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Work Health and Safety Practitioner

Learning Guide

UNIT BSBOHS502B PARTICIPATE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF OHS INFORMATION AND DATA SYSTEMS

January 2012

®

BSBOHS502B PARTICIPATE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF OHS INFORMATION AND DATA SYSTEMS

Department of Commerce

Published by WorkSafe, PO Box 294, WEST PERTH WA 6872. E-mail: [email protected]

® www.worksafe.wa.gov.au/institute

The SafetyLine Institute material has been prepared and published as part of Western Australia’s contribution to national work health and safety skills development.

© 2012 State of Western Australia. All rights reserved. Details of copyright conditions are published at the SafetyLine Institute website.

Before using this publication note should be taken of the Disclaimer, which is published at the SafetyLine Institute website.

PAGE 2 SAFETYLINE INSTITUTE JANUARY 2012

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Contents

OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................................6

Assessment ...........................................................................................................9

Required readings and resources........................................................................10

Further information ..............................................................................................10

Your feedback......................................................................................................12

Glossary of terms.................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................17

ELEMENT 1: ACCESS SOURCES OF HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION AND DATA......22

1.1 Identify, access and regularly review relevant sources of health and safety information and data....................................................................................23

1.2 Critically evaluate information and data to ensure its accuracy, currency and relevance.....................................................................................................27

1.3 Determine appropriate formats for information, and data storage and retrieval........................................................................................................33

Case Study 1...............................................................................................36

Activity 1 ......................................................................................................38

Activity 2 ......................................................................................................39

Activity 3 ......................................................................................................40

ELEMENT 2: ASSIST IN COLLECTION OF WORKPLACE INFORMATION............................41

2.1 Inform managers and key personnel of legal requirements for information and data collection, and record keeping......................................................42

2.2 Keep health and safety records using appropriate tools .............................46

2.3 Collect workplace information and data according to established procedures....................................................................................................................47

2.4 Regularly review procedures for information and data collection, record keeping, amendments to legislation, and distribution of records to ensure their usability and relevance........................................................................49

Case Study 2...............................................................................................51

Activity 4 ......................................................................................................53

Activity 5 ......................................................................................................54

JANUARY 2012 SAFETYLINE INSTITUTE PAGE 3


ELEMENT 3: MAINTAIN AN INFORMATION AND DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ..............55

3.1 Make recommendations for storage of health and safety information and data in a manner that makes it accessible to stakeholders and key personnel .....................................................................................................56

3.2 Accurately enter and ethically store health and safety information and data records.........................................................................................................57

3.3 Identify purposes and appropriate uses of health and safety information and data for meaningful outcomes .....................................................................59

3.4 Accurately meet legislated reporting requirements to external bodies within time limits.....................................................................................................60

3.5 Regularly assess training needs relevant to the management of the information and data system for appropriate personnel and action as appropriate...................................................................................................63

3.6 Regularly evaluate information and data management systems to ensure ease of use and relevance to the whs needs of the organisation................66

Case Study 3 ...............................................................................................68

Activity 6 ......................................................................................................73

Activity 7 ......................................................................................................74

Activity 8 ......................................................................................................75

ELEMENT 4: ANALYSE DATA AND INFORMATION TO IDENTIFY TRENDS AND ACTIONS FOR PREVENTION ....................................................................................76

4.1 Evaluate information and data collected for validity and reliability...............77

4.2 Identify analytical techniques appropriate for evaluation of whs performance (including positive performance indicators) and identification of areas for improvement ................................................................................................82

4.3 Apply analytical techniques appropriately and accurately ...........................92

4.4 Regularly review health and safety information and data analysis processes in consultation with stakeholders, to ensure organisational and legislative requirements................................................................................................95

Case Study 4 ...............................................................................................97

Case Study 5 .............................................................................................100

Activity 9 ....................................................................................................101

Activity 10 ..................................................................................................102




ELEMENT 5: COMMUNICATE HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION AND RESULTS OF DATA ANALYSIS 103

5.1 Appropriately format outcomes of information and data analysis taking account of the target audience ..................................................................104

5.2 Disseminate whs information and data to managers, key personnel and stakeholders taking account of legal and ethical requirements .................111

5.3 Communicate whs information objectively and seek feedback .................112

5.4 Make recommendations for improvement in prevention strategies based upon information access and data analysis...............................................114

Case Study 6.............................................................................................116

Activity 11 ..................................................................................................118

Activity 12 ..................................................................................................119

ELEMENT 6: REVIEW AND COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVENESS OF WHS INFORMATION AND DATA SYSTEM ..............................................................................................................120

6.1 Regularly review the effectiveness of the health and safety information and data systems .............................................................................................121

6.2 Determine frequency, method and scope of review in consultation with stakeholders ..............................................................................................122

6.3 Ensure stakeholders have input to review.................................................126

6.4 Identify areas for improvement in the health and safety information and data systems and make recommendations for improvement ............................127

6.5 Communicate improvement strategies arising from the review to appropriate levels of authority through planning, documentation and implementation.127

Activity 13 ..................................................................................................130

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................131

On-line unit test questions.........................................................................134

Integrated project ......................................................................................135

ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................136

Assessment portfolio from learning guide .................................................136

Project review checklist .............................................................................138

Third party (manager/mentor) report .........................................................139

Skills checklist ...........................................................................................144

Interview questions....................................................................................146


OVERVIEW

Welcome to the Unit of Competence BSBOHS502B – Participate in the management of OHS information and data systems. ‘WHS’ and ‘work health and safety’ are used in this guide because following harmonisation of legislation these terms are progressively replacing the use of ‘OHS’ and ‘occupational health and safety’. This unit specifies the outcomes required to participate in providing information and performance data (including technical and legal information) necessary to inform management and other stakeholders of WHS issues and to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of WHS management. This involves accessing and providing WHS information, collecting, collating and analysing data, and ensuring that this information and data is distributed throughout the workplace. Completion of this unit requires an understanding of the underpinning principles of a systematic approach to managing WHS, WHS risk management and the legal requirements for providing WHS information and consultation. This unit may be completed in an integrated approach together with BSBOHS501 Participate in the coordination and maintenance of a systematic approach to managing OHS. It is desirable that the learner wanting to work through this learning guide for BSBOHS502B Participate in the management of OHS information and data systems will have already read, if not achieved, competency in the following units at the Certificate IV level:

BSBOHS508 Assist with compliance with OHS and other relevant laws.

BSBOHS401 Contribute to the implementation of a systematic approach to managing OHS.

BSBOHS402 Contribute to the implementation of the OHS consultation process.

BSBOHS403 Identify hazards and assess OHS risks.

BSBOHS404 Contribute to the implementation of strategies to control risk.



The unit of competence consists of six elements and 26 performance criteria, which are reflected in the format of this learning guide. Each section covers a competency element and each sub-section covers a required performance criterion. You can access a copy of the actual competency unit from the National Training Information Service at: www.training.gov.au

How to use this learning guide It is important that you read the Course Guide before commencing this learning guide, as it contains important information about learning and assessment. It is particularly important to read it if you feel you may already be able to provide evidence that you meet the performance criteria for this unit. You can access the Course Guide at: www.safetyline.wa.gov.au/institute The learning guide is designed to lead you through each of the elements and performance criteria. It introduces you to the key knowledge and information. Competency checks are listed at the end of each element and a case study is given to show how the knowledge would be applied in practice. The case study builds up through each element to show how the process and knowledge is cumulative. The activities at the end of each element tend to mirror the case study and guide you to achieving the performance criteria. Further assessment activities are at the end of the learning guide. Associated readings and resources are listed in the Overview. You may use this learning guide as general reading on the topic but if you are using it to develop and demonstrate competency and you plan to be formally assessed you need to be organised. Some suggestions for getting organised are given below.

Make sure you have some study space and create a directory on your computer to keep all the material for this unit of competency together. Have a folder for keeping all your hard copy material together, you may wish to put some dividers in the folder.

You should begin your studies by printing out the learning guide and associated Readings and Resources from the SafetyLine web site.


http://www.training.gov.au/

http://www.safetyline.wa.gov.au/institute


Now you are ready to tackle the learning guide.

1. Read the Overview. Make notes; use a highlighter; whatever is your way of helping you understand new knowledge.

2. Read the assessment section at the end of the learning

guide so that you have an understanding of what is required of you at the end of your study on this topic.

3. Then start working through each element. Make sure you

read and understand the case study for each element.

4. Work through the activities for each element before you move onto the next element. When working on the activities refer to the case study for an example and also ensure that you address the criteria in the competency checks as appropriate. While the activities are listed separately under each element they are designed to build up into an integrated project which is described at the end of the learning guide. Also, you should clearly reference your work with full citations for any quotes or references, and list all materials that provided background information for completion of an activity.

5. Understanding terminology is a key part of your learning; the glossary will help you here. As you work through the elements and do some extra reading you may wish to expand the glossary with additional words and their definitions.

6. You should also collect any examples of your work that

enable you to demonstrate competency in any of the elements or performance criteria. This may be memos, reports you have written, training programs written or delivered, other notes and supporting information that demonstrate the necessary knowledge and understanding. This information should be collated in a folder under the appropriate element and performance criteria. For any key reports, training material, etc you should, where possible, obtain a statement from the workplace that it was your own work or, if you worked in a team, your role in the team and your contribution to the activity.



When collecting material for your assessment portfolio, please ensure that you protect the confidentiality of colleagues, workers and other persons, and block out any sensitive information. If you have any doubts about confidentiality issues, contact the organisation concerned.

Assessment Assessment is the process of checking your competence to perform to the standard detailed in each element’s performance criteria. At the end of each element of the learning guide are activities designed to enable you to collect evidence for assessment. They are also listed in the assessment section at the back of the guide. Note that to gain achievement in this unit of competence you have to provide at least three examples of health and safety information, data collection, analysis and dissemination. While there should be some access to a workplace and actual activities associated with managing health and safety and data systems, part of the assessment may be through simulated project activity, scenarios, case studies or role plays. While the case studies in the learning guide give examples of how to participate in the management of health and safety information and data systems, where possible you should have a WHS practitioner as a mentor or coach to assist you in developing the practical skills to apply your knowledge. When you have completed this learning guide you should contact a participating training provider (see www.worksafe.wa.gov.au/institute) who will, for a fee, be able to have your competency in this unit assessed by a qualified assessor and subject expert. This unit may be assessed alone or as part of an integrated assessment activity involving related units such as BSBOHS501 Participate in the coordination and maintenance of a systematic approach to managing OHS. When collecting material for your assessment portfolio, please ensure that you protect the confidentiality of colleagues, workers and other persons, and block out any sensitive information. If you have any doubts about confidentiality issues, contact the organisation concerned.


http://www.worksafe.wa.gov.au/institute


Required readings and resources The on-line Readings and Resources at the SafetyLine Institute web site provides additional material to help you understand and complete the activities in this learning guide.

Further information Health and Safety Executive, UK. (2001). A guide to

measuring health and safety.

Martin, P., & Pierce, R. (1994). Practical statistics for the health sciences. Ballarat: Nelson.

Minerals Council of Australia. (no date). Positive performance measures − A practical guide.

Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, (1994). Positive Performance Indicators − Beyond Lost Time Injuries. Retrieved from http://nohsc.gov.au

Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, (1999). OHS Performance in the Construction Industry − Development of Positive Performance Measures. Retrieved from http://www.nohsc.gov.au/statistics/ohsperfmeasurement.htm

Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, (2004a). Guidance on OHS Reporting in Annual Reports. Retrieved 22nd August 2005, 2005, from http://www.nohsc.gov.au


http://nohsc.gov.au/

http://www.nohsc.gov.au/statistics/ohsperfmeasurement.htm

http://www.nohsc.gov.au/


Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, (2004c, 2004). Type of Occurrence Classification System. Retrieved from http://www.nohsc.gov.au/PDF/Statistics/TOOCS3.pdf

Standards Australia. (1990). AS 1885.1 Workplace injury and disease recording standard. Sydney: Australian Standards.

Victorian WorkCover Authority. (2003a). Privacy laws and the rights of WorkSafe Inspectors to information. Retrieved from http://www.workcover.vic.gov.au

Victorian WorkCover Authority. (2003b). Privacy laws and the rights on health and safety representatives to information. Retrieved from http://www.workcover.vic.gov.au

Also a basic statistics text book will give useful advice on calculation of basic statistics and preparation of graphs.

Web sites

Some useful web sites for statistical information and information on measurement of OHS performance include: Australia

www.worksafe.wa.gov.au − WorkSafe WA

www.workcover.com − South Australia WorkCover

www.workcover.vic.gov.au − Victorian WorkCover Authority

www.workcover.nsw.gov.au − New South Wales WorkCover Authority

www.dir.qld.gov.au/workplace − Queensland Department of Industrial Relations – Workplace Health and Safety

www.wst.tas.gov.au − Workplace Standards Tasmania

www.nt.gov.au/deet/worksafe − Northern Territory Work Health Authority

www.workcover.act.gov.au − ACT WorkCover

www.comcare.gov.au − Comcare

www.ascc.gov.au − Safe Work Australia, Injury statistics and interactive database

www.monash.edu.au/muarc − Monash University Accident Research Centre


http://www.nohsc.gov.au/PDF/Statistics/TOOCS3.pdf

http://www.workcover.vic.gov.au/


http://www.worksafe.wa.gov.au/

http://www.workcover.com/


http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/

http://www.dir.qld.gov.au/workplace

http://www.wst.tas.gov.au/

http://www.nt.gov.au/deet/worksafe

http://www.workcover.act.gov.au/

http://www.comcare.gov.au/

http://www.ascc.gov.au/

http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc


www.abs.gov.au − Australian Bureau of Statistics

www.warden.qld.gov.au − Mining Wardens Court, Safety statistics and fatal/serious incidents.

Overseas

www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/chartbook − NIOSH, Epidemiology of

injuries, illness and fatalities in the US

www.osha.gov − OHSA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration), USA.

www.cdc.gov − US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention

www.ccohs.ca − Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety

www.hse.gov.uk − Health & Safety Executive

http://osha.europa.eu/en − European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

www.ilo.org − ILO − International Labour Organisation

www.ilo.org/dyn/cisdoc/index_html − International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre (CIS)

www.oecd.org − Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).

References

References cited in this learning guide are listed at the end of the guide.

Your feedback We are committed to continuous improvement. If you take the time to complete the on-line Feedback Form at the SafetyLine Institute web site you will help us to maintain and improve our high standards. You can provide feedback at any time while you are completing this learning guide.


http://www.abs.gov.au/

http://www.warden.qld.gov.au/

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/chartbook

http://www.osha.gov/

http://www.cdc.gov/

http://www.ccohs.ca/

http://www.hse.gov.uk/

http://osha.europa.eu/en

http://www.ilo.org/

http://www.ilo.org/dyn/cisdoc/index_html

http://www.oecd.org/


Glossary of terms The criteria for this unit of competency include understanding certain WHS terms. Developing a glossary of terms is a useful way to ensure you have the basic terminology correct. It is strongly recommended that you add to your glossary throughout this unit and the rest of your study. Some terms relevant to this unit are defined below. Make sure that you are familiar with the Glossary of terms before going any further. When they are first used, glossary terms are indicated in the learning guide with an asterisk (*). Agency The object, substance, or circumstance

which was the direct cause of the most serious injury or disease (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 2004c).

Breakdown agency The object, substance, or circumstance that was principally involved in, or most closely associated with, the point at which things started to go wrong and which ultimately led to the most serious injury or disease (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 2004c).

Data Raw information which may be numerical or non-numerical.

Key person Person, not a stakeholder, who influences decisions on WHS or may be affected by WHS decisions.

Lag indicator Refer to negative performance indicator.

Lead indicator Refer to positive performance indicator.

Lost time injury and diseases (LTI/D)

Fatality, permanent disability or injury involving time lost from work of one day/shift or more.



Mechanism of incident or injury

The process that best describes the circumstances in which the injury/disease occurred (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 2004c).

Medical treatment injury

Injury or condition requiring medical treatment but no time lost from work.

Negative performance indicators

Typically focus on measurement of loss such as LTI/D, and costs of injury. Also called outcome or lag indicators as the time required for trends to become apparent usually ‘lag’ well behind implementation of initiatives.

Occurrence Process(es) which give(s) rise to damage, injury or ill-health.

Performance indicator

A statistic or other unit of information which reflects directly or indirectly the extent to which an anticipated outcome is achieved or the quality of processes leading to that outcome (New South Wales Health Department in (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 1999).

Positive performance indicators (PPI)

Focus on monitoring the processes that should produce good WHS outcomes. Also called lead indicators or ‘drivers’ as they measure the activities that drive good WHS performance.

Qualitative data Is ‘non quantifiable’. It attempts to explain the ways people come to account for, take action and otherwise manage their day to day situations. With qualitative research, most analysis is done with words. Some typical methods of qualitative data sources are observation, open ended or unstructured interviews and conversational analysis.



Quantitative data Can be measured or a number applied

and variables correlated (eg, through use of statistics). Some typical sources of quantitative data are injury statistics, measurements of airborne contaminants and noise surveys. Questionnaires also give quantitative results.

Total recordable injuries

Are all injuries that are recorded in the workplace. This usually includes first aid treatments, medical treatment injuries and lost time injuries/diseases.

Work related injury The result of a single traumatic event where the harm or hurt is immediately apparent, for example a cut resulting from an incident with a knife or burns resulting from an acid splash (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 2004c).

Work related disease

Usually results from repeated or long-term exposure to an agent or event − for example, loss of hearing as a result of long-term exposure to noise; from a single exposure to an infectious agent; or from multiple or uncertain causes (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 2004c).

Reliability of data The consistency or repeatability of the information.

Statistic A number calculated from data that quantifies a particular set of data.




Validity of data Whether the information or the measure

actually addresses what it is intended to measure.

Stakeholders Those people or organisations who may be affected by, or perceive themselves to be affected by, an activity or decision. In workplace health and safety, stakeholders include:

managers;

supervisors;

health and safety and other worker representatives;

health and safety committees;

workers and contractors; and

the community.


