Question 1Review the website:

https://www.ohs.unsw.edu.au/hs_hazards/index.htmlRespond to this incident:

An exposed electricity wire.

So the above question does create an electrical risk (example – electric shock from ‘step-and –touch’ capacities.) The risk is significantly high, as even the smallest contact with electricity at 50 volts for alternating current (V-a.c.) or 120 volts for direct current (V-d.c) can have serious consequences to a individual’s health and safety (High voltage shocks involving more than 1000 V-a.c. or 1500 V-d.c. can cause contact burns and damage to internal organs. Other repercussion’s are too numerous explain – example falling from heights, and illness may include muscle spams, palpitations, nausea, vomiting, collapse and unconsciousness. Fire risks are also generated and leading to the possibility of explosion extra.) One way of reducing the risks is by making sure the correct RCD\safety switch’s are in place and used appropriately and tested quarterly in all workplace environments.

The only alternative in resolving a hazard issue, incident, is to eliminate it altogether. As this is not necessarily always practical, possible or feasible, so the hazard in question can be eliminate if it’s a power cord and replaced. Elimination – seldom hazards – equipment, substances or work practices, can be discarded exclusively (cleaning windows - a pole extension instead of a ladder) Substitution – sometimes a more appropriate less hazardous activity, object, work practice can be used just as effectively (replacing the exposed electricity wire with wireless or solar connection). Isolation – segregated the hazard from individuals, by marking the hazardous area, fitting screens or putting up safety barriers (as this will allow a proper assessment of the current hazard (safety team), and thus save lives).

As stated in the “MANAGING ELECTRICAL RISKS IN THE WORKPLACE -Code of Practice”.

R. 147 A person conducting a business or undertaking must manage risks to health and safety associated with electrical risks at the workplace.

R. 34-38 In order to manage risk under the WHS Regulations, a duty holder must:

identify reasonably foreseeable hazards that could give rise to the risk

RECOGNISE EVALUATE CONTROL

eliminate the risk, so far as is reasonably practicable

if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk, minimise the risk so far as is reasonably practicable by implementing control measures

maintain the implemented control measure so that it remains effective

review, and if necessary revise, all risk control measures so as to maintain, so far as is reasonably practicable, a work environment that is without risks to health and safety.

Therefore the implementation of a safe system of work to deal with potentially unsafe equipment at the workplace and this could include: ONE requiring all workers have competency training in the use of general electrical appliances etc. (including the lead and plug connections, prior to operating them) TWO knowing correct procedures for taking out electrical equipment out of service when it doubt of its authenticity. THREE knowing so far as it is reasonably practicable that supervisors, managers, etc. are advised if a worker takes a device out of service. FOUR any electrical equipment, device must be disconnected or isolated from electricity supply and must not be used again until it is repaired be a competent individual and it is tested, tag and recorded with the appropriate section in the organisation. (Alternatively it can be replaced or permanently removed from use)

As stated the code of conduct: R 150 – A person conducting a business or undertaking with management or control of electrical equipment must ensure that the electrical equipment is regularly inspected and tested by a competent individual, if the electrical equipment is (supplied with electricity through an electrical socket outlet (plug ‘in’ equipment) and used in an environment in which its normal use exposes the equipment to operating conditions that are likely to result in damage to the equipment or a reduction in its expected life span. This includes conditions that involve exposing the electrical equipment to moisture, heat, vibration, mechanical, damage, corrosive chemicals or dust.

Researching the following information can lead to greater insight and understanding of the complexities, duty of care, etc. that are involved in this question. (Commonwealth legislation, Work Health and Safety Act 2011, Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011- Electrical {Part 4.7 General Electrical Safety in Workplaces and Energised Electrical Work} and Work Health and Safety Codes of Practice.)

Inspection or testing tags are to be coloured to identify the assessed risk (Red= high, risk, Yellow = medium risk, Green = low risk, Blue = negligible risk Fluoro Colours preferable) The test information or tag must be kept until the next test or until the equipment is permanently removed from the workplace or disposed of.www.compliance.gov

Another recommended tool in developing the appropriate methodology, in relevance to answering the original question “Respond to this incident: An exposed electricity wire.” And there are so many other tools available to assist the vast amount of organisation in our communities; this is the one I have chosen. (The PPRR risk management model).

This translates to the Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery (PPRR) model and is an inclusive procedural to risk management. Australian emergency management agencies for decades have been using PPRR model and can be cost effective in as much as saving your CSO (community service organisation) time and money when responding to an impediment, incident, or disaster. The CSO’s can use the PPRR model to put plans in place to minimise losses in the event of an incident. The PPRR will help with your anticipation of possible direct impacts to your CSO, suppliers, and clients/customers, which may flow on to your CSO.

