, senior managers, users, specialist advisors

Processes that could be used as evidence include:

How risk was assessed

How risk was controlled

Access and equity considerations:

All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment

In recognition of particular health issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues impacting on health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues, in particular relating to factors impacting on health of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities

Required skills:

Ability to:

Use technical skills to access OHS information

Use language and literacy skills to comprehend and interpret OHS legislation, guidance material and benchmarks

Communicate with potential users of the product or system of work, other technicians/ specialists, managers and expert advisers

Suggest scenarios and analyse the scenarios to identify hazards and analyse risk

Assimilate information from a range of sources

Relate to people from a range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and physical and mental abilities

Required knowledge:

The difference between hazard and risk

Sources of OHS information both internal and external to the organisation

Nature of common workplace hazards such as chemicals, noise, manual handling work postures, underfoot hazards and moving parts of equipment

Regulatory requirements relevant to the particular industry/type of work site

Requirements for hazard identification and hazard identification processes

Principles of risk assessment particularly risk analysis

Examples of safety benchmarks

The hierarchy of control and its application

Principles of 'safe design' processes

Legislative requirements for record keeping and reporting

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements including selection, use, storage and maintenance

Workplace specific information including:

in depth knowledge of hazards of the particular work environment and how they may cause harm

hazard identification procedures relevant to the hazards in the workplace

work procedures

Organisational procedures related to OHS including:

hazard, incident and injury reporting

hazard identification, risk assessment and control

consultation and participation

incident investigation

record keeping

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Life cycle covers:

all phases in the life of a product or system of work and may include:

design and development

manufacture, construction, assembly

import, supply, distribution

sale, hire or lease

storage

transport

installation, erection and commissioning

use, operation, consumption

maintenance, servicing, cleaning, adjustment, inspection, repair, modification, refurbishment, renovation

recycling, resale

decommissioning, dismantling, demolition, discontinuance, disposal

Product is:

the output of the work, may be for use inside the organisation or for sale and may include:

development

production

modification of physical objects, such as:

plant

equipment

tool

fittings

fixtures

consumables

System of work is:

work process

work practice or procedure

the way work is organised such as:

team and supervision structure

reporting lines

roster

geographical location

Map includes:

people who may use or interface with the product or system of work

the range of uses of the product or system of work, both intended and unintended

A hazard is:

a source or situation with the potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill-health, damage to property, the environment, or a combination of these

Specific safety related hazards may include but are not limited to:

substances e.g. chemicals, starch pulp, steam

noise

manual handling

ergonomics

underfoot hazards

slips and trips

moving parts of machinery

mobile plant

Other workplace hazards may include, but are not limited to:

fatigue

stress

bullying

occupational violence

Analysis/risk assessment involves analysing a hazard to:

identify:

factors influencing the risk and the range of potential consequences

effectiveness of existing controls

likelihood of each consequence considering exposure and hazard level

and, combine these in some way to obtain a level of risk

Risk:

in relation to any hazard, means the probability and consequences of injury, illness or damage resulting from exposure to a hazard

OHS legislation includes:

commonwealth, state and territory OHS Acts and regulations

Standards include:

documents produced by national bodies, OHS regulators or industry bodies, that prescribe preventative action to avert occupational deaths, injuries and diseases

Standards are of an advisory nature only, except where a law adopts the standard and thus makes it mandatory

Standards may be called up as evidence in court or other enforcement action

Codes of practice/compliance codes are:

documents generally prepared to provide advice to employers and workers, of an acceptable way of achieving standards

may provide information for use by unions, employers, management, health and safety committee members and representatives, safety officers and others requiring guidance

Codes of practice/compliance codes may:

be incorporated into regulations

not relate to a standard

be called up as evidence in court or other enforcement action

Guidance material:

is an advisory technical document, providing detailed information for use by unions, employers, management, health and safety committee members and representatives, safety officers and others requiring guidance

advises on 'what to do' and 'how to do it'

has no legal standing

Risk controls include:

the devices and methods to:

where practicable, eliminate the hazard

where this is not practicable, minimise the risk associated with the hazard

Hierarchy of control is:

the preferred order of control measures for OHS risks:

elimination controlling the hazard at the source

substitution e.g. replacing one substance or activity at the source

engineering e.g. installing guards on machinery

administration policies and procedures for safe work practices

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) e.g. respirators, ear plugs

High consequence OHS risk includes:

high impact events that usually occur rarely such as explosions, fires, building collapses and plant malfunctions, but may result in very serious injury, death or multiple death situations

Fail-to-safe includes:

design features of equipment that ensure a failure or defect, or another factor such as loss of power, results in the equipment being left in a safe condition

Risk register is a document detailing:

a list of hazards, their location and people exposed

a range of possible scenarios or circumstances under which these hazards may cause injury or damage

nature of injury or damage caused

the results of the risk assessment

possible control measures and dates for implementation

Residual risk is:

the risk which remains after controls have been implemented

Expert advice may be sought from:

persons either internal or external to the organisation including:

safety professionals

ergonomists

occupational hygienists

audiologists

safety engineers

toxicologists

occupational health professionals

other persons providing specific technical knowledge or expertise in areas related to OHS including:

risk managers

health professionals

injury management advisors

legal practitioners with experience in OHS

engineers (such as design, acoustic, mechanical, civil)

security and emergency response personnel

workplace trainers and assessors

maintenance and tradespersons

Sources of OHS information include

persons, organisations and references where knowledge about OHS may be obtained

These sources may be:

internal, including:

hazard, incident and investigation reports

workplace inspections

incident investigations

minutes of meetings

Job Safety Analysis (JSAs) and Risk Assessments (RAs)

organisational data such as insurance records, enforcement notices and actions, workers compensation data, OHS performance data

reports and audits

material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and registers

employees handbooks

employees including questionnaire results

OHS advisors

manufacturers' manuals and specifications

external, including:

regulatory bodies and OHS Acts regulations, codes and guidance material

other relevant legislation

Safe Work Australia documents

databases such as national and state injury data

OHS specialists and consultants

newspapers and journals, trade/industry publications

internet sites

industry networks and associations including unions and employer groups

OHS professional bodies

specialist advisors

research information

Organisational policies and procedures include:

policies and procedures underpinning the management of OHS including:

hazard, incident and injury reporting

hazard identification, risk assessment and control and monitoring

consultation and participation

incident investigation

quality system documentation

Work procedures include:

Standard Operating Procedures

permit to work

operator or manufacturer manuals

procedures for selecting, fitting, using and maintaining personal protective equipment

OHS records may include:

hazard, incident and investigation reports

workplace inspection reports

incident investigation reports

first aid records

minutes of meetings

job safety analyses (JSAs) and risk assessments

material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and registers

employees handbooks

plant and equipment operation records including those relevant to registered plant

maintenance and testing reports

training records

environmental monitoring records

health surveillance records