INTRODUCTION

Required knowledge & understanding As noted in the Overview, this unit of competency requires an understanding of the requirements for a systematic approach to managing WHS, for communication and consultation, and for effective WHS risk management. The activities at the end of each element will guide you to achieve the performance criteria. However, you will also need to acquire and demonstrate the necessary knowledge and understanding. Therefore, you should include relevant notes and supporting evidence in your assessment portfolio and ensure that you can explain:

internal and external sources of health and safety information and data;

legislative requirements for WHS record-keeping and reporting including serious injury and incident notification and privacy requirements;

legislative requirements and roles and responsibilities for providing WHS information and for consultation;

methods of providing evidence of compliance with WHS legislation;

nature of information and data that provides valid and reliable results on performance of WHS management processes;

methods of collecting reliable information and data, commonly encountered problems in collection, and strategies for overcoming such problems;

knowledge of organisational WHS policies and procedures related to health and safety information and data;

how the characteristics and composition of the workforce impact on risk and the systematic approach to managing WHS;

ethics related to professional practice and professional liability in relation to providing advice; and

organisational culture and language, literacy and cultural profile of the workgroup as it relates to information and data collection and dissemination.



As you work through the activities, also include in your assessment portfolio any reports and memos for which you have been asked. You should also have evidence of the relevant documents accessed or downloads collected. This may be through a resource file including electronic copies of the documents accessed. Also you should clearly reference your work with full citations for any quotes or references and a list of all materials that provided background material for completion of an activity.

Required skills and attributes You will also need to show you have the necessary skills and attributes for this unit. To do this, you should include in your assessment portfolio as much evidence as possible to show you can:

access internal and external information and data on WHS;

produce effective graphical representations of workplace information and data;

carry out simple arithmetical calculations (eg, % change), and produce graphs of workplace information and data to identify trends and recognise limitations of data;

analyse relevant workplace information and data and correlate with observations of workplace tasks and interactions between people, their activities, equipment, environment and systems of work;

prepare reports for a range of target groups including the health and safety committee, health and safety representatives, managers and supervisors, using language and literacy skills appropriate to the workgroup and task;

employ consultation and negotiation skills, particularly in relation to developing plans and implementing and monitoring designated actions; and

manage own tasks within a time frame and apply project management skills.



Health and safety information & data Before beginning to study this unit of competency, it is important to answer the question – why collect health and safety information and data? The answer to this question is twofold:

to enable a systematic approach to managing health and safety; and

for legal compliance.

AS4804 Occupational health and safety management systems – General guidelines on principles, systems and supporting techniques (Standards Australia, 2001b) and AS4801 and Occupational health and safety management systems – Specification with guidance for use (Standards Australia, 2001a), are based on an iterative health and safety management system model that involves five steps:

Health and safety policy and commitment;

planning;

implementation;

measurement and evaluation; and

management review.

(Standards Australia, 2001b) (Standards Australia, 2001a) Under “measurement and evaluation”, AS4804 states that:

Measuring, monitoring and evaluating are key activities that ensure that the organisation is performing in accordance with its health and safety policy, objectives and targets as well as initial and ongoing planning.

(Standards Australia, 2001b) AS4801 similarly states the requirement as:

The organisation shall establish, implement and maintain procedures to monitor:

a) performance, effectiveness of relevant operational controls and conformance with the organisation’s objectives and targets; and

b) compliance with relevant health and safety legislation. (Standards Australia, 2001a)



While good quality health and safety information and data is necessary at each stage of the health and safety management process, it is especially important in the measurement and evaluation phase as shown below.

The WHS management process

Commitment & PolicyCommitment & Policy

PlanningPlanning

ImplementationImplementationMeasurement &

EvaluationMeasurement &

Evaluation

Review &ImprovementReview &

Improvement

Continual Improvement

Modified from Standards Australia 2001b This unit of competence is all about the management of information and data for a systematic approach to managing health and safety, which includes:

accessing data and information;

collecting workplace data and information;

analysing the data and information;

communicating the results; and

monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the data and information processes.



At the Diploma level, the WHS practitioner is required to apply knowledge and skills to enable them to participate in and support the data and information management processes. Higher level skills for designing and implementing the reporting, recording and data analysis processes are addressed in the unit of competency BSBOHS602 Develop OHS information and data analysis and reporting and recording processes. The two terms ‘information’ and ‘data’ are used in the unit of competency. While the two terms may be interchangeable, the difference between them is that data has to be ‘processed’ in order to provide information. Data may be qualitative* (word-based) or quantitative* (number-based).



Element 1: ACCESS SOURCES OF HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION AND DATA

Management of WHS is all about good quality information that may be gleaned from a number of sources both inside and outside the workplace. Data and information enables systematic management of WHS and effective control of WHS risk by:

providing information on how the system operates in practice;

identifying where remedial action is required;

providing a basis for continual improvement; and

providing feedback and motivation.

(Health and Safety Executive, 2001) However, there are many limitations and assumptions related to the collection, analysis and use of WHS information that must be understood before it can be applied effectively to support the systematic management of WHS. In order to complete the first element of the competency unit successfully, you will have to show that you have satisfied the following performance criteria: 1.1 Identify, access and regularly review relevant sources of

health and safety information and data. 1.2 Critically evaluate information and data to ensure its accuracy,

currency and relevance. 1.3 Determine appropriate formats for information, and data

storage and retrieval.



1.1 IDENTIFY, ACCESS AND REGULARLY REVIEW RELEVANT SOURCES OF HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION AND DATA Before identifying relevant sources of information, we need to examine further the reasons for collecting health and safety information.

Why collect safety and health information? In the Introduction to this learning guide we identified that health and safety information was required:

to enable a systematic approach to managing health and safety; and

for legal compliance.

As part of a systematic approach to managing health and safety, information is required:

to identify trends and make comparisons over time and across locations;

for hazard identification;

to provide a basis for risk prioritisation and allocation of resources;

for developing risk controls;

for evaluating the effectiveness of risk controls;

to evaluate the effectiveness of the health and safety management approach and identify areas for improvement; and

for strategic planning and internal and external accountability.



Types of health and safety information Safety and health data and information may be sourced from inside or outside the workplace.

External sources of information

Sources of information external to the workplace include:

legislation;

codes of practice, standards and guidance material;

industry specific information;

national and international information including conference papers, research papers, journal articles and newspapers;

search engines and subject directories for Internet web sites and on-line databases; and

WHS specialist advisors.

This information is particularly useful for WHS risk management and is reviewed in detail in the learning guide BSBOHS504 Apply principles of OHS risk management.

Internal sources of health and safety information

Internal sources of safety and health information required for legal compliance and to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the management of health and safety include:

hazard and incident reports together with details of corrective actions;

first aid records;

injury and illness reports;

workers’ compensation claims records and other compensation details;

investigation reports;

trends in absenteeism or sick leave records;

workplace inspections;

records of environmental monitoring;

health surveillance and exposure records;

maintenance records;



minutes of meetings including management meetings, staff and workgroup meetings and health and safety committee meetings;

Job Safety Analyses (JSA) and risk assessments;

reports and audits;

enforcement notices and actions;

collated information such as trend analyses of incident and injury reports;

Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Chemicals and hazardous substances/chemical registers;

documentation related to registered plant;

performance appraisal records;

training records; and

information related to performance measures for the health and safety management process.

Accessing sources of health and safety information Different strategies may be required for accessing external and internal information, but it comes down to four basic questions:

Where is the information located?

Who holds the information?

Is any approval required to access the information?

What skills or technology do I need to access the information?

External data and information

Most external sources of information can be accessed via the Internet. Effective searching of the Internet requires familiarity with tools such as search engines and subject directories. A selection of these is given below. . Search engines:

http://www.google.com http://alltheweb.com http://www.anzwers.com.au http://teoma.com


http://www.google.com/

http://alltheweb.com/

http://www.anzwers.com.au/

http://teoma.com/


Subject directories:

http://www.yahoo.com http://infomine.ucr.edu http://academicinfo.net http://www.lii.org

Metasearch engines

http://www.vivisimo.com http://www.ixquick.com http://www.gimeni.com http://metacrawler.com

Australian sites

http://www.sensis.com.au http://www.anzwers.com.au http://www.webwombat.com.au http://search.oznetwork.com.au

Search engines are computer programs that search the web and catalogue pages on the basis of the descriptive terms used. Subject directories are hierarchical catalogues that list web pages on the basis of a progressive description, ie, Australia/education/institutions/universities/courses/safety might lead you through a hierarchical directory to a list of tertiary OHS courses. Metasearch engines are computer programs that send a search enquiry to multiple search engines and then compile the results in one format. The Australian sites listed are capable of exclusively Australian/New Zealand searches or can reach out to the greater web. Note that some global search engines have local capability, ie, www.google.com.au


http://www.yahoo.com/

http://infomine.ucr.edu/

http://academicinfo.net/

http://www.lii.org/

http://www.vivisimo.com/

http://www.ixquick.com/

http://www.gimeni.com/

http://metacrawler.com/

http://www.sensis.com.au/

http://www.anzwers.com.au/

http://www.webwombat.com.au/

http://search.oznetwork.com.au/


Internal data and information

Most organisations have much of their data and information stored electronically with some hard copy material. Data and information stored electronically may be in specially designed software packages, simple spreadsheets or other electronic formats. Thus the person wanting to access WHS information requires basic computer and information technology skills together with some knowledge of how to search the Internet and also how to manipulate internal information management software. Accessing internal workplace information may also require talking with people to obtain approval to access information or to obtain information held by particular persons. This may require justification of the need and an explanation of the intended use of the information. The frequency with which the information will be accessed will depend on the type of information, its purpose and the organisational reporting processes.

1.2 CRITICALLY EVALUATE INFORMATION AND DATA TO ENSURE ITS ACCURACY, CURRENCY AND RELEVANCE It is important that the information you retrieve is accurate and relevant. Basing WHS risk management decisions on unreliable information is not only a waste of time but may have tragic outcomes. The actions to ensure accuracy and relevance may be different for qualitative and for quantitative information, but the principles are the same.



Accuracy and relevance For information to be accurate it must be reliable, valid and current. It must also be complete with no gaps that would affect its accuracy. Reliability* refers to the consistency or repeatability of the information, while validity* addresses whether the information or the measure actually addresses what it is intended to measure. Reliability may be affected by factors such as sample size or the period over which information is collected. For some information such as occurrence* statistics*, data must be collected over a period of time to obtain reliable information. The use of positive, or lead, indicators* to measure WHS performance is an increasing trend in WHS management. They are useful as ‘performance drivers’ as they measure the activities that drive good WHS performance. However, they are also an example of the importance of evaluating reliability and validity. Consider the following examples of performance measures given by the Minerals Council of Australia.

Activity measures focusing on safety commitment and effort in safety:

Scheduled safety meetings;

Audits completed as a % of those scheduled; and

Response to audit findings % closed out.

Measures focusing on main areas of risk:

Exposures exceeding standard (ie, noise and dust); and

Isolation deviations.

Measures of achievement of action plans:

% of supervisors attending training; and

% of injured workers rehabilitated. (Minerals Council of Australia, no date)

What factors need to be considered when evaluating the accuracy (ie, reliability and validity) of these measures?



The following table lists some questions that highlight limitations in the validity and reliability of the above measures.

Questions on reliability (ie, repeatability)

Questions on validity (ie applicability)

Activity measures focusing on safety commitment and effort in safety

Scheduled safety meetings What should be counted as a meeting? Safety meetings may be 'scheduled but are they held? What level of attendance is required for the meeting to count?

What are you actually measuring when you count the number of meetings? Do more meetings mean more management commitment and more achievement?

Audits completed as a percentage of those scheduled

If the same auditor repeated the audit in the same organisation using the same audit tool would they get the same result?

Would two auditors conducting an audit at the same time using the same tool get the same result?

For reliability across organisations:

What is defined as an audit?

Who has to conduct the audit for it to be counted?

Is the scope of the audit defined?

What do audits actually measure? Are they a good measure of management commitment and WHS performance?

Should this be linked with other measure(s) to give a meaningful measure of commitment?

Response to audit findings −percentage closed out

What is’ close out’? What are the criteria for close out? If different people review the same actions, will they have the same result in deciding which actions are closed out?

Are the corrective actions determined according to defined criteria (ie, hierarchy of control)? Could a closed out action of ‘provide training’ rate equally with an engineering control?

Measures focusing on main areas of risk

Exposures exceeding standard (ie, noise and dust)

How often, and when, are the exposure measures conducted?

What conditions/work is occurring at the time of the measurement? How are the conditions standardised or changes allowed for?

Is the protocol for measurement defined?

Are the actual standards a good measure of risk (ie, ‘dose’ compared with ‘grab sample’)?

To what extent are the exposure levels exceeded?

Isolation deviations Are all deviations reported? Are deviations assessed for potential severity?



Measures of achievement of action plans

Percentage of supervisors attending training

What constitutes attendance? If a supervisor arrives late to a training session and leaves early does this count as attendance?

Are the learning objectives defined?

Are the supervisors assessed for competence or is the measure attendance only?

Percentage of injured workers rehabilitated

What is the definition of ‘rehabilitated’? Return to previous job or just return to work? Full time or modified hours?

Some weaknesses of positive performance measures* are summarised in the report on measuring performance in the construction industry (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 1999). It is clear that for any performance indicators to be accurate, the three factors that must be defined are:

the measure itself;

the method of collecting the data; and

the link to WHS performance. Good performance indicators are often described as SMART:

Specific in that they relate directly to what is being measured. Measurable in that data can be collected that is accurate and complete. Actionable in that they are easy to understand and highlight the areas where action is required. Relevant in that they measure what is important in determining performance. Timely in that data can be obtained when it is needed and that data collected reflects current status.

Performance indicators are necessary to provide information on what is happening. Performance measures may be outcome-based (eg, rate of injury) or input-based (eg, number of workplace inspections). Outcome-based measures are also called negative* or lag indicators* as changes in these indicators usually lag well behind the workplace changes that produce the change. Input measures, or process drivers, are also called positive or leading indicators.



This terminology may have detracted from the critical and useful discussion on the most appropriate and useful measures of WHS performance. ‘Negative’ implies ‘bad’; it is not the performance measure that is bad, it may measure failure but it is important to be aware of failure as part of correcting the conditions that led to the failure. The terms ‘lead’ and ‘lag’ are more descriptively correct (Ruschena, 2005) but this author prefers the terms ‘driver’ and ‘output’. However, in line with current use, the terms ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ will be used in this learning guide. Accuracy of WHS information is also affected by the authority of the source. Information may be verified by talking with people, or checking another source. The most common place for unreliable information is the Internet. Much of what is on the net is opinion and not fact. You need to check that information taken from the Internet is from a reliable source (eg, electronic journals, WHS regulatory authority web sites).

Currency WHS information should also be checked to ensure it is up to date. Have there been changes to legislation, exposure standards, the workplace, workforce structure or the organisation of work that impact on the accuracy and relevance of the information?

Types of information Each type of information has its limitations. Internal workplace information may be limited by a narrow range of experience or a low statistical base. There may also be issues with the level of reporting and the understanding of what should be reported. In Australia, statistics on workplace injury and disease are kept at both state and national levels, but the issues affecting accuracy of information at the workplace level are also reflected in the state and national figures. Added to this are some differences across different states in the definition of what should be reported. Changes in definitions over time also impact on the ability to draw valid conclusions from data.



The accuracy of WHS information is also affected by the difficulties in defining and identifying work-related disease and in attributing diseases to work activity. The way in which the information is coded also affects the accuracy of WHS statistics. This occurs at the both the workplace and in the use of state and national workers’ compensation statistics. AS1885, Measurement of occupational health and safety performance has for many years been the standard for classifying incidents and injuries for data collation purposes. The latest version of this standard is dated 1990 (with a 1991 supplement) and it has largely been replaced by the Type Of Occurrence Classification System (TOOCS) (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 2004c). This document is an attempt to introduce some uniformity, but at 271 pages it is only likely to be used by people who understand and are committed to its use. Lost Time Injuries and Diseases (LTI/D)* are used in many workplaces as a measure of WHS performance; however, their relevance or value in predicting more serious injuries or fatalities is questionable as the causation mechanisms for low consequence injuries are usually quite different to those resulting in fatalities. Historical data from the workplace may also have limited predictability value as changes to the workplace may result in changes in exposure to hazards and the risk of injury or harm. LTI/D give little information on high consequence exposures and may give a dangerous sense of well being. Hopkins attributes a focus on LTI/D as a significant factor that diverted attention from the cumulative warning of failures that resulted in the 1994 underground mine explosion at Moura in Queensland that killed 11 people and the explosion at the Esso plant at Longford in 1998 (Hopkins, 2000).



Shaw and Blewett (Gallagher, Underhill, & Rimmer, 2001) list the problems of using LTI/D as being that they:

are ineffective in control of high consequence/low frequency risks;

measure failure rather than success;

fluctuate at random;

reflect the success, or otherwise, of measures taken in the past;

measure injury frequency and severity, not the potential seriousness of the incident;

conceal a range of other influences on outcomes; and

focus attention on the individual worker, not the work environment.

There has been much discussion of positive performance measures (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 1994 & 1999). However, Andrew Hopkins notes that there is nothing inherently wrong with indicators of failure so long as the frequency of failures is high enough to indicate rates and trends (Hopkins, 2000).

1.3 DETERMINE APPROPRIATE FORMATS FOR INFORMATION, AND DATA STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL In storing information, it is important to remember that information is being stored so that it can be used. It is important not to create ‘data cemeteries’. Therefore, when deciding how to store information, keep in mind:

Why the information is being stored?

Who will want to use it?

When and how often will they want to access the information?

What protections (privacy, confidentiality) are required for the information?

What ‘links‘, or other factors, need to be considered for the data to be meaningful?



This will then lead to the following questions:

What is the best medium (electronic, hard copy) for storage?

What is the best format for organising the information?

What skills and technology will be required to access the information?