The PPRR stages are: Prevention – take action to reduce or eliminate the likelihood or effects of an incident. Preparedness – take steps before an incident to ensure effective response and recovery. Response - contains, control or minimise the impacts of an incident. Recovery – take steps to minimise disruption and recovery times.

The documentation process of PPRR is often referred to as the business continuity planning.(BCP) The variations involved will depend on the size of the CSO, as you can also have separate risk management, impact analysis, incident response and recovery plans but all this incorporated is the BCP. A BCP is a practical blueprint for how your CSO will recover or partially restore critical CSO activities after a crisis or disaster and includes a predetermined time frames to minimise loss.The PPRR phase of Rehearse, Maintain, and Review, is necessary as the CSO environmental changes etc. transpire, the BCP needs to be tested and updated as these changes are happening.(drills, training, role playing etc.)

Another useful tool is the 5E Learning Cycle encourages participants to explore learning material and to understand in in ways that are familiar to them. By evaluating learning throughout the process to check participants’ understanding of what they have learned, and to adjust the way you deliver learning, and training, the cycle has four phases: ONE –engage TWO – explore THREE – Explain FOUR – elaborate (evaluation isn’t a phase in its own right – it should take place at every stage of the learning, training cycle)

After Action Reviews (AAR) provide an effective approach for apprehending lessons learned from activities, incidents, and projects. Rather than waiting until the end of a long project, incident etc. to evaluate how well the team/CSO has progress. AAR incorporates continuous learning right from the start and allows a centred approach by sharing with the whole CSO’s, with the ultimate goal of improving overall performance. Continuous improvement allows the CSO/team to adapt to the changes that are evolving around them and thus allowing a continual communication dialogue about the process, learning with improvement. This is vital as there is always new legislation, procedures in best practice; accreditation etc. is always evolving, around the CSO’s, and allows them to stay ahead of change. (staying current and relevant)The next appropriate action to this question “Respond to this incident:” is conducting an AAR, which is facilitated through a structure meeting that aims to produce certain outcomes such as: ONE – focuses on why things happened TWO – compares intended results with what was actually accomplished THREE – encourages participation FOUR – emphasises trust and the value of feedback.

For the AAR development to be successful, the team needs to determine for itself the lessons provided by the practice. It needs strong foundations built on honesty, integrity, trust and openness, to achieve the desire beneficial outcomes. Some fundamentally key components of an operational AAR: ONE – discuss the purpose and rules; an AAR does not seek to criticise negatively or find fault. The outcome should always focus on learning, (code of conduct etc.), if this is cemented in place from the beginning, you will achieve the above outcomes built on honesty, integrity etc. TWO – encourage active participation; in the development of the charter in the AAR, establishing trust is critical. Encouraging healthy conflict resolution skills, and there is a no blame game in the discussion. (Personal attacks will not be tolerated) THREE -having an appropriate facilitator, championing the neutral perspective. Directing AAR in a way that is non-judgemental and applying the correct questioning formatting. (Root Cause

EVALUATE

ENGAGE

EXPLORE

EXPLAIN

ELABORATE

Analysis) FOUR – Dialogue about TEAM performance, the AAR is about a combined team performance, it is not a singular activity, and it’s not about assigning blame either. FIVE - ASAP conduct the AAR, feedback to be effective, is should be timely. By doing an AAR expeditiously, you’ll get a more accurate depiction of what happed. It is also critical that all teams can participate, for the duration of the AAR to be completely effective. SIX – language of skilful questioning is a critical element for the desire achievable outcome. Example: How do you think that went? – this can be too broad of a topic to discuss. Alternatively guiding participants to think about specific areas or issues. Example: How will did you cooperate? or How could communication have been better? or What planning activities were most effective?

The three themes in discussion questioning, characteristically revolve around: ONE – What was supposed to happen? What did happen? Why was there a difference? TWO – What worked? What didn’t work? WHY? THREE – What would you do differently next time?

So in summarising this board but complex scenario in this question, some ultimate facts exist. It is irrelevant whether you are employed in CSO or a government office, everyone faces challenges with safety. The key element is teamwork, getting the whole CSO involved; from the top down everyone has a duty of care. Making sure that you don’t create an environment, intentionally or not, where the aspirant is discourage to report incidents and accidents. By creating an environment focus on practices that reward your team/aspirant for safe behaviour. This initially should be established in their induction in the CSO/workplace. (Encouraging aspirant to find hazards on their own, and rewarding them when they do, compliment them. This is critical is developing safety as a core value, ingredient in your CSO/workplace) the result of this will benefit everyone concerned, and give confidence to fellow aspirants.