Most organisations will have some records in hard copy, such as incident and injury reports, workplace inspections and newsletters. Hard copy formats tend to be used where:

the original record is in handwriting;

the original requires a signature; and

the material is ‘for information’ and is usually circulated or left in an open location for people to read (ie, a newsletter).

Even the smallest company is likely to have electronic storage for any information or records that has to be:

communicated to somebody else;

retained for legal reasons;

collated to identify a trend;

used for planning.

There are many software options for storing electronic WHS information. These options may range from simple spreadsheets to highly interactive purpose-designed software packages that may incorporate functions such as incident reporting, injury management, chemical and risk registers, asset and maintenance registers and training records.

Try an Internet search using terms such as ‘WHS software’, ‘safety management software’, ‘safety reporting software’.

Having determined the format for storing WHS information (ie, the nature of software) the next question is whether it should be on a single computer or networked or an intranet-type system. It is beyond the scope of this unit to compare the relative features of the various systems, but some factors to consider are:

Who needs to access the information?

Do they have access to the hardware?

Do they have the skills to access the system?



What level of technological support is required/available?

Competency check for Element 1 Key issues for each performance criterion in Element 1 are as follows. 1.1 Identify, access and regularly review relevant sources of WHS information and data:

Reasons for collecting WHS data and information are identified.

Both external and internal sources of WHS data and information are identified and accessed as appropriate.

1.2 Critically evaluate information and data to ensure its accuracy, currency and relevance:

Reliability, validity and currency of data and information are evaluated as part of collecting information.

Limitations of LTI/D as performance indicators are recognised.

Performance indicators are selected that are ‘SMART’. 1.3 Determine appropriate formats for information, and data storage and retrieval:

Format for storing information and data takes account of the reasons for storing the data, who will need to access the data and the frequency of access.

Format for storing data takes account of protections required for data.

The following case study gives an example of how accessing sources of WHS information and data may be applied in practice.

A number of case studies will be provided throughout the learning guide to demonstrate how the competency is applied in a real situation.



Case Study 1

You have just started work at a small packing and warehouse company employing 40 people. Part of your role is occupational health and safety. You find that the previous person has left a mass of paper but the files are not in any order and there is no system for storage.

Access workplace sources of WHS data

You decide that the first task is to develop a filing system (that suits your workplace) for the WHS information required to achieve a systematic approach to the management of WHS and for legal compliance. You decide to compile a list of the workplace sources of WHS information that are required for systematic management of WHS and for legal compliance. The list you develop begins to look like the one below.

Type of information Who holds the information? Where is it located

Why is the information required?

Hazard reports Report books in supervisor’s office

Legal compliance Hazard identification

Investigation reports Report books in supervisor’s office


Injury reports First aid book Injury register


Insurance records, workers’ compensation data

Payroll/HR Legal compliance

Workplace inspections Supervisor’s office Hazard identification Monitoring

Minutes of meetings Hazard identification Monitoring

Job Safety Analyses (JSA), risk assessments

Maintenance records Hazard identification Monitoring

Enforcement notices and actions




Reports and audits

Sick leave and personnel records

Payroll/HR

SDS and registers Master file in office Individual SDS where chemicals are used


Work procedures

Manufacturers’ manuals and specifications

Access external WHS information

A worker approaches you with a concern about the WHS risks associated with a new product they are packing which is impregnated with formaldehyde. You have the SDS but the worker would like more information. You decide to do an Internet search using the key word ‘formaldehyde’. Using the search tools ‘Google’, ‘Yahoo’ and ‘Vivisomo’ you find a huge range of items on formaldehyde. In selecting which articles to review before giving advice to the worker you find that you have to carefully check the author and authority of the information.

Evaluate information for accuracy, currency and relevance

The manager suggests that while you are reviewing and collating the existing information, you should develop some measures as a baseline for measuring future improvement. He is committed to LTI/D as one of the measures. Additional measures you recommend are: WHS planning activity:

Percentage of activities completed on WHS plan. WHS risk control:

Percentage of manual tasks for which risk assessments have been conducted; and

Percentage of manual tasks where risk controls focus on elimination, design or equipment.

Outcome of injuries: Number of days away from normal job (either time lost from

work or not performing normal duties due to injury).


Activity 1

Keep a copy of this Activity for your Assessment Portfolio.

Access workplace sources of WHS data

As a basis for developing/reviewing the filing system for WHS information in your workplace, compile a list of the workplace sources of WHS information that are required for systematic management of WHS and for legal compliance. For each item on the list identify:

Who holds the information?




Activity 2


Access external sources of WHS information

A worker approaches you with a concern about the WHS risks associated with a particular chemical in your workplace. Select a chemical that is relevant to your work. Search for the chemical using Internet search tools (use at least two search engines, two subject directories, two metasearch engines and two Australian sites. Which search tool would be the most useful in answering the worker’s query on the hazards associated with the particular chemical? Explain why? If there are no chemicals that you can think of, try a search on health hazards for ‘sodium hypochlorite’ (common bleach) or ‘glyphosate’ (a common pesticide used in gardening). Limit your answer on this Activity to no more than one page. (Note that the aim of the assessment activity is not to learn about the particular chemical but to be able to search for information.)



Activity 3


Evaluate information for accuracy, currency and relevance

Your manager is focused on using LTI/D as the only measure of performance. You consider that while LTI/D should be monitored, there are other measures of WHS performance that should be used to evaluate the WHS performance. Write a memo to your manager explaining the limitations of LTI/D as performance indicators and suggest three additional measures that could be used in your workplace. Be sure to define the measures clearly so that they are accurate and relevant (ie, reliable and valid).



Element 2: ASSIST IN COLLECTION OF WORKPLACE INFORMATION

The first element in this unit of competency required you to access sources of WHS information. This second element requires you to apply existing workplace policies and procedures to collect data records and information. When collecting workplace information it is important to consider the culture of the organisation. Hopkins (2004) defines the culture as the ‘collective practices of the organisation’. Thus, when collecting workplace WHS information it is important to consider the collective practices in relation to reporting. Hopkins (2004) summarises James Reason’s reporting culture (one of four sets of organisational practices that are part of a culture of safety) as follows:

“Above all else, a safety culture is a reporting culture, in which people are prepared to report errors, near misses, unsafe conditions, inappropriate procedures and any other concerns they may have about safety. The issue is not whether the organisation has a reporting system; it is whether, as a matter of practice, such things are reported. This will happen only if people are on the lookout for things which need to be reported and alert to ways in which things may be going wrong.”

(Hopkins, 2004)

Thus, while there may be policies and procedures for collecting workplace information and records, the reality of what is reported will be affected by whether there is a reporting culture. In order to complete the second element of this competency unit successfully, you will have to show that you have satisfied the following performance criteria: 2.1 Inform managers and key personnel of legal requirements for information and data collection, and record keeping. 2.2 Keep WHS records using appropriate tools. 2.3 Collect workplace information and data according to established procedures.



2.4 Regularly review procedures for information and data collection, record keeping, amendments to legislation, and distribution of records to ensure their usability and relevance.

2.1 INFORM MANAGERS AND KEY PERSONNEL OF LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION AND DATA COLLECTION, AND RECORD KEEPING

Specific legislated requirements The model Act and regulations has specific requirements for collecting WHS information and maintaining records. For example, the person in charge of the business or undertaking (PCBU) is required to:

ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health of workers and the conditions at the workplace are monitored for the purpose of preventing work-related illness or injury; and

provide information to workers concerning health and safety at the workplace.

In addition, the Model Act requires Officers to ensure that the business or undertaking has appropriate processes for receiving and considering information about incidents, hazards and risks and responding in a timely way Also, much of the hazard specific legislation has requirements for maintaining records. For example the Model regulations require the PCBU to:

obtain and give access to safety data sheets and keep a hazardous chemicals register; and

where required, undertake health monitoring. The model regulations also require the registration of plant designs and items of plant for specific types of plant.

Use the website of your regulatory authority to identify specific legislated requirements in your state in relation to health and safety information and records?



Demonstrate compliance with a safe workplace In addition to specific legislated requirements for health and safety information and records, there are records that enable an organisation to demonstrate compliance with legislated obligations to provide, as far as is practicable, a safe and healthy workplace. For example, what records would be required to demonstrate compliance with the following Model regulations:

A duty holder, in managing risks to health and safety, must identify reasonably foreseeable hazards that could give rise to risks to health and safety.

A duty holder, in managing risks to health and safety, must:

(a) eliminate risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable; and (b) if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate risks to health and safety—minimise those risks so far as is reasonably practicable.

A duty holder, in minimising risks to health and safety, must implement risk control measures in accordance with [the hierarchy of control].

A duty holder must review and as necessary revise control measures …..

In evaluating compliance with these requirements, an inspector or a court would look to:

hazard reports and checklists;

records of risk assessments and how the risk assessment was conducted; and

risk control records and reviews, possibly including photographs, records of purchase of equipment, training records, and observations of compliance with procedures.



Where regulation is prescriptive, compliance is usually straightforward. However, as WHS legislation has moved to a duty of care model there are often few ‘rules’ of compliance; rather duty holders are required, either explicitly or implicitly, to go through a risk management process. In the absence of an occurrence how is the regulator to determine if the duty holder is complying? The mere question; has the duty holder gone through a risk assessment, ‘yes’ or ‘no’, is not sufficient. Rather the question is − how well has the duty holder gone through the risk assessment and how effective are the controls? Therefore, the question to be addressed when discussing legal requirements for documentation is:

What documentation is required to provide evidence of the quality of the WHS risk management?

Consider the legal case below reported in the Regulation at Work newsletter (National Research Centre for OHS Regulation, 2004). This situation involves a straddle crane, which is a lifting device designed to "straddle" a load, such as large containers or timber. It is often used at sea ports. The operator sits in a cabin above the load and is required to look down continually, often with twisting to one side.

Robert Darcy Coombs v Patrick Stevedores Holdings Pty Ltd [2004] NSWIRComm 77 “(T)he Justice Haylen held that repetitive strain soft tissue (neck, arm and back) injuries caused by inadequate work breaks could found a charge for breach of the employer’s general duty. The gist of the allegations was that, ‘under the system of the operation of the straddle cranes adopted by the defendant, the drivers were exposed to the risk of neck, arm and back injury’ although there was no precise allegation of permanent injury …. The charges alleged that in the driving and operation of straddle cranes in the movement of containers there was an unsafe system of work, an unsafe use of plant, and a failure to instruct and train the straddle drivers in the safe operation of equipment. The defendant pleaded guilty to the instruction, information and training charges, and contested the other charges. After reviewing the evidence presented at trial, Justice Haylen was satisfied that “during the charge period the straddle drivers … were potentially at risk of suffering repetitive strain type soft tissue injury as a result of the various postures that they adopted in driving the straddle crane. The defendant argued that drivers had many ‘discretionary’ opportunities for work breaks, but Justice Haylen found that these discretionary breaks ‘were not part of the defendant’s system of work to ensure that straddle crane drivers were not exposed to repetitive strain soft tissue type injuries … ‘”



What types of documentation would be required to demonstrate legal compliance in this case?

The judgement gives some insight into this question.

“Justice Haylen … observed that …a straddle crane used for four and a half hours per day with the availability of relief drivers, alternative duties and a number of formal breaks in the work may pose little or no threat of injury to the driver” …. In repetitive use cases ‘a range of matters have to be considered before the aspects of the work can be linked to the types of complaints and injuries reported by employees’ ….’It would be quite contrary to principle for a defendant to be found guilty of a breach of [the employer’s general duty] in circumstances where the detriment could not be clearly identified and where the breach existed in theory only without any evidence of actual risk’ … ‘There was … nothing in the evidence which demonstrated that the defendant structured, imposed or enforced a system of small breaks in order to ensure that the drivers did not succumb to repetitive strain injury: nor did the defendant require the breaks to be used for exercise, change in posture or in any other way designed to relieve muscle stress’ … Justice Haylen considered that the law is well settled: in order to comply with the employer’s general duty ‘the systems of work must be coherent and systematic so that all employees who are performing work on any given site can properly understand what is being required of them … The defendant cannot ensure the health and safety of its employees by leaving it to them, during ‘discretionary’ periods or informal breaks and micro breaks, what steps they should take to avoid the risk of systematic injury. This approach of the defendant had even less merit when it is understood that the drivers were not directed in accordance with the various steps set out in reports and assessments by experts’ ... “

Guidance on establishing, implementing and managing an effective compliance program is given in AS 3806 Compliance programs (Standards Australia, 1999). In summary, health and safety documentation is required to:

demonstrate a workplace that is, as far as is practical, safe and healthy;

report serious incidents and injuries as per legislated requirements;

maintain registers and records in relation to specific hazards such as hazardous substances, dangerous goods and plant;

retain records of environmental and health monitoring as required by legislation; and

comply with workers’ compensation requirements. Legal requirements for record-keeping also include privacy and confidentiality and workplace diversity issues. These requirements are discussed in detail in section 3.2.



2.2 KEEP HEALTH AND SAFETY RECORDS USING APPROPRIATE TOOLS As discussed is section 1.1, health and safety records may include:

hazard, incident reports and injury and illness reports;

first aid records;

workers’ compensation claims records and other compensation details;

investigation reports and workplace inspections;

records of environmental monitoring;

health surveillance and exposure records;

maintenance records;

minutes of meetings including management meetings, staff and workgroup meetings and health and safety committee meetings;

Job Safety Analyses (JSA) and risk assessments;

reports and audits;

enforcement notices and actions;

collated information such as trend analyses of incident and injury reports;

Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Chemicals and hazardous substances/chemical registers;

documentation related to registered plant;

training records; and

information related to performance measures for the health and safety management process.

Formats and systems for storing such records and information were reviewed in section 1.3. The WHS practitioner frequently has a hands-on role in maintaining the content and input of data for health and safety information and data systems.



Maintaining the content of these systems is much more than just entering the data. Keeping health and safety records should involve a ‘quality assurance’ process where the completeness of the data is checked and the quality of the information evaluated. This may mean reviewing incident reports to check that:

the required details are provided;

the investigation has been undertaken;

the recommended corrective actions are appropriate; and

there is an action plan with responsibilities for the corrective action.

If the record is not completed to the required level and quality, then the report should be returned to the originator for appropriate action. Keeping health and safety records will usually involve some interpretation and analysis, such as applying a code to the information so that it can be collated for trend analysis. Issues related to coding and analysis are discussed in section 4.1.

2.3 COLLECT WORKPLACE INFORMATION AND DATA ACCORDING TO ESTABLISHED PROCEDURES An important part of collecting health and safety information are the ‘tools’ used to gather information such as hazard and incident reports, investigation reports, action plans and close out reports, inspection and audit reports and management reports. The format of these reports is a key to their effectiveness. Features to consider are:

the ease of completion;

the quality of the data they collect; and

the ease and clarity with which the information can be extracted.



One of the frequent errors in designing forms is that in order to make the form easy to fill in, it is made so simple that the quality of the data collected is very poor. The design of such tools is beyond the scope of this unit of competency and is addressed in BSBOHS602 Develop OHS information and data analysis and reporting and recording processes. In some cases, the requirement for policies and procedures for collection of health and safety information may be addressed in WHS legislation and codes of practice. Procedures for collecting workplace information may be set out in:

health and safety management systems documentation;

internal processes for managing workers’ compensation;

recognised industry standards; and

contract and tender documentation for contract labour and services.

There may also be informal processes for collecting workplace information. As noted in the introduction to this section, the workplace culture on reporting will impact significantly on the effectiveness of policies and procedures for collecting workplace data and information. How could the reporting culture be evaluated? What strategies could be put in place to encourage a

‘reporting culture’? The practitioner holding a Diploma in health and safety should be familiar with, and able to implement, internal policies and procedures for collecting health and safety information; but they are not expected to develop the procedures.



2.4 REGULARLY REVIEW PROCEDURES FOR INFORMATION AND DATA COLLECTION, RECORD KEEPING, AMENDMENTS TO LEGISLATION, AND DISTRIBUTION OF RECORDS TO ENSURE THEIR USABILITY AND RELEVANCE Systematic management of health and safety and health and safety risk management requires up-to-date data and information. In the first two elements for this unit of competency you have:

accessed sources of health and safety information and data; and

assisted in applying policies and procedures for collection of workplace data, records and information.

Effective management of health and safety requires that these procedures (both documented procedures and what happens in practice) are relevant and can be used easily by decision-makers and stakeholders*. The review should take account of the reasons for collecting data and records, the analysis processes, who will use the resultant information, and how the information will be used. These factors are discussed in Elements 3, 4 and 5 and the overall monitoring of the health and safety data and information processes are discussed in Element 6 of this learning guide.



Competency check for Element 2 Key issues for each performance criterion in this section are as follows. 2.1 Inform managers and key personnel of legal requirements for information and data collection, and record keeping:

Managers are informed of legislated requirements for keeping of specific records.

Managers are given guidance on the types of records required to demonstrate a safe workplace.

2.2 Keep health and safety records using appropriate tools:

Record-keeping includes a ‘quality assurance’ process. 2.3 Collect workplace information and data according to established procedures:

Data collection addresses legislative requirements.

Data is collected to meet internal procedures.

The impact of the organisational ‘reporting culture’ on the effectiveness of data collection is recognised.

2.4 Regularly review procedures for information and data collection, record keeping, amendments to legislation, and distribution of records to ensure their usability and relevance:

The review process includes the usability and relevance of procedures for collection of data and information.



Case Study 2

The case study in a small packing and warehouse company (employing 40 people) that is developing systems for managing health and safety information and data, is continued.

Comply with specific legislated requirements for keeping records

You decide to develop a checklist to ensure that your workplace health and safety data and records address specific legislated requirements. Complete the checklist identifying the clause of the Act, or regulation or page of code of practice that is relevant. (Note that the checklist provided is not a complete list and is provided only as a guide to completing the assessment activity. It should not be used as a checklist for workplace compliance without further investigation of the relevant state legislation and taking account of the particular industry and hazards.)

XYZ Warehousing and Packing, Victoria

Legislation Reference Requirement Monitor the health of workers:

Injury reports Audiometry reports.

Monitor conditions in the workplace: Workplace inspection reports Noise surveys.

Keep information and records relating to health and safety: Hazard, incident and injury reports Minutes of meetings Audit reports.

Maintain a copy of records of serious incidents or injuries.

Permit or licences: Records of licences for forklift operators.

List of health and safety representatives: List of health & safety representatives and the deputy for

each designated work group List displayed at each workplace.

Obtain and make available SDS.

Keep and make available a register of all hazardous substances with product names and SDS.

Keep and make available risk assessments.

Keep records of atmospheric monitoring.



Collect data to demonstrate compliance with requirements for a safe workplace

You know that the information collected must also provide the organisation with adequate knowledge to manage health and safety in a systematic way so that so far as is reasonably practicable there is a safe work place, safe equipment and safe system of work. The organisation must also be able to demonstrate that such processes are in place should they be visited by an inspector or face legal proceedings. As part of checking the completeness of the information and data collected, you further develop the checklist for records to be kept by reviewing AS4804 Occupational health and safety management systems – General guidelines on principles , systems and supporting techniques (Standards Australia, 2001b) and AS4801 Occupational health and safety management systems – Specification with guidance for use (Standards Australia, 2001a).

Collect health and safety information and data

Now that you have established a structure for filing the health and safety data and information and sorted the old records, it is time to look at the best way to collect the important health and safety information and data on an ongoing basis. You decide that some procedures should be developed and documented for data collection; and forms developed for hazard, incident and injury reporting. Forms and checklists are also required for workplace inspections. These procedures and forms need to be easy to use but still collect the required information. You decide to adopt the examples of such procedures and forms provided by your industry body which require only minor adaptation to suit your workplace. You know that a ‘reporting culture’ is important for effective collection of health and safety information. You prepare a memo for the manager outlining the importance of workplace culture in effective reporting, and outline strategies to introduce the new procedures and foster a reporting culture. The strategies outlined in your memo include:

training for managers and supervisors;

training for warehouse and packing workers; and

setting up communication and feedback processes for all levels.



Activity 4


Identify legal requirements for collecting workplace data and information

1. Compliance with specific legislated requirements for keeping records Review the WS Act and regulations for your State to compile a checklist for your workplace of the types of records that must be kept according to the legislation 2. Demonstrate compliance with a safe workplace

Identify a scenario that could occur in your workplace that would have a potential for legal action. (Remember the actual case on straddle cranes reported in this section of the learning guide.)

If such a case went to Court, would your organisation have the records that would be required to demonstrate that systems were in place to provide, as far as is practicable, a safe workplace?

Use AS4804 Occupational health and safety management systems – General guidelines on principles , systems and supporting techniques (Standards Australia, 2001b) and AS4801 Occupational health and safety management systems – Specification with guidance for use (Standards Australia, 2001a) as a guide on the records and information required to help demonstrate a safe workplace.



Activity 5


Review procedures for collecting health and safety information and data and advise managers of the records required for legal compliance

Do the procedures in your workplace for collecting health and safety information and data address legislated requirements? Is information and data collected according to internal procedures? Does the ‘culture’ in your workplace support reporting of hazards, incidents and injuries or ill health? Is a ‘quality assurance’ process applied to record-keeping?

1 Use the checklists you developed in Activity 4 to review the

organisational procedures, including forms, for collecting workplace data and information for legal compliance.

2 Examine how the data and information is actually collected in

the workplace and whether there is a ‘reporting’ culture. 3 Prepare a report for the manager responsible for WHS

detailing:

the records that must be kept to help demonstrate legal compliance; and

the level of conformity in your workplace with legislative requirements for keeping health and safety information and records.



Element 3: MAINTAIN AN INFORMATION AND DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The WHS practitioner with a Diploma of health and safety is often required to have a ‘hands-on’ role in maintaining processes for managing health and safety information and data in a cost-effective and efficient way to support a systematic approach to managing health and safety. The specific objectives of the health and safety information and data management processes were identified in section 1.1. In order to complete this element successfully you will have to show that you have satisfied the following performance criteria: 3.1 Make recommendations for storage of health and safety

information and data in a manner that makes it accessible to stakeholders and key personnel.

3.2 Accurately enter and ethically store health and safety

information and data records. 3.3 Identify purposes and appropriate uses of health and safety

information and data for meaningful outcomes. 3.4 Accurately meet legislated reporting requirements to external

bodies within time limits. 3.5 Regularly assess training needs relevant to the management

of the information and data system for appropriate personnel and action as appropriate.

3.6 Regularly evaluate information and data management

systems to ensure ease of use and relevance to the health and safety needs of the organisation.



3.1 MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STORAGE OF HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION AND DATA IN A MANNER THAT MAKES IT ACCESSIBLE TO STAKEHOLDERS AND KEY PERSONNEL Section 1.3 examined some of the issues to be considered when determining the format for storing data and information. For data and information to be useful it must be accessible to and used by stakeholders and key personnel. The first challenge is that the stakeholders and key personnel have to be aware of the need for information and how the information can be used in a systematic approach to managing work health and safety. These matters are addressed in the unit of competency BSBOHS501 Participate in the coordination and maintenance of a systematic approach to managing OHS and BSBOHS503 Assist in the design and development of OHS participative arrangements. The second challenge for the WHS practitioner is to provide the information needed by the stakeholders and key personnel in a way that can be accessed and understood easily. The role of the effective WHS practitioner is to empower the parties involved in managing health and safety − not to create dependence. If the managers, key personnel and others have to come to the health and safety practitioner for every information request because they cannot access, format or interpret data, they may cease using the data. Alternatively, the information will not be timely and the WHS practitioner will be overloaded. Design of the health and safety information and data reporting, recording and analysis processes are beyond the scope of this unit (refer to BSBOHS602) but it is important to consider the factors that will optimise accessibility for stakeholders and key personnel. These factors will vary for different groups in the workplace and may include:



physical access to systems;

familiarity with systems and software;

skill of the user in accessing, retrieving and understanding the application of the information;

routine outputs/reports of the data management processes; and

user interactions and facilities such as pre-formatted reports.

Do any of the above factors inhibit people accessing health and safety information? Are there any other factors that may limit people’s access to health and safety information in your workplace?

3.2 ACCURATELY ENTER AND ETHICALLY STORE HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION AND DATA RECORDS WHS practitioners who are members of a professional body, such as the Safety Institute of Australia, are bound by a Code of Conduct. Such codes of conduct address the issue of ethics and the uses of health and safety information. This section specifically addresses the ethical issues related to the entry and storage of health and safety data and information with particular reference to factors such as:

privacy;

confidentiality;

access to personal records; and

commercial-in-confidence requirements.

Confidentiality and privacy These two terms are often confused. Privacy relates to control over others’ access to information about oneself and the preservation of boundaries against giving such protected information to others or receiving unwanted information.



Confidentiality relates to agreement with a person or organisation about what is done (and may not be done) with their data. Anonymity is another term that is sometimes confused with confidentiality. Anonymity means a lack of identifiers or information that would indicate which individuals or organisations provided which data. For example, personnel records are protected under privacy legislation, while health records such as results of audiometry or medical assessments, are both confidential and private. It may be that some incident reporting is anonymous, ie, the name of the person making the report is not acknowledged. There is a range of legislation related to privacy of personal records. At the Commonwealth level there is the Privacy Act 1988 ("Privacy Act (Cwth)," 1998). There is also state-based legislation such as in Victoria:

Surveillance Devices Act 1999;

Information Privacy Act 2000; and

Health Records Act 2001. Privacy legislation impacts on both the collection and storage of health and safety information and on providing access to the information. The application of privacy legislation to the workplace is not always clear-cut. The issues have been analysed by the report Workplace Privacy – Options Paper (Victorian Law Reform Commission, 2004). A summary of the current situation (Jenkins, 2004) is that:

“The Privacy Act 1988 (Cwth) does not cover employee records or small business but the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) does cover the ‘health’ information in employee records. Health surveillance records would be considered ‘health’ records as would health information in worker’s compensation files. Whether or not first aid records and incident and investigation reports are considered health records would depend on the level of health information included. Where the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) applies then the organisation must comply with the relevant privacy principles in



collecting and managing the records. These principles are included in the schedule to the Act.”

(Jenkins, 2004) Privacy legislation does not give the person in charge of the business or undertaking (PCBU) the right to refuse to disclose information on health and safety to health and safety representatives, health and safety committees or inspectors. The Victorian WorkCover Authority has prepared information on access to health and safety information. This can be accessed on their web site at www.workcover.vic.gov.au and then going to the employer information section.

(Victorian WorkCover Authority, 2003a) (Victorian WorkCover Authority, 2003b)

Commercial-in-confidence The commercial interests of a company are often given as reasons for not providing information. The requirement not to pass on information that may be commercially sensitive is often protected in law. For example, the Model Act at Clause 271 has provisions with penalties for breaches against doing any of the following:

disclosing the information or the contents of the document to another person;

giving another person access to the document; or

using the information or document for any purpose, other than in accordance with subclause 271(3) which includes disclosures necessary for the exercise of a power or function under the Act.

3.3 IDENTIFY PURPOSES AND APPROPRIATE USES OF HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION AND DATA FOR MEANINGFUL OUTCOMES Ask a CEO how they evaluate a company’s financial performance and they will have a definitive answer. Ask the same CEO how




they measure health and safety performance they will usually refer to measures of failures such as fatalities, injuries or occurrences.

“Health and safety differs from many other areas measured by managers because success results in the absence of an outcome (injuries or ill health) rather than a presence. But a low injury or ill-health rate, even over a period of years, is no guarantee that risks are being controlled and will not lead to injuries or ill health in the future. This is particularly true in organisations where there is a low probability of accidents but where major hazards are present. Here the historical record can be a deceptive indicator of safety performance.”

(Health and Safety Executive, 2001) There is no simple checklist for measuring health and safety performance nor are there definitive measures for evaluating health and safety performance. Thus, it is vital that an organisation develop a policy for measuring health and safety performance, including:

the objectives of the work management process;

the indicators of good performance; and

how the information will be used in monitoring and improving work health and safety performance.

The processes for data collection, storage and retrieval can then be developed and maintained to achieve these outcomes.

3.4 ACCURATELY MEET LEGISLATED REPORTING REQUIREMENTS TO EXTERNAL BODIES WITHIN TIME LIMITS Section 2.1 of this learning guide reviewed the legal requirements for information and data collection and record-keeping. There are also legislated requirements for the reporting of serious incidents and injuries and for lodging claims for workers’ compensation. There are usually set time limits for such reporting.



Reporting of serious incidents The model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act requires that a person conducting a business or undertaking must notify the regulator of any notifiable incidents that arise out of the conduct of the business or undertaking. The primary purpose of incident notification is to enable the regulator to investigate serious incidences and potential contraventions of the model WHS Act as soon as possible. For example, Clause 38 of the Model Act requires the PCBU to ensure that the regulator is notified immediately after becoming aware that a notifiable incident arising out of the conduct of the business or undertaking has occurred. Clauses 35-37 specify the types of incidents, injuries and diseases that have to be notified. A notifiable incident is an incident involving the death of a person, serious injury or illness of a person or a dangerous incident. To assist in determining what type of incident must be notified, ‘serious injury or illness’ and ‘dangerous incident’ are defined in the model WHS Act: A serious injury or illness is one that requires a person to have:

medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance;

immediate treatment as an in-patient in a hospital; or

immediate treatment for a serious injury or illness such as a serious head injury, a serious burn or a spinal injury and a number of other injuries listed in the model WHS Act.

Importantly, it does not matter whether a person actually received the treatment referred to in this definition, just that the injury or illness could reasonably be considered to warrant such treatment. A dangerous incident is an incident in a workplace that exposes a worker or any other person to a serious risk to their health or safety emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a number of risks. These risks include an uncontrolled escape, spillage or leakage of a substance, an electric shock, a fall from a height or the collapse of a structure.



Notification to be made by telephone or in writing

Immediately after the occurrence of a notifiable incident, the person conducting a business or undertaking must notify the regulator by telephone or in writing, by fax or email, whichever is faster. The notification must provide the information required by the regulator. If telephone notification is made, the regulator may request written notice to be provided within 48 hours.

Incident site preservation

In the event of a notifiable incident it is the responsibility of the person with management or control of the workplace to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the site is not disturbed until an inspector arrives or otherwise directs. Failure to report a notifiable injury could lead to prosecution of the PCBU. This does not prevent the person taking any action to assist an injured person, remove a deceased person, take action that is essential to make the site safe or to minimise the risk of a further notifiable incident occurring, or any action associated with a police investigation or action for which an inspector or the regulator has given permission.

Lodging of workers’ compensation claims The legislation in each state covering the lodgement of claims for compensation for work related injury* or disease* has strict requirements for the information that has to be lodged, the format for this information and the time frame for response by the employer. The importance of complying with these requirements is highlighted in a press release put out by the Victorian WorkCover Authority.



WorkCover crackdown on lodgement of claim forms March 21, 2003 The Victorian WorkCover Authority has signalled it will vigorously enforce employer obligations for timely lodgement of workers' compensation claim forms following the recent prosecution of two companies. VWA Chief Executive, Greg Tweedly, said that after receiving a compensation claim form from an injured worker, employers must lodge the form with their authorised WorkCover agent within 10 days. “Lodging claim forms on time is an important part of the injury management process and we will be looking to prosecute companies that fail to fulfil their obligations”, Mr Tweedly said. A Bayswater transport company, Tescol-Two was recently fined $1000 after failing to comply with the legislation on four separate occasions between October 2001 and May 2002. In another case, Warrnambool company Prestige Property Services was fined $500 after taking more than six months to submit a claim form from an injured worker to their agent. By the time liability for the claim was accepted, the injured worker was owed approximately $3,000. "It's essential for employers to begin the claims process as soon as possible after a worker has been injured," Mr Tweedly said.

(Victorian WorkCover Authority, 2003c)

3.5 REGULARLY ASSESS TRAINING NEEDS RELEVANT TO THE MANAGEMENT OF THE INFORMATION AND DATA SYSTEM FOR APPROPRIATE PERSONNEL AND ACTION AS APPROPRIATE Section 3.1 identified issues that may limit the use of data and information management systems and their outputs. These included: familiarity with systems and software; and skill of the user in accessing, retrieving and understanding the application of the information. Thus, there needs to be a ‘training needs analysis’ for the health and safety data and information system.



A training needs analysis is NOT a questionnaire asking workers in what areas or topics they would like to have training. Rather, a training needs analysis involves:

collecting and analysing data to identify organisational needs;

analysing work or tasks to determine knowledge and skills required for safe and effective performance;

collecting information to determine the current knowledge and skill profile of staff in the organisation;

analysing the information to identify gaps between the needs and the current skill profile; and

providing advice, recommendations and options to address the gap between the needs and the current situation.

For the health and safety data and information management processes to be effective any people who have to, or should, interact with these processes, require skills appropriate to their role and use of the system. These people may include those required to:

manage the technology of the system;

decide what data and information should be stored in the system;

interpret and code information for data entry;

retrieve and analyse data and information; and

retrieve ‘packaged’ information. Thus, for the health and safety data and information system, the questions would be:



1 Who might have these roles in your organization? 2 What are the knowledge and skills that they need to carry out these roles?

Such an analysis might take the format below.

System manager

Coding/ data entry

Health and safety/analysis

of data & information

Managers Supervisors/health and safety reps

Role/tasks

Knowledge requirements (what the person must know and understand)

Practical skill requirements (what the person must be able to do and demonstrate)

Behavioural skill requirements (how the person should conduct themselves with other people)

3 Do the people who need to interact with, or use the health and safety data and information system have the required skills? Therefore, a ‘gap analysis’ should be conducted to decide where the current knowledge and skills of individuals do not match with the identified needs. The resultant training matrix could look like this:

Name Role ‘Skill 1’ ‘Skill 2’ ‘Skill 3’ ……. ……. …..

Skill required for role

Skill held

4 What training is required and who should attend? Thus the training action plan can be drawn up by identifying the shaded boxes for each person.



3.6 REGULARLY EVALUATE INFORMATION AND DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS TO ENSURE EASE OF USE AND RELEVANCE TO THE WHS NEEDS OF THE ORGANISATION In demonstrating that you have the competency for ‘participating in the management of the health and safety information and data systems’ you have now:

accessed sources of health and safety data and information;

applied policies and procedures for collection of workplace data, records and information; and

assisted in maintaining the data and information management system.

Like all management processes, the data and information management system should be reviewed regularly to ensure its ease of use and relevance. The issue of relevance is discussed in detail in the next section of this learning guide and the overall monitoring of the health and safety data and information processes is discussed in Element 6.

Competency check for Element 3 Key issues for each performance criterion in this section are as follows. 3.1 Make recommendations for storage of health and safety information and data in a manner that makes it accessible to stakeholders and key personnel:

Factors relating to the storage of health and safety data and information that may support or inhibit the use of the information by those who need it are identified.



3.2 Accurately enter and ethically store health and safety information and data records:

The differences between confidentiality, privacy and commercial-in-confidence information are recognised.

Personal practice complies with the requirements for confidentiality, privacy and commercial-in-confidence.

3.3 Identify purposes and appropriate uses of health and safety information and data for meaningful outcomes:

The health and safety information and data management system is maintained taking account of the organisational policy and strategy on health and safety performance.

3.4 Accurately meet legislated reporting requirements to external bodies within time limits:

Requirements for reporting of serious incidents, workers’ compensation claims and other reporting to external bodies are known and able to be acted upon.

3.5 Regularly assess training needs relevant to the management of the information and data system for appropriate personnel and action as appropriate:

Training needs take account of roles, required knowledge and skills, and the gap between what is required and the skills of the people.

3.6 Regularly evaluate information and data management systems to ensure ease of use and relevance to the health and safety needs of the organisation:

The review process includes the ease of use and relevance of the processes for managing health and safety data and information.



Case Study 3

The case study examined in Elements 1 and 2 is continued here. Having identified the legal requirements for collecting health and safety information and records and ensuring that the forms and procedures are in place for collecting the data, the next step is to set up the systems for storing and collating the data.

Make recommendations for storage of health and safety information and data

In your warehousing and packing company of 40 workers there are two managers and two supervisors who have computers and are reasonably skilled in using basic office software such as Word and Excel. The rest of the workers, including the health and safety representatives, do not have access to a computer. Access can be arranged for the health and safety representatives but they have limited skills. Given the early developmental stage of the health and safety information and data management system, the size of the organisation and the level of computer skills and hardware available, you recommend the following processes for storing health and safety information and data. Occurrence reports

Information from hazard, incident and injury/illness reports entered into a spreadsheet with hard copies of hazard, incident and injury/illness reports retained in folders and filed by date.

Information relating to claims for workers’ compensation filed by claimant and kept in hard copy only.

Health and Safety Risk management information

Safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals and completed risk assessments retained in hard copy.

Hazardous substances/chemical register, risk register and risk control action plans maintained in a spreadsheet.



Health and safety management information

Health and safety plans, training records maintained in a spreadsheet.

Reports and minutes of meetings documented in a word document.

Access to information While managers and supervisors have ongoing access to the data stored electronically, the register, action plans and other documents are available in hard copy in folders in the tea room and updated monthly. The table developed in Element 1 outlining the structure of the health and safety information and data systems is now updated as below.

Type of information Who holds the information? Where is it located?


How should the information be stored?

Hazard and incident reports

Report books in supervisor’s office


Collated in spreadsheet for trend analysis

Investigation reports Report books in supervisor’s office


Held in work health and safety files

Injury reports First aid book. Injury register


Individual reports kept in hard copy in locked file Collated in spreadsheet for trend analysis

Insurance records, workers’ compensation data

Payroll/HR Legal compliance Individual reports kept in hard copy in locked file Collated in spreadsheet for trend analysis

Workplace inspections

Supervisor’s office Hazard identification Monitoring

Summary in spreadsheet

Minutes of meetings Hazard identification Monitoring

Word and hard copy


Word and hard copy

Maintenance records Maintenance Office Hazard identification. Monitoring

Spreadsheet


Reports and audits Word and hard copy


Payroll/HR Spreadsheet



Registers in spreadsheet

Work procedures Word and hard copy



Protection of health & safety data and records

With all this activity relating to getting the work health and safety records sorted out and setting up systems, some workers and managers are a little concerned and confused about how privacy and confidentiality requirements impact on how the data is collected and used. You decide that the procedures for collecting health and safety data should include a statement on privacy, confidentiality and commercial-in-confidence. In addition to developing the procedures, you also update the table describing the structure of the health and safety data and information system noting that: ‘Private’ means that there are limitations on the use of the information; and ‘Confidential’ means that the issue and use of the information is subject to agreement with the person or organisation.

Type of information

Who holds the information? Where is it located?


How should the information be stored?

What protection is required?

Hazard and incident reports



Collated in spreadsheet for trend analysis

Investigation reports



Held in health and safety files

Injury reports First aid book. Injury register


Individual reports kept in hard copy in locked file Collated in spreadsheet for trend analysis

Private Confidential (for name only)

Insurance records, workers’ compensation details of claims

Payroll/HR Legal compliance Individual reports kept in hard copy in locked file Collated in spreadsheet for trend analysis

Private Confidential

Workplace inspections

Supervisor’s office Hazard identification Monitoring

Summary in spreadsheet

Minutes of meetings

Hazard identification Monitoring

Word and hard copy

Non- health and safety information may be commercial-in-confidence




Word and hard copy

Maintenance records

Maintenance Office Hazard identification Monitoring

Spreadsheet


Reports and audits Word and hard copy


Payroll/HR Spreadsheet Private


Legal compliance. Hazard identification

Registers in spreadsheet

Work procedures Word and hard copy

Manufacturers’ manuals and specifications

Non-health and safety information may be commercial-in-confidence

Meaningful outcomes from data collection

One of the purposes of the health and safety information and data management system is to enable monitoring and improvement of health and safety. Hence, the structure of the data management system must address the type of data required for monitoring and identifying areas for improvement. Thus, when health and safety performance measures have been developed, the structure of the system should be reviewed.

Requirements for external reporting

To ensure that the organisation is able to meet the reporting requirements for serious incident, serious injury and workers’ compensation claims, you prepare a procedure and obtain forms for the reporting. You also make a poster for the office wall to ensure that the managers and supervisors are able to respond within the time limits if you are not available.



Training needs for the health and safety data and information management system

Training Needs Analysis System manager Coding/

data entry OHS/analysis

of data & information

Managers Supervisors/OHS reps

Role/tasks Maintain hard copy folders Check completeness of reports

Enter data into Excel

Produce reports from Excel



Knowledge requirements (what the person must know and understand)

Requirements for completing reports, registers, etc Confidentiality & privacy requirements Requirements for external reporting

Confidentiality & privacy requirements Coding system

Work health and safety performance measures

Requirements for completing reports, registers, etc Work health and safety performance measures Confidentiality & privacy requirements (general) Requirements for external reporting

Requirements for completing reports, registers, etc Work health and safety performance measures Confidentiality & privacy requirements (general)

Practical skill requirements (what the person must be able to do and demonstrate)

High level skills in Excel



Basic/medium level skills in Excel

Basic/medium level skills in Excel

Behavioural skill requirements (how the person should conduct themselves with other people)

Maintain confidentiality & privacy

Maintain confidentiality & privacy Good time management

Name Requirements for

completing reports

Confidentiality & privacy (details)

Confidentiality & privacy

(general)

Coding system

High level Excel

Medium level Excel

Health and safety perf. measures

Requirements for external reporting

WHS Coordinator

Manager 1

Manager 2

Supervisor 1

Supervisor 2

H & S rep 1

H & S rep 2

Other workers




Activity 6

Having examined the workplace procedures for collecting health and safety information and data, the next step is to consider the arrangements for storing health and safety information and data.

Make recommendations for storing health and safety information and data

In your workplace: 1 Make a list of the people/positions that require access to health

and safety information.

2 Examine the factors that support and inhibit these people in accessing and using the required information. Consider:

access to hardware;

skills in using equipment and software;

time required; and

format of data.

3 Make recommendations for improving the storage of health and safety information and data to optimise the accessibility and usability of the information.




Activity 7


Develop a code of ethical practice for managing health and safety information and data

As the WHS practitioner participating in the management of health and safety information and data systems you play a major role in ensuring that the data is stored and used ethically. Develop a code of ethical practice for yourself that addresses the specific requirements for confidentiality, privacy and commercial-in-confidence for the different types of health and safety data and records that you are required to handle.


Activity 8


Conduct a training needs analysis for the health and safety data and information system

1 Identify the people/roles who have to interact with and use the health and safety information and data system.

2 For each of these roles identify:

the knowledge requirements;

practical skill requirements; and

behavioural skills requirements. 3 Develop a training matrix highlighting the required skills for each role.

MARCH 2009 SAFETYLINE INSTITUTE PAGE 75



Element 4: ANALYSE DATA AND INFORMATION TO IDENTIFY TRENDS AND ACTIONS FOR PREVENTION

You have now:

accessed health and safety data and information;

applied policies and procedures to collect data and information; and

assisted in maintaining data and information management systems. In section 1.1 we identified that an organisation needs data and information to:

identify hazards;

identify trends and make comparisons over time and across locations;

provide a basis for risk prioritisation and allocation of resources;

evaluate effectiveness of risk controls;

evaluate effectiveness of the health and safety management approach and identify areas for improvement; and

support strategic planning and internal and external accountability. Raw data is of little use in meeting these objectives. So the next step is to analyse the data to obtain information to achieve these objectives. In order to complete this element successfully you will have to show that you have satisfied the following performance criteria: 4.1 Evaluate information and data collected for validity and reliability. 4.2 Identify analytical techniques appropriate for evaluation of work health and safety performance (including positive performance indicators [PPIs]) and identification of areas for improvement. 4.3 Apply analytical techniques appropriately and accurately. 4.4 Regularly review health and safety information and data analysis processes in consultation with stakeholders, to ensure organisational and legislative requirements.


4.1 EVALUATE INFORMATION AND DATA COLLECTED FOR VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY Issues of reliability and validity of data were discussed in section 1.2. To recap briefly, reliability refers to the consistency or repeatability of the information, while validity addresses whether the information or the measure actually addresses what it is intended to measure. Reliability may be affected by factors such as sample size, the period over which information is collected, the ‘reporting culture’ of the organisation and the consistency of any assumptions that underpin the collection, collation and analysis of the data. One of the most common reasons for collecting and collating data is to identify trends and, thereby, areas for improvement. Let us examine some factors affecting the reliability of this type of data. Consider the following occurrences:

1. Tripped while carrying used needles (uncapped) and stabbed finger. Had been using needles to inject goats with antibiotics.

2. Slipped on lino when cleaning benches as water was on the floor. Twisted right ankle.

3. Carrying boxes down stairs, tripped and fell down stairs. Fractured arm and cut on head.

4. Picked up wheel barrow and turned to walk away. Dead twig of tree went into my right ear and broke off. Laceration and infection of right ear.

5. Have felt ‘off colour’ and irritable for some months. A blood test has shown that I have high levels of lead in my blood. This must be related to our use of lead in the workplace.

Using ‘logical’ words (ie, ‘off the top of your head’), classify each of the above occurrences for:

nature of injury/disease;

bodily location;

mechanism* (type) of incident; and

breakdown agency* (primary cause). (A classification of ‘agency*’ is also used in many workplaces but current practice in injury coding is to focus on the primary or first cause, which is the ‘breakdown agency’).




Nature of

injury/disease Bodily location Mechanism of

incident Breakdown

agency 1 2 3 4 5

Now go to the web site for Safe Work Australia (www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au) and access the Type of occurrence classification system (TOOCS3) (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC , 2004c). Use this document to classify and code each occurrence described above using both verbal and numerical codes. You only need go to the first or second level of coding.

Ask three colleagues to also code the occurrences using the TOOCS3 document.

How did your ‘logical’ classification compare with that using the TOOCS3 document?

Were the classifications made by you and others consistent?

If not, what were the reasons for the variation? How would you improve the consistency of the classifications?

Performance indicators Positive and negative performance indicators were introduced in section 1.2. In order to obtain a comprehensive view of their health and safety performance, most workplaces will have a mixture of positive and negative indicators (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 1999). For the indicators to be reliable and valid, three factors must be defined:

the measure itself;

the method of collecting the data; and

the link to work health and safety performance.

http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/


Good performance indicators must be:

controllable;

measurable;

provide reliable results when measurements are repeated over time and by different persons;

understandable and clear to all who need to use the information; and

accepted as true indicators of good performance.

In section 1.2 of this learning guide, these requirements for performance indicators were defined using ‘SMART’.

Specific in that they directly relate to what is being measured. Measurable in that data can be collected that is accurate and complete. Actionable in that they are easy to understand and highlight the areas where action is required. Relevant in that they measure what is important in determining performance. Timely in that data can be obtained when it is needed and that data collected reflects current status.

Occurrences and injuries are the end point of events that result from exposure to particular hazards, which in turn arise from the nature and organisation of the work, the physical environment, the equipment and systems that are in place (or not in place) and the management approach to work health and safety. Just looking at the outcomes (occurrences and injuries) will tell us little about the performance of the processes that impact on the outcome. Positive indicators play a key role in providing information on these ‘drivers’ of performance. Defining the link to work health and safety is one of the key requirements for ensuring validity of a performance indicator* and this requires an understanding of the principles of work health and safety risk management and a systematic approach to managing work health and safety.




Effective Risk Control

The relative roles of input and output measures are well described in the publication by the British Health and Safety Executive A Guide to Measuring Health and Safety Performance (Health and Safety Executive, 2001).

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT OUTCOME

Uncontrolled hazards

The ‘Hazard Burden’

H & S management system Management arrangements

- Risk control systems

- Workplace precautions

- Positive H & S culture

Controlled

hazards/risks

No injuries

No occupational ill-health

No incidents

Stakeholder satisfaction

Modified from Health and Safety Executive (2001) This approach is becoming known as the ‘OHS balanced scorecard’. The model for a ‘healthy workplace’ balanced score card proposed by the Canadian Institute of Work and Health (shown below) is a variation on this approach. This model provides a measurement tool that collects and balances data on a number of indicators that both predict and track outcomes of health and safety performance. The notion of ‘balance’ comes from the balance between measures of health outcomes (eg, the traditional trailing indicators of health such as injury frequency and injury severity) and leading indicators (that predict health outcomes). It is based on the balanced scorecard for business developed by Kaplan and Norton (1996) in (Kramer, 2000) which ‘balances’ the four areas of learning and growth, internal business processes, the customer and financial factors.

‘Healthy Workplace’ Scorecard

Implementation of ‘healthy workplace’ initiatives

Workplace determinants of job exposures

Hazardous job exposures

Health outcomes

Determinants of health-based cause and effect relationships through the four scorecard perspectives

(Kramer, 2000)


Each organisation applying the balanced score card develops measures for each category to fit their vision, strategy, technology and culture (Kramer, 2000). Validity of the measures is optimised by:

developing a team of management and worker representatives;

reviewing the evidence of health and safety risks;

identifying benchmark measures;

reviewing current data gathered and the measurement gaps; and

developing a strategy, including communication and systemisation of the data collection.

(Kramer, 2000)

The British Health and Safety Executive offers the following advice when developing performance indicators (Health and Safety Executive, 2001).

Developing Health and Safety Performance Indicators

1 Identify the key management arrangements (ie, that part of the health and safety management system that focuses on planning, implementing and monitoring), risk control systems and workplace precautions (ie, controls provided and maintained at the point of risk).

2 Analyse the key management arrangements and risk control processes to produce a process map or flow chart.

3 Identify the critical measures for each arrangement and process by considering the following questions: What outcome do we want? When do we want it? How would we know if we achieved the desired outcome? What are people expected to do? What do people need to be able to do? When should they do it? What result should it produce? How would we know that people are doing what they should be doing?

(Health and Safety Executive, 2001)




4.2 IDENTIFY ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES APPROPRIATE FOR EVALUATION OF WHS PERFORMANCE (INCLUDING POSITIVE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS) AND IDENTIFICATION OF AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT Consider the data below for Company XYZ. Number of Lost Time Injuries and diseases (LTI/D) for a two-year period

1,500,000 hours worked per year and 700 workers.

J F M A M J J A S O N D Year 1 5 7 11 2 0 6 10 22 5 5 14 8 Year 2 4 6 13 4 2 3 12 18 4 5 10 7

What do these figures tell us about the work health and safety problems and WHS performance for the organisation? In the definitions it was identified that the difference between data and information was that data had to be processed to obtain information. Thus, what processing is required to obtain information from this data? Some basic statistical measures become useful here. The ones that we will look at are:

frequency rate;

incidence rate;

average duration;

percentage and percentage change; and

mean, median and mode.

How the data is displayed also affects how we receive the information. Depending on the information, the most appropriate display may be a graph or a table. Some simple graphs may be:

line graphs;

bar charts (histogram); and

pie charts.


The most appropriate methods of displaying data and information are discussed in section 5.1 of this learning guide.

LTI/D − Frequency, incidence and duration The problems with using LTI/D as a performance measure have been discussed in earlier sections. However, it is useful to monitor LTI/D, and these will be used for examining analytical techniques and formats for presenting data. The calculation of rates is more useful than raw data for making comparisons over time or where the size of the groups or the number of hours worked may vary. A ‘rate’ is how often the occurrence, injury or disease occurs per unit of size of a population or group being investigated. AS1885, Workplace Injury and disease recording standard (Standards Australia, 1990) cites two types of rate: Incidence rate is the number of occurrences per 100 workers employed and this measure is more often used in smaller workplaces.

Incidence rate = number of occurrences in the period X 100 av. number of workers

The incidence rate for Year 1 in our hypothetical organisation is: = 95 X 100 = 13.57 700 Frequency rate is the number of occurrences for each one million hours worked.

Frequency rate = number of occurrences in the period X 1,000,000 number of hours worked in the period*

* Includes overtime, extra shifts etc

The frequency rate for Year 1 in our hypothetical organisation, Company XYZ, is: = 95 X 1,000,000 = 63 1,500,000 Frequency and incidence rates also need to be treated with caution as, especially with smaller work groups or over short time periods, they may be significantly affected by random fluctuations (Standards Australia, 1990).




Data commonly used for frequency rates are:

Medical treatment injuries*;

Lost time injuries and diseases (LTI/D); and

Total recordable injuries* (first aid, LTI/D, medical, claims). Another calculation often used is the average duration, which is an indicator of severity.

Average duration = number of working days lost number of occurrences

Ideally, the average duration should be calculated for LTI/D that are no longer active, ie, the worker has returned to work; otherwise the average will constantly require updating. Estimates of the time off work may be used, but again it will be necessary to revise the figures when actual time lost becomes known.

Changes over time

Percentage change

For our hypothetical organisation, how does the performance for Year 1 compare with that for Year 2? J F M A M J J A S O N D Year 1 5 7 11 2 0 6 10 22 5 5 14 8 Year 2 4 6 13 4 2 3 12 18 4 5 10 7

How does a reduction from 95 LTI/D in Year 1 to 88 in Year 2 compare with the previous year where there was a reduction from 114 to 95? Or which department improved the most? One simple measure is the percentage change. This is calculated by determining the difference between two figures as a percentage of the first figure. Thus percentage change may be positive (where it increases) or negative (where there is a decrease). When measuring occurrence or injury data we will be looking for a decrease or negative change.

% = measurement 1 – measurement 2 X 100

measurement 1

( is a common symbol for change)


Thus, for our hypothetical organisation the percentage change in LTI/D from Year 1 to Year 2 was:

% = 95-88 X 100 = - 7.4% 95

By calculating the percentage change, the improvement in performance from Year 1 to Year 2 can be compared with that for the previous year.

% = 114 - 95 X 100 = - 16.7% 114

Moving average

Another useful way to identify changes over time is to calculate a ‘moving 12 month average’. The table below shows how this is calculated.

Data point

J F M A M J J A S O N D 12 month av

1 Year 1 5 7 11 2 0 6 10 22 5 5 14 8 95/12 7.9 - - - - - - - - - - - 2 Year 1 - 7 11 2 0 6 10 22 5 5 14 8 94/12 Year 2

4 - - - - - - - - - - -

7.8

Year 1 - - 11 2 0 6 10 22 5 5 14 8 93/123

Year 2

4 6 - - - - - - - - - - 7.75

Year 1 - - - 2 0 6 10 22 5 5 14 8 95/124

Year 2

4 6 13 - - - - - - - - - 7.9

The 12-month moving average tends to smooth out random changes and so is useful in indicating trends. Changes over time can also be represented as the percentage change in frequency or incidence rates.

Which measure would you use in reporting to your manager on the WHS performance of the department using the above sample of LTI/D?




Measures of central tendency When you were at school you would have learnt about averages; you may have also heard people say “There is no such thing as ‘average’.” There are several kinds of measures of ‘average’. The arithmetic mean ( x ) is the most common form of average and is obtained by adding all the scores together and dividing by the total number of scores.

X = x n

(X is the symbol for ‘mean’, means to sum or add up, and n = the number of measures.)

The mean represents the centre of the set of data in the sense that the sum of the amounts by which the higher numbers of injuries exceed the mean is exactly the same as the sum of the amounts by which the lower numbers of injuries are less than the mean (Martin & Pierce, 1994). Measures of central tendency can be used for simple analysis of LTI/D data, but are more often associated with health and safety data such as health surveillance records, air monitoring results, etc. Some of the workers in one of the departments at the XYZ Company have complained about the fluctuation in temperature in the work area. Consider the results below.

Time of day Temperature C

0700 14

0800 15

0900 16

1000 18

1100 24

1200 26

1300 28

1400 28

1500 28

1600 27

1700 24

Thus the mean of the temperature readings is:

X = 14+15+16+18+24+26+28+28+28+27+24 = 248 = 22.5C 11 11


The median is the point which divides the dataset in half. The median locates the middle of the set of data − in that half of the values are above the line and half are below the line. The median does not depend on extreme values and is more appropriate where there may be some ‘outlier’ data points. (Martin & Pierce, 1994). To find the median, arrange the data in ascending or descending order, then find the half-way point. Thus, the median for the temperature readings would be:

14 15 16 18 24 24C 26 27 28 28 28 Where there is no central number, the median is worked out by averaging the two central values. The mode is the data value that appears most frequently. If there are no two values that are the same, then there is no mode. Alternatively, if there are two or more values that occur equally frequently, then the distribution of the data is bimodal or multimodal. The mode for the temperature readings is 28C. Thus, we have three different figures for central tendency for the sample temperature data:

Mean = 22.5C Median = 24C Mode = 28C.

Thus, there are three different ‘averages’, each valid, correct and informative in its own way. But they do differ and, depending upon the context within which they are being used, they can present differing views of the centre of the distribution (Martin & Pierce, 1994). Which measure would you use in reporting to your manager on the

problem of temperature fluctuations in the work area? The mean is the most common measure of central tendency, and even though both the mean and the mode are correct as measures of central tendency, they can be misleading if a distribution is skewed markedly. The most appropriate measure for a skewed distribution is the median. One desirable characteristic of the mean is its stability. If several data samples are taken, the mean tends to vary less from sample to sample than the mode or median, however, a single outlier (a value far from most others in a set of data) can




unduly affect the value of the mean while leaving the mode and median unchanged. In some cases ‘trimmed means’ are used1 where unusually high or low scores are ignored and the final calculation is based on the ‘trimmed data’ (Martin & Pierce, 1994). The choice of whether to report the mean, median or the mode will depend upon the message to be conveyed. This brings us to two measures, ‘variance’ and ‘standard deviation’, one or the other of which is often reported with the mean. The standard deviation is typically reported with the mean and is the most widely used measure of dispersion for quantitative variables that are relatively symmetrical, while the variance is used when there is a skewed distribution of data. While calculation of variance or standard deviation is beyond the scope of this unit, for those who want to calculate the standard deviation or the variance, the formulae are given below.

Standard deviation s = (x – x-)2

n-1

Variance is the square of the standard deviation or:

s2 = (x – x-)2

n-1

1 Think of Olympic diving competitions where the best and poorest scores are discarded (Martin & Pierce, 1994)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00

Tem

p

Mean

Mode

Median


Analysis of PPIs In section 1.2, good performance indicators were defined as ‘SMART’ with the M referring to ‘measurable’. For accuracy, the following characteristics of performance indicators must be defined:

the measure itself;

the method of collecting the data;

the link to health and safety performance; and

the method of analysis. Consider the positive performance indicators reviewed in section 1.2.

.Activity measures focusing on safety commitment and effort in safety:

Scheduled safety meetings;

Audits completed as a percentage of those scheduled; and

Response to audit findings − percentage closed out. Measures focusing on main areas of risk:

Exposures exceeding standard (ie, noise and dust); and

Isolation deviations. Measures of achievement of action plans:

Percentage of supervisors attending training; and

Percentage of injured workers rehabilitated.

What analytical techniques would you use for these indicators? Do

they need further definition to be good performance indicators? Generally, where numbers are defined, the same analytical techniques can be applied as for LTI/D or the temperature data. Where the performance indicator is designed to measure effectiveness or people’s perception, then a rating scale can be used. Rating scales usually involve an odd number of descriptors such as 3 or 5 and may be like the ones below. To measure people’s perception of effectiveness (eg, effectiveness of committee meetings): Very poor Poor Average Good Excellent 1 2 3 4 5

To measure people’s perception where they are asked to rate their level of agreement with a statement:

Strongly Disagree Disagree Uncertain Agree Strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5




Once numbers are assigned to responses they can then be analysed in similar ways to other measures expressed as numbers.

Identify areas for improvement Most people start with workplace-based data when identifying areas for improvement. It is also important to look beyond the workplace, at the industry or national level, to expand the scope of information so that other experience and history can also be applied to identifying areas for improvement.

Industry and national data

The National Online Statistics Interactive (NOSI) is maintained by Safe Work Australia and provides data from the National Data Set for compensation-based statistics. As its name implies, it can be interrogated to obtain a range of statistical outputs. NOSI can be accessed through the Safe Work Australia web site www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au The following page gives a step-by-step guide to using the database to develop an injury profile for an industry or functional role. The results of such an analysis are given in the case study at the end of this section. If doing a similar analysis for occupational types in your workplace, you may wish to limit the analysis to your state. This is because different jurisdictions have different industry mixes, which can skew the overall figures for some industries. Similar analyses can be applied to workplace data to identify areas for improvement.

http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/


Use the NOSI database to create an injury profile for an industry and functional role

This involves asking the following questions: What are the causes of the most serious injuries? What are the causes of the most common injuries? What job roles experience the most injuries? What are the major causes of injuries for each job role? Go to the National Online Statistics Interactive (NOSI) at www.nohsc.gov.au, go to ‘stats’ then select NOSI 2 (for more up-to-date data). Instructions are available by clicking on “How do I use the database?” What are the causes of the most serious injuries? How many people have been killed in the last year(s)? What have been the causes of the fatalities? At search by statistic type select ‘number of cases’ At query the database, first data type select ‘mechanism of injury/disease’ second data type select ‘industry’ At Proceed click on button Re-enter second data item (industry) select industry category that best reflects your industry Where you are invited to select filters not in groups change fatal/non-fatal to fatal. The result is a list of fatalities for the industry category. Drill down to industry sub-category by clicking in the relevant industry category. Keep clicking until you get the category you require or you can’t go any further. You will now have a list of the types of mechanisms for fatalities. You can obtain more detailed information about the mechanism by clicking on each main group of causes; eg, falls, trips and slips may be broken up to falls from heights, falls on same level and stepping on/kneeling on. What are the causes of the injuries with long duration? At search by statistic type select ‘percentage’ At query the database, first data type select ‘mechanism of injury/disease’ second data type select ‘industry’ At Proceed click on button Re-enter second data item (industry) select industry category that best reflects your industry Where you are invited to select filters not in groups change fatal/non-fatal to nonfatal

duration of absence to claims more than six weeks . The result is a list of claims for the industry category. As before, drill down until you have your industry sub-category to get a list of the mechanism of injuries of long duration absence. To get a perspective of the impact of claims of long duration you may wish to repeat the query using the number of cases rather than percentage. What are the most common causes of injury or disease? At search by statistic type select ‘percentage’ At query the database, first data type select ‘mechanism of injury/disease second data type select ‘industry’ At Proceed click on button Re-enter second data item (industry) select industry category that best reflects your industry Leave the rest of the entries at their default and submit your query. The result is a table of industry sub-categories for your industry and all mechanisms of injury or disease. As before, drill down until you have your level of industry sub-category. You will now have a list of types of mechanisms of injury and disease. Remember to click on each mechanism to get further information on the cause. What roles experience the most injuries or disease? At search by statistic type select ‘percentage’ At query the database, first data type select ‘occupation’ second data type select ‘industry’ At Proceed click on button Re-enter second data item (industry) select industry category that best reflects your industry Leave the rest of the entries at their default and submit your query. You will get a table of all industry categories and all occupations. As before, drill down until you have your industry category. You will now have a list of occupations in your industry and the number of injuries. You can click on the occupation categories to obtain a further breakdown of the category. What are the most common causes of injury or disease that the key roles are experiencing? At search by statistic type select ‘percentage’ At query the database, first data type select ‘mechanism of injury/disease (row) second data type select ‘industry’ (column) At Proceed click on button Re-enter second data item (industry) select industry category that best reflects your industry Where you are invited to select grouped filters option 1 change all occupations to your occupation category that rated the most injuries in your previous question. You will now have a list of types of mechanisms of injury and disease for that job role. As before, drill down to get more information on the mechanism.





Workplace data and information These basic calculations, combined with particular methods of presenting data discussed in section 5.1, can be used to identify areas for improvement. Consider the results below. Which department in our hypothetical

organisation should be made a priority for improvement strategies to reduce back strain?

The breakdown for the types of injuries and location for Year 1: Administration Maintenance Despatch Production Total

Back strain 2 7 10 15 34

Finger cuts 1 8 3 7 19

Foreign body in eye 0 12 6 5 23

Slips and trips 4 6 2 4 16

Stress 2 0 0 1 3

Total 9 33 21 32 95

The breakdown for the types of injuries and location for Year 2: Administration Maintenance Despatch Production Total

Back strain 0 5 4 10 19

Finger cuts 1 5 4 5 15

Foreign body in eye 0 9 4 9 22

Slips and trips 4 6 5 6 21

Stress 5 2 1 3 11

Total 10 27 18 33 88

4.3 APPLY ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES APPROPRIATELY AND ACCURATELY

While you are required to demonstrate that you are able to apply appropriate, basic analytical techniques; as part of the assessment activities you may also wish to practice using the on-line interactive database for workers’ compensation claims maintained by Safe Work Australia discussed in section 4.2. There are instructions on how to use the database in section 4.2 and also on the Safe Work Australia web site.


Some suggestions for selecting data parameters and basic statistical analysis are given below.

Cue on query screen

Note Suggested parameter

1. Select statistic type Number of cases

2. Select first data item

You should limit the scope of the data to make your statistical exercise easier.

Industry

3. Select second data item

There may be other categories here in which you are interested.

Age

4. First data item Select an industry to refine the scope of data.

Construction

5. Second data item Leave at default

6. Select any grouped filters

Select an occupation to limit the scope of the data.

Select a nature of injury.

Tradespersons

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system

7. Select any filters not in groups

You may wish to select a state or leave this at default.

Select a year.

2001

The results of this search can then be printed and you can calculate some statistics manually or you can import the results into a spreadsheet. A graph can be viewed on the web site or you can create a graph from the data you import.

Spread Sheet resulting from query of NOSI 2 database

Age General

Construction Construction Trade

Services Total< 20 0 6 6

20-24 0 11 11 25-29 6 21 27 30-34 np 21 25 35-39 10 26 36 40-44 8 24 32 45-49 7 18 25 50-54 11 19 30 55-59 np np 9 60-64 6 np 11 65+ 0 0 0

Not Stated 0 0 0 Total 57 155 212




Graph of data imported to Excel from query of NOSI 2 database

If you think you need some practice, then calculate the following

statistics from data on age and number of injuries for construction workers.

1 Revisit NOSI to obtain data for the following year and calculate the

percentage change in LTI/D in each age category. 2 Repeat the query but change the ‘statistic type’ to ‘frequency rate’.

Do you get the same spread of injuries across the categories? Is the pattern of change the same?

3 What is the outcome if you use ‘incidence rate’ instead of frequency

rate?

4 Revisit the NOSI 2 database for the industry and occupational group that you have just used. What categories of data and what statistics would you use to identify areas for improvement?

5 What is the mean number of injuries per age category?

What is the median number of injuries per age category?

Injuries by Age for Construction Industry, 2001

6

1127

2536

32

2530

911

00

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

< 20

25-29

35-39

45-49

55-59

65+

Ag

e

No. of cases


4.4 REGULARLY REVIEW HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION AND DATA ANALYSIS PROCESSES IN CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS, TO ENSURE ORGANISATIONAL AND LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS In demonstrating that you have the competency for ‘participating in the management of the health and safety information and data systems’, you have now:

accessed sources of health and safety data and information;

applied policies and procedures for collection of workplace data, records and information;

assisted in maintaining the data and information management system; and

analysed the data to identify trends and actions for prevention. Like all management processes, the methods and output of analysing data and information should be reviewed regularly to ensure its ease of use and relevance. Such a review needs to take account of how the outputs are communicated to stakeholders and others, and the feedback from those who require the information. These processes for communicating the outputs of the data analysis and information are discussed in detail in the next section of this learning guide, and the overall monitoring of the health and safety data and information processes are discussed in Element 6.




Competency check for Element 4 Key issues for each performance criterion in this section are as follows. 4.1 Evaluate information and data collected for validity and reliability:

Issues relating to coding of data are identified.

Performance indicators are examined for clarity of definition of the measure and method of collection and link to WHS performance.

Performance measures are evaluated against the SMART requirements.

4.2 Identify analytical techniques appropriate for evaluation of WHS performance (including positive performance indicators) and identification of areas for improvement:

Uses and limitations of frequency rates are recognised.

Percentage change and moving average are recognised as tools for identifying change over time.

Differences in application and outcome of mean, median and mode are identified.

The need for designing positive performance indicators so that analytical techniques can be applied is recognised.

Basic analytical techniques for identifying areas of improvement are identified.

4.3 Apply analytical techniques appropriately and accurately:

Incidence rate, frequency rate and average duration are calculated.

Percentage change and moving average are calculated.

Mean, median and mode are calculated. 4.4 Regularly review health and safety information and data analysis processes in consultation with stakeholders, to ensure organisational and legislative requirements:

The review process includes the WHS data analysis processes.



Case Study 4

Develop an injury profile for an industry and job role

The following profile was developed as part of a training needs analysis for the forestry and forest products industry. The data is extracted from the NOSI 2 database using the guidelines provided earlier in this section of the learning guide.

Industry Forest and Forest Products

1 INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES

0301 Forestry growing standing timber. 0302 Logging felling trees for logs, cutting and shaping trees for rough hewn products such as posts and sleepers, cutting trees and scrub for firewood.

Activities From the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industry Classification (ANZSIC) at www.abs.gov.au

0302 Services to Forestry forest reafforestation, conservation, plantation maintenance, forest nurseries, forest fire fighting.

Occupations 7995 Forestry and logging workers Title Supervisor (7995-01) Skill level Cert II or above plus more than 1 year’s experience; may

require registration or licensing: Tasks determines work requirements and allocates duties;

confers with managers to coordinate activities with other organisational units;

maintains attendance records and rosters; explains and enforces safety regulations; oversees the work of the unit and suggests improvements

and changes; confers with workers to resolve grievances; and may perform tasks of a forestry and logging worker.

Title Tree faller (7995-11) Skill level Cert II or above plus more than 1 year’s experience; may

require registration or licensing:

From the Australian Classification of Occupations (ASCO) at www.abs.gov.au

Tasks plans felling of trees; clears bush, undergrowth and debris from base of trees; adjusts cuts to cope with rot, lean and burnt wood; operates manual or machine saws; cuts down sapling and dead trees; removes major branches and tree tops, trims branches and

saws trunks into logs; and maintains cutting chains and chain saws.





Title Forestry worker (7995-13) Skill level Cert II or above plus more than 1 year’s experience:

Tasks maintains forest roads, buildings, signs, facilities and equipment;

observes forest areas; maintains look-out for fires; collects and cultivates seeds and plants them; applies fertilizers and insecticides to trees and general

forest areas; kills weeds, fells or debarks non-productive trees and thins

young plantations; prepares fire breaks; and cuts firewood.

Title Logging assistant (7995-15) Skill level Cert II or above plus more than 1 year’s experience:

Tasks assists tree feller in clearing saplings and dead leaves around trees;

operates chain saw to cut felled trees into logs and trims branches;

debarks logs using axes, crow bars or spades; and assist plant operators to move and load logs.

2 INJURY PROFILE

Mechanism Fatality (no) Total 2001 = 6

Claims > 6 weeks % Total 2001 = 186

Hit by moving objects 4 (2 falling object, 1 trapped by moving machinery, 1 hit by moving object)

28% (50% falling objects, 38% moving objects)

Falls slips and trips 1 (from height) 25% (53% on same level, 43% from heights)

Other 1 (vehicle accident) 9% (63% vehicle accidents) Body stressing 11% (71% handling) Sound and Pressure 10% (noise exposure)

Causes of serious injury (mechanism)

Hitting objects 3% Percent Further breakdown Falls slips and trips 27% 60% same level, 36% from height

Hit by moving objects 25% 40% falling, 38% moving, 9% trapped by moving machinery, 9% trapped between moving and stationary objects

Body stressing 24% 82% handling

Causes of most common injury/disease

Sound and pressure 4% Mainly long term exposure to noise

Job role Percent Further breakdown Other prod & trans 60% Plant operators 18% Road & rail transport drivers

12%

Intermediate production and transport workers

58%

Machine operators

9.52

Other labourers 63% Labourers & related workers

24% Factory labourers 37% Other trades 40% Ag & hort trades 25% Automotive 19%

Tradespersons & related workers

11%

Mechanical engineering

17%

Job roles and injury

Professionals 5%



Mechanism Prod & trans Labourers Tradespersons Job roles and

cause of injury Falls slips and trips 25% (50% falls from heights, 43% on same level)

29% (63% same level, 32% from heights)

14% (66% fall on same level)

Hit by moving objects 42% (41% falling,

33% moving) 23% (50% moving objects, 36% falling objects)

29% (27% falling, 27% trapped by moving equipment, 20% trapped between moving & stationary objects

Body stressing 17% 25% (79% handling)

32% (handling)

Hitting objects with part of the body

6% (71% hitting moving objects)

15% (62 % stationary)

Summary of industry hazards and risks

Most serious hazards are falling objects, falls from heights, falls on the same level, vehicle accidents and manual handling. The most common types of injuries are falls (same level and from heights), being hit by falling objects and moving machinery and manual handling. Exposure to noise and hearing loss is an issue. Production and transport workers and general labourers have the most injuries; with factory labourers and plant operators the next most frequent group. Tradespersons also experience a significant number of injuries.



Case Study 5

The case study in a small warehousing and packing company is continued here. Having set up the processes for collecting and storing WHS data it is now time to analyse the data for information.

Measuring WHS Performance

A small team with management, supervisors and health and safety representatives has got together to develop the performance measures and the strategy for how the measures will be used and how the information will be communicated. The measures they develop are presented as a ‘balanced scorecard, see below. The aim is to maximise input, process and output measures with the target for outcome as zero.

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT OUTCOME

Percentage of manual handling risks rated as moderate or less.

Percentage compliance on monthly housekeeping inspections.

Percentage compliance on WHS audit.

Percentage of WHS action plans completed within time frame.

Percentage compliance with selected procedures as measured by workplace inspections, etc.

Percentage of risks on register controlled by design, engineering or equipment.

Percentage of risks rated as moderate or less.

No. of total recordable injuries.

No. of days away from normal job due to work-related injury/ill-health.

Workplace stress rating as reported in worker survey.


Activity 9


Develop WHS performance measures

1 Select a range of performance measures currently in use in your workplace, or develop five measures that you consider would be appropriate to your workplace.

2 Evaluate the validity and reliability of these measures by

considering:

the definition of the measure;

the method of collection;

the link to WHS performance; and

the analysis of the data for the measure. 3 Evaluate the measures against the SMART requirements (ie,

Specific in that they directly relate to what is being measured. Measurable in that data can be collected that is accurate and complete. Actionable in that they are easy to understand and highlight the areas where action is required. Relevant in that they measure what is important in determining performance. Timely in that data can be obtained when it is needed and that data collected reflects current status.)

4 Prepare a report for the responsible manager giving your

evaluation of the current measures or your recommendations for measures as appropriate.



Activity 10


Recognise and apply analytical techniques

Provide evidence to demonstrate that you can analyse WHS data by applying the following analytical techniques and calculations appropriately.

Incidence rate

Frequency rate

Average duration

Percentage change

Moving average

Mean

Median

Mode.



Element 5: COMMUNICATE HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION AND RESULTS OF DATA ANALYSIS

In section 1.1 it was identified that, as part of a systematic approach to managing WHS, data and information are required:






to evaluate the effectiveness of the WHS management approach and identify areas for improvement; and

for strategic planning and internal and external accountability. You have now:

accessed WHS data and information;

applied policies and procedures to collect data and information;

assisted in maintaining data and information management systems; and

analysed data and information to identify areas for improvement.

All of this work is of little use unless the information is communicated to the WHS decision-makers. We have also identified (section 2.1) that there are regulatory requirements for specific WHS information to be reported to external bodies. Thus, communication of WHS information is required for regulatory compliance.



In order to complete this element of the competency unit successfully you will have to show that you have satisfied the following performance criteria: 5.1 Appropriately format outcomes of information and data analysis taking account of the target audience. 5.2 Disseminate WHS information and data to managers, key personnel and stakeholders taking account of legal and ethical requirements. 5.3 Communicate WHS information and data objectively and seek feedback. 5.4 Make recommendations for improvement in prevention strategies based upon information access and data analysis.

5.1 APPROPRIATELY FORMAT OUTCOMES OF INFORMATION AND DATA ANALYSIS TAKING ACCOUNT OF THE TARGET AUDIENCE There are both internal and external target audiences for the WHS information.

Internal audiences Internal audiences include the board of management, managers, health and safety committees, health and safety representatives, workers, contractors, visitors and others on the site. Each of these different roles and levels within an organisation has different needs for information. The board and CEO have different needs compared with a regional manager, who has different needs to the finance manager or the safety and health committee. The challenge is to have a coherent and consistent system that meets all these needs and is able to communicate the output information in a way that is meaningful to those who have the need.



Care should be taken to ensure that the information and data management systems, and their outputs, address identified needs for information and not just create ‘pretty’ graphs or apply technology because it looks good. It is important to consider the nature of the audience when communicating any information. The most appropriate content, method and format for the communication will vary depending on the audience. Factors to consider include:

what is important to them (not what is important to you);

what they should know (ie, due diligence);

what they looking for;

their language, literacy and numeracy skills; and

technology limitations, or scope, that may influence the dissemination of information.

Thus, the content and level of detail will vary depending on the target audience. The method of displaying the data will vary depending on the type of data as well as the target audience. Interview a senior manager, a supervisor, an health and

safety representative and a ‘shop floor’ person to make a list of the four key points to consider when formatting WHS information for each level and role.

Display of data and information Charts and graphs can assist people in interpreting data and information and in identifying the implications. Some data is better suited to certain types of displays than others. Information that is categorised, such as types of injury or part of the body injured, is often presented as bar graphs or pie charts. Bar graphs and pie charts may also suit data on positive indicators such as the collated results of questionnaires. Bar graphs are useful in highlighting similarities and differences in frequency between factors. Pie charts can be used to give a clear picture of data expressed as proportions of a whole, such as percentages where the circle of



the pie represents the whole (100%) and the segments or pie ‘slices’ are proportions (percentages) of the whole. The two charts below show the same information presented as a bar graph and as a pie chart. The first chart is as presented in the publication Compendium of Workers’ Compensation Statistics 2001-2002 (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 2003), the second graph is a pie chart showing an alternative format for the same information. Which format do you find the easiest to interpret the information?

(Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 1999)

Proportion of new cases by mechanism of injury or disease

41.2

19.0

13.7

7.5

7.2

5.0

3.3 Body stressing

Falls, trips & slips

Hit by moving object

Other

Hitting object w ith part of body

Mental stress

Sound & pressure

Heat, radiation & elec.

Chemicals & other substances

Biologival factors

Modified from Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 2003



Consider the types of injury for the hypothetical organisation, Company XYZ.

Administration Maintenance Despatch Production Total Back strain 2 7 10 15 34 Finger cuts 1 8 3 7 19 Foreign body in eye 0 12 6 5 23 Slips and trips 4 6 2 4 16 Stress 2 0 0 1 3 Total 9 33 21 32 95

The LTI/D information can be presented in a number of ways. The bar graph below shows total LTI/D for each injury type. The same information may be presented as a pie chart.

LTI's by Injury Type, Year 1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Back Finger F/B eye Slips/Trips Stress

No

. o

f L

TI's

LTI's by Injury Type, Year 1

34

19

23

163

Back

Finger

F/B eye

Slips/Trips

Stress




A separate set of graphs can be used to display the information by department. The data for both variables can be displayed on the one graph. Two samples of such a display are given below. Which format do you find is the easiest to interpret?

LTI's by Department, Year 1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Admin Maint Desp Prod

No

of

LT

I's

LTI's by Department, Year 1

9

33

21

32Admin

Maint

Desp

Prod

LTI's by Injury Type for Department, Year 1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Back Finger F/B eye Slips/Trips Stress

No

. o

f L

TI's Prod

Desp

Maint

Admin


Bac

k

Fin

ger

F/B

eye

Slip

s/T

rips

Str

ess

Admin

Prod0

5

10

15

No

. o

f L

TI's

LTI's by Injury Type for Department, Year 1

Admin

Maint

Desp

Prod

Note that the more information you try to put into a graph the more difficult it is to interpret. Line graphs are most commonly used to show changes over time. The graph below appears in a priority industry statistics report showing trends in incidence rates over time (Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 2004b).

(Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, 2004b)




Consider the LTI/D data for the hypothetical organisation, Company XYZ: J F M A M J J A S O N D Year 1 5 7 11 2 0 6 10 22 5 5 14 8 Year 2 4 6 13 4 2 3 12 18 4 5 10 7

This data could be plotted on a graph to show the number of LTI/D over time. The graph may be formatted as a bar chart. The same information may be presented as a line graph. An alternative approach that ‘smooths’ out some of the fluctuations and enables a trend to be identified more reliably is to graph a ’12 month moving average’, as detailed in section 4.2. What graphs would you include in a report for the health

and safety committee?

Total LTI's, Years 1 & 2

0

5

10

15

20

25

J F M A M J J A S O N D

No

. o

f L

TI's

Year 1

Year 2

Total LTI's, Years 1 & 2

0

5

10

15

20

25

J F M A M J J A S O N D

No

. o

f L

TI's

Year 1

Year 2


External audiences External audiences may include WHS regulators and other statutory bodies, insurance agencies, shareholders, customers, the community (directly or via the media) and representatives of special interest groups. The format for reporting of work health and safety information to statutory bodies and insurance agencies is usually set by the body/agency. Serious incident and injury report forms and workers’ compensation claim forms are examples of such reporting formats. How do you access forms to report serious injury to the

WHS regulatory body in your state? For larger organisations, the most common method of reporting to external stakeholders is via an annual report. Safe Work Australia has published guidelines for WHS reporting in Annual Reports.

5.2 DISSEMINATE WHS INFORMATION AND DATA TO MANAGERS, KEY PERSONNEL AND STAKEHOLDERS TAKING ACCOUNT OF LEGAL AND ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS How many times have you arrived at a meeting to find people saying “I did not receive the report”? Disseminating the information involves making sure that the right people get the information and in a way that they will pay attention to it. Having already profiled the audience for their needs and the most appropriate format, the key questions now are:

Who should receive the information?

What is the best medium? Electronic or hard copy?



Does it require a presentation to accompany the report?

Is there anything else that should be considered to ensure that people receive the information and pay attention to it?

What other factors should be considered in the dissemination of WHS information? Confidentiality, privacy and commercial-in-confidence issues were discussed in section 3.2 of this learning guide. The importance of ensuring that systems for disseminating information address privacy issues was highlighted in Victoria where more than 500 pages of police files on 400 people were….

“… sent to a person as a result of clerical error by a worker … in the mail dispatch area.”’

(Austin, 2005) While this example does not refer to WHS information, it is a timely reminder.

5.3 COMMUNICATE WHS INFORMATION OBJECTIVELY AND SEEK FEEDBACK Section 3.2 examined the ethics associated with entry and storage of data. The ethics of managing data also apply to the communication of information. Part of the ethics of the WHS practitioner is to be objective in the way that they approach their work, including in providing information.

Objectivity The Macquarie Dictionary (Macquarie University, 1992) defines ‘objective’ as free from personal feelings or prejudice, unbiased. John Kultgen in Ethics and Professionalism cited a number of characteristics of a professional. These characteristics included:

being objective in judgement without developing cynicism, emotional calluses or ‘burning out’;



practising the art of rational persuasion rather than assuming that they know best and pushing through their opinion on a technical task or decision; and

communicating interactively, explaining technical issues in non-technical language, and providing informed opinion about options and possible consequences.

(Kultgen, 1988) Thus objectivity, in a range of forms, is part of an ethical approach to communicating WHS information. It is also essential in ensuring that all issues, contributing factors etc are considered, rather than assuming that the interpretation of the person preparing or presenting the information is the correct and only interpretation, possibly with negative outcomes.

Feedback Are the users getting what they need? Is the analysed data and information being provided useful in meeting objectives such as to:

identify trends and make comparisons over time and across locations;

identify hazards;

prioritise risk and allocate resources;

evaluate effectiveness of risk controls;

evaluate the effectiveness of the WHS management approach and identify areas for improvement; and

support strategic planning and internal and external accountability.

Feedback from the users of the information on the usefulness and usability of the data is vital in ensuring that the objectives are being met. How would you obtain feedback? Some suggestions are:

ask the users;

conduct a survey or questionnaire;

evaluate people’s ability to accurately read and interpret graphs, tables and other presentations of data and information; and

evaluate the decision-making based on the data and information.



5.4 MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN PREVENTION STRATEGIES BASED UPON INFORMATION ACCESS AND DATA ANALYSIS Section 4.2 looked at analytical techniques for identifying areas for improvement and in section 4.3 you analysed data to identify areas for improvement. The characteristics of a professional identified by Kultgen in the previous section (5.3) included:

“… communicating interactively, explaining technical issues in non technical language, providing informed opinion about options and possible consequences.”

(Kultgen, 1988) Thus, as part of communicating the outcomes of data analysis and information, it is also part of the role of the WHS practitioner to make recommendations for prevention based on the information. The WHS risk management principles underpinning such recommendations are addressed in the following units of competency. The learning guides for these units may be accessed on the SafetyLine Institute web site.

BSBOHS403 Identify hazards and assess OHS risks.

BSBOHS404 Contribute to the implementation of strategies to control risk.

BSBOHS504 Apply principles of OHS risk management.

This does not mean that the recommendations must be implemented. WHS is ultimately a management responsibility with the role of the WHS practitioner being to facilitate and support the change process.



Competency check for Element 5 Key issues for each performance criterion in this section are as follows. 5.1 Appropriately format outcomes of information and data analysis taking account of the target audience:

The needs and skills of the internal audience are identified and considered in formatting information.

Data is presented in a range of formats to suit the nature of the data and the needs of the audience.

The format for reporting to external bodies is known and complied with as required.

5.2 Disseminate WHS information and data to managers, key personnel and stakeholders taking account of legal and ethical requirements:

Requirements for confidentiality, privacy and commercial- in-confidence are known and applied to the communication of data and information.

5.3 Communicate WHS information and data objectively and seek feedback:

Information is communicated in a way that is free from bias, personal feelings or prejudice.

Feedback is sought, using a range of strategies, on the usefulness and usability of the data and information.

5.4 Make recommendations for improvement in prevention strategies based upon information access and data analysis:

Information is explained in non-technical language together with informed information about options and possible consequences.



Case Study 6

The case study in sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 based in a small warehousing and packing company is continued here. Having set up the processes for collecting and storing health and safety data and establishing performance measures and analysis processes, it is now time to consider how the result of data analysis and information should be communicated. This issue was considered by the small representative team that developed the performance measures (the WHS performance working group).

Communicate WHS information to internal audiences

The WHS performance working group presented the results of their discussions in the following table with the proviso that the recommendations would be updated after seeking feedback from each group.

Workplace group

Information wanted/needed

Limitations Recommended format

Owners/ shareholders

Costs. Legal compliance.

Do not want too much information to read.

Summary graphs and tables.

Managers Costs. Legal compliance. Data for each workgroup.

Want as much information as they can; but do not want to have to do their own analysis.

As for owners, plus detailed analysis with graphs and tables including separate analysis for each workgroup.

Supervisors Information for their workgroup. Comparison of their workgroup against other workgroups.

Want information ’easily digestible’.

As for managers.

H & S Reps Information for their workgroup. Comparison of their workgroup against other workgroups..

Limited access to computer. Generally good literacy, prefer both graphs & numbers.

As for supervisors. Also receive own copies of bulletin for workers.

Workers Information for their workgroup.

No access to computer Some issues with numbers.

Quarterly hard copy bulletin with graphs. Feedback to be obtained on type of graphs.




Communicate WHS information to external audiences

In section 3.4 you ensured that the organisation was able to access and use forms for reporting to the WHS regulator and for workers’ compensation claims.


Activity 11


Communicate WHS information to internal audiences

1 Interview a manager, supervisor, health and safety representative and ‘shop floor’ person and make a list of:

the WHS information that they think they need to do their work; and

factors to consider when formatting or ‘packaging’ WHS information for their role.

2 Evaluate the information currently provided to these groups

against the list you have developed. 3 Select some health and safety data relevant to at least one of

these work groups and format the data in the most appropriate way for the selected work group. Ensure that you use at least one table, one bar graph and one pie chart. You may also use other formats as appropriate.

4 Seek feedback on your presentation of data. 5 Review the requirements for confidentiality, privacy and

commercial-in-confidence from section 3.2 and identify how the requirements apply to the dissemination of WHS information.

6 Use the findings from these four activities to develop

recommendations for the formatting of WHS information for internal audiences. Present your recommendations as a procedure.




Activity 12


Communicate objectively and make recommendation for improvement

Using the data presented in Activity 11 and, if required, supplementing it with other data, provide an objective commentary on the analysis of the implications of the data, using non-technical language. Based on the analysis:

identify areas for improvement;

provide options for action; and

identify advantages, disadvantages and other relevant information on the options.

Prepare a report suitable for the health and safety committee.


Element 6: REVIEW AND COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVENESS OF WHS INFORMATION AND DATA SYSTEM

You have now:

accessed health and safety data and information;

applied policies and procedures to collect data and information;

assisted in maintaining data and information management systems;

analysed data and information to identify areas for improvement; and

communicated the information to stakeholders and external bodies.

The objective of all this activity is to support a systematic approach to managing WHS, and in particular:






to evaluate the effectiveness of the WHS management approach and identify areas for improvement; and

for strategic planning and internal and external accountability. But how effective is the health and safety data and information management processes in meeting these objectives? In order to complete this element of the competency unit successfully, you will have to show that you have satisfied the following performance criteria: 6.1 Regularly review the effectiveness of the heath and safety information and data systems.



6.2 Determine frequency, method and scope of review in consultation with stakeholders. 6.3 Ensure stakeholders have input to review. 6.4 Identify areas for improvement in the WHS information and data systems and make recommendations for improvement. 6.5 Communicate improvement strategies arising from the review to appropriate levels of authority through planning, documentation and implementation.

6.1 REGULARLY REVIEW THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION AND DATA SYSTEMS Hopkins in Lessons from Longford (Hopkins, 2000) highlighted the implications of deficient health and safety data and information processes. Esso management put considerable effort into encouraging reporting of LTI/D and maintaining a low LTI/D frequency rate. However, Esso’s own records show that this measure had little meaning as there were ‘serious’ injuries, including those requiring hospital treatment, that were not recorded as LTI/D. A further measure, total recordable injuries, had similar under-reporting problems (Hopkins, 2000).

Esso also had a near miss/incident reporting system that, according to procedures would result in a thorough investigation. The system did record process upsets that impacted (or could impact) on the customer, and Lost Time Injuries/Diseases (LTI/D) were also recorded. However, overall very few incidents were recorded in the system. Incidents not reported included one just a month before the explosion that was very similar to that which led to the explosion and, at the time caused a temporary shut down of the process (Hopkins, 2000).

There was a lack of incentive to report incidents as those who reported

received no feedback on any action from their reports. (Hopkins, 2000)



Thus, one of the ‘lessons’ from Longford is that reliable, valid and accurate WHS information is essential for effective management decision-making in WHS. A systematic approach to managing WHS requires evaluating the effectiveness of every element of the system, including the data and information processes on which management decisions are made. Thus, there must be reviews of policies, objectives, targets and the achievement of management plans, together with identification of any system deficiencies and the root causes of non-conformance in the management of health and safety data and information. Monitoring should be continuous and dynamic. There should be ongoing routine surveillance of outcomes of the information; and data processes compared with expected performance supported by periodic, focused review. Factors to consider when reviewing the effectiveness of the organisation’s WHS data and information systems include:

range and nature of data collected and used;

gaps in coverage;

frequency of collection (too little? too much?);

responsibilities for collecting, analysing and reporting on data and information;

corrective action arrangements; and

effectiveness in driving improvement.

6.2 DETERMINE FREQUENCY, METHOD AND SCOPE OF REVIEW IN CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS The introduction to this element identified that review of the health and safety data and information processes requires ongoing evaluation of policies, objectives, targets, and the achievement of management plans, together with identification of any system deficiencies and the root causes of non-conformance. While there should be processes for ‘ongoing’ monitoring, a pragmatic and good practice approach is to have a more in-depth review at regular intervals.



Frequency It was noted in section 4.2 that if data is sampled over too short a time frame, then random fluctuations affect the data. There is also the question of efficient use of resources for data collection and analysis as part of the systematic management of WHS. The following factors should be considered in determining the frequency for collecting and analysing data:

Aligning the collection of data with planned time frames for achieving strategic milestones.

The time frame for either positive or negative changes to occur (ie, prescribed inspection periods for plant, the time over which a workplace system might develop weaknesses).

The need to initiate a response to failures, such as injuries.

The relative importance, or level of risk, of an activity (ie, flammable gas levels).

Legislative requirements for periodic monitoring.

The frequency and time at which a particular activity occurs (ie, to allow for night activity or shut down periods).

To detect and respond to evidence of non-compliance. (Alternatively, the frequency of monitoring may be reduced on evidence of compliance.)

Modified from Health and Safety Executive (2001)

Method The review may involve:

internal or external audits of the process;

evaluation against pre-determined performance criteria; and

qualitative feedback from stakeholders, key personnel and WHS and risk management advisers.

While an audit is likely to be part of a review of the effectiveness of health and safety data and information processes, the limitations of audits in evaluating effectiveness should be acknowledged.



Where an audit is used as a tool in the review it is vital that the role of the audit is clear and agreed to by all who may use or rely on its outcomes. AS/NZS 4804 states that audits are necessary to:

“…determine whether the system (including the organisation’s policy, objectives and targets, management program, operational controls and audit program), has been properly implemented and maintained and whether the organisation has met the performance objectives set within its OHS policy.”

This definition does NOT state that the audit is an assessment of the effectiveness of the management approach (in this case the management of health and safety data and information). This difference is not usually appreciated by those who conduct the audit or rely on the outcomes of the audit. The assumption is often that a good report on the audit equals good management of the function. WHS audits, including audits of elements of the WHS management approach, are differentiated from quality-style audits by the need for:

the auditor to possess adequate, if not advanced, knowledge of safety management and/or technology and WHS legislation;

the auditor to formally interview a reasonable sample of people and examine WHS conditions, in addition to examining documentation;

a multidisciplinary team to cover key items; and

all evidence which may be significant to be considered. (Gallagher et al., 2001; Waring, 1996)



Scope The scope of the review should be defined at the outset. It may be that the review applies to a defined area of the organisation, type of data, or an aspect of the health and safety data and information management system. On at least some occasions, the review should be broad enough in scope to address the overall WHS risk management implications and effectiveness of the WHS data and information management system. The scope should be sufficient to enable system deficiencies and root causes of deficiencies to be identified.

Criteria What criteria will be used to determine the effectiveness of the health and safety data and information management system and to identify when improvement is required? Inadequate or inappropriate criteria and process for measurement and evaluation of the effectiveness of the health and safety data and information management systems not only means that opportunities for improvement are lost; but there may also be false complacency with possibly disastrous results.



6.3 ENSURE STAKEHOLDERS HAVE INPUT TO REVIEW Review of the effectiveness of any WHS management process is a management responsibility, but there should be input from all areas and all levels of the organisation. A checklist of the people who should be involved in such reviews is given below.

PEOPLE WHO MAY BE INVOLVED IN EVALUATING WHS

PERFORMANCE Stakeholders − those people or organisations who may be affected by, or perceive themselves to be affected by, an activity or decision. Stakeholders in workplace WHS include: managers and supervisors health and safety and other workers representatives health and safety committees workers and contractors the community. Key personnel are: people who are involved in WHS decision-making or who are

affected by decisions. WHS technical advisors are persons providing specific technical knowledge or expertise in areas related to WHS and may include: risk managers health professionals injury management advisors legal practitioners with experience in WHS engineers (such as design, acoustic, mechanical, civil) security and emergency response personnel workplace trainers and assessors maintenance and trade persons. OHS specialists are persons who specialise in one of the many disciplines that make up WHS including: safety professionals and occupational health professionals ergonomists occupational hygienists audiologists and toxicologists safety engineers.



6.4 IDENTIFY AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN THE HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION AND DATA SYSTEMS AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT The processes outlined above will result in areas for improvement being identified. The next step is to develop recommendations and document actions to implement the improvements.

6.5 COMMUNICATE IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES ARISING FROM THE REVIEW TO APPROPRIATE LEVELS OF AUTHORITY THROUGH PLANNING, DOCUMENTATION AND IMPLEMENTATION The effectiveness of the health and safety data and information system is ultimately a management responsibility. Therefore, the recommendations must be communicated to management. Section 5.3 noted the importance of objectivity in reporting and seeking input on recommendations to ensure that all relevant matters and information are considered before deciding on an improvement strategy. Stakeholders and key personnel will be included in the communication processes. Planning for improvement needs to be systematic. An action plan will list the required actions, the persons responsible and target time frames. The recommendations must also be communicated to assist action. A structured action plan with responsibilities and time frames is a vital tool here. To ensure implementation of the improvements, achievement against the action plan should be monitored on a regular basis.



Competency check for Element 6 Key issues for each performance criterion in this section are as follows. 6.1 Regularly review the effectiveness of the health and safety information and data systems:

The need to review the health and safety information and data system is identified.

6.2 Determine frequency, method and scope of review in consultation with stakeholders:

Monitoring includes routine surveillance supported by periodic, focused review.

Frequency of review takes account of the time frame for deficiencies to develop and the relative impact of the deficiencies.

Scope of the review enables system deficiencies and root causes of deficiencies to be identified.

Methodology and criteria for review provides valid and reliable information on the effectiveness of the health and safety data and information management processes.

6.3 Ensure stakeholders have input to review:

Input is actively sought from stakeholders, key personnel and specialist advisors.

Input is given due consideration in the review.



6.4 Identify areas for improvement in the health and safety information and data systems and make recommendations for improvement:

Specific recommendations are made to address areas for improvement.

6.5 Communicate improvement strategies arising from the review to appropriate levels of authority through planning, documentation and implementation:

Action plans clearly define required actions, level of responsibility and target date.

Implementation of action plans is monitored.



Activity 13


Review health and safety data and information processes

Your organisation is planning a major review of its health and safety data and information processes and wants to undertake an audit as part of the review. You have been asked to prepare a document detailing how the audit should be undertaken. You have been briefed that you are to ensure the audit gives a true assessment of the status and effectiveness of the health and safety data and information processes. It is not to be a compliance audit against a management systems standard, nor is it a quality audit. You have some flexibility in how this document is developed but it is to address: scope of audit; performance measures or indicators (but not the development

of the detailed audit tool); who should conduct the audit; who should be involved or consulted as part of the audit; and strategies for collecting information. Develop this document and prepare a covering memo to your manager. The memo should introduce the document and also address any limitations or other comments on the use of the document and progressing the audit.



REFERENCES

Accident Compensation Act, Victoria, (1985).

Austin, P. (2005, August 9th 2005). Police files: privacy chief called in. The Age, p. 1.

Gallagher, C., Underhill, E., & Rimmer, M. (2001). Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems: A review of their effectiveness in securing healthy and safe workplaces. Sydney: Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC.

Health and Safety Executive. (2001). A guide to measuring health and safety performance. London.

Health Records Act, Victoria, (2001).

Hopkins, A. (2000). Lessons from Longford: The ESSO gas plant explosion. Sydney: CCH Australia.

Hopkins, A. (2004). Safety, Culture and Risk. Sydney: CCH Australia. Information Privacy Act, Victoria, (2000).

Jenkins, K. (2004). Privacy and OHS records, personal communication. In P. Pryor (Ed.). Melbourne: Freehills.

Kramer, D. (2000). What gets measured gets done; The healthy workplace scorecard: Institute for Work and Health.

Kultgen, J. (1988). Ethics and Professionalism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Macquarie University. (1992). The Macquarie Dictionary. Sydney, NSW: Macquarie University.

Martin, P., & Pierce, R. (1994). Practical statistics for the health sciences. Ballarat: Nelson.

Minerals Council of Australia. (no date). Positive performance measures - A practical guide.

Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, (1994). Positive Performance Indicators − Beyond Lost Time injuries. Retrieved 15/08/2004, from http://nohsc.gov.au


http://nohsc.gov.au/


Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, (1999). OHS Performance in the Construction Industry − Development of Positive Performance Measures. Retrieved 16-03-2005, from http://www.nohsc.gov.au/statistics/ohsperfmeasurement.htm

Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, (2003). Compendium of Workers' Compensation Statistics 2001-2002. Canberra:

Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, (2004a). Guidance on OHS Reporting in Annual Reports. Retrieved 22nd August 2005, 2005, from http://www.nohsc.gov.au

Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, (2004b). Statistics Report; Priority Industry; Construction. Retrieved 16th August 2005, 2005, from http://www.nohsc.gov.au

Safe Work Australia, formerly ASCC/NOHSC, (2004c, 2004). Type of Occurrence Classification System. Retrieved 29th July 2005, from http://www.nohsc.gov.au/PDF/Statistics/TOOCS3.pdf

National Research Centre for OHS Regulation. (2004, June 2004). Key cases. Regulation at work, 3, 17.

Privacy Act (Cwth), (1998).

Ruschena, L. (2005). One more time − How do you measure OHS performance? unpublished paper.

Standards Australia. (1990). AS 1885.1 Workplace injury and disease recording standard. Sydney: Australian Standards.

Standards Australia. (1999). AS3806-1998 Compliance programs. Sydney: Standards Australia.

Standards Australia. (2001a). AS4801-2000: Occupational health and safety management systems − specification with guidance for use. Sydney: Standards Australia.

Standards Australia. (2001b). AS/NZS 4804 Occupational Health and safety management systems − General guidance on principles, systems and supporting techniques. Sydney: Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand.

Surveillance Devices Act, Victoria, (1999).

Victorian Law Reform Commission. (2004). Workplace Privacy − Options Paper. Melbourne: Victorian Law Reform Commission.

Victorian WorkCover Authority. (2003a). Privacy laws and the rights of WorkSafe Inspectors to information. Retrieved 26th November 2004, 2004, from http://www.workcover.vic.gov.au


http://www.nohsc.gov.au/statistics/ohsperfmeasurement.htm



http://www.nohsc.gov.au/PDF/Statistics/TOOCS3.pdf



Victorian WorkCover Authority. (2003b). Privacy laws and the rights on health and safety representatives to information. Retrieved 26th November 2004, 2004, from http://www.workcover.vic.gov.au

Victorian WorkCover Authority. (2003c). WorkCover crackdown on lodgement of claim forms. Retrieved 4th August 2005, 2005, from http://workcover.vic.gov.au

Waring, A. (1996). Safety Management Systems. London: Chapman & Hall.



http://workcover.vic.gov.au/


On-line unit test questions

As a final Activity, check your understanding of managing health and safety information and data systems by answering the on-line test questions for the unit, which you can access at the SafetyLine Institute: www.safetyline.wa.gov.au/institute The test questions have been taken from the Readings for this unit as well as from this learning guide. Keep a copy of your student record in your Assessment Portfolio as evidence you have correctly answered the on-line test questions. Please note that you may be further questioned about the test questions during your Assessment Interview.


http://www.safetyline.wa.gov.au/institute


Integrated project

Keep a copy of this Project for your Assessment Portfolio. By completing the Activities, you have undertaken the actions necessary to demonstrate the management of health and safety information and data systems. While each Activity has to be individually identifiable for assessment purposes, you should also present them in a way that provides an integrated report for your workplace and demonstrates that you can manage health and safety information and data systems. This will also give you the opportunity to check that you have provided evidence that you have:

the required knowledge and understanding; and

the required skills and abilities, which are outlined in the Introduction to this unit.

You should ensure that you integrate evidence of the required knowledge and skills into your report.

Summative presentation In addition to the written report, you are required to make an oral presentation to a workgroup (or a simulated workgroup), on the health and safety data and information management processes that you have applied and the outcomes. You may select the format and approach that you consider is most appropriate to the workgroup, but you should take account of the Project Review Checklist that will be used to assess you.



ASSESSMENT

Assessment portfolio from learning guide For BSBOHS502B – Participate in the management of the OHS information and data systems. Note to participant Any documentation provided as evidence must be prepared by you to a satisfactory standard and be in accordance with workplace procedures. When collecting material for your assessment portfolio, please ensure that the confidentiality of colleagues, workers and other persons is protected, and block out any sensitive information. If you have any doubts regarding confidentiality issues, contact the organisation concerned. Participant’s name: _______________________________

Date: _______________________________

the box when you complete an activity from the Learning

Guide. Add the material from the activity to your assessment portfolio.

Activity 1 Access workplace sources of health and safety data

Activity 2 Access external sources of health and safety information

Activity 3 Evaluate information for accuracy, currency and relevance

Activity 4 Identify legal requirements for collecting workplace data and information


BSBOHS502A PARTICIPATE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF OHS INFORMATION AND DATA SYSTEMS


Assessment portfolio from learning guide (cont.)

Activity 5 Review procedures for collecting health and safety information and data and advise managers of the records required for legal compliance

Activity 6 Make recommendations for storing health and safety data

Activity 7 Develop a code of ethical practice for managing health and safety information and data

Activity 8 Conduct a training needs analysis for the health and safety information and data system

Activity 9 Develop WHS performance measures

Activity 10 Recognise and apply appropriate analytical techniques

Activity 11 Communicate WHS information to internal audiences

Activity 12 Communicate objectively and make recommendations for improvement

Activity 13 Review health and safety data and information processes

On-line test questions

Integrated project and presentation

Note: Attach a copy of this document to your assessment portfolio, so that your assessor can see you have completed all the activities. Assessor’s signature:

Date:



Project review checklist For BSBOHS502B – Participate in the management of the OHS information and data systems. Participant’s name: _______________________________

Date: _______________________________

the box if the learner has completed the following:

Presented a written report detailing at least three examples of the application of the health and safety data and information processes.

Gave a summary oral presentation to a workgroup (or a simulated workgroup), that summarised the health and safety data and information management process applied and explained the how the following knowledge underpins this process:

Internal and external sources of health and safety information and data.

Legislative requirements for WHS record-keeping and reporting, including serious injury and incident notification and privacy requirements.

Legislative requirements and roles and responsibilities for providing WHS information and for consultation.

Methods of providing evidence of compliance with WHS legislation.

Nature of information and data that provides valid and reliable results on performance of WHS management processes.

Methods of collecting reliable information and data, commonly encountered problems in collection and strategies for overcoming such problems.

Ethics related to professional practice and professional liability in relation to providing advice.

Organisational culture and language, literacy and cultural profile of the workgroup as it relates to information and data collection and dissemination.

Assessor’s Signature: _________________________________ Date: ___________________________


Third party (manager/mentor) report For BSBOHS502B – Participate in the management of the OHS information and data systems. Note to participant Where possible you should have an WHS practitioner as a mentor to assist in developing your practical skills and applying your knowledge. Your manager is also an important source of feedback on your competence, although from a different perspective.

The assessor will arrange to meet with you and your mentor, coach or manager to discuss completion of the third party report. The third party report will support integrated assessment of this unit.

The mentor, coach or manager is required to provide the Assessor with any relevant information. This report will be forwarded by the Assessor to the candidate for inclusion in their assessment portfolio.

The following list of questions is provided as the basis for a checklist for you and your mentor, coach or manager. Where you have both mentor and manager, separate forms should be completed.

The checklist has been designed to reflect the performance criteria and to collect information about your demonstration of competence in the workplace. The assessor may use additional questions to address any need for supplementary evidence to support your competence.

Checklist

Did the Candidate satisfactorily: Yes No

1.1 Identify, access and regularly review relevant sources of health and safety information and data?

1. Access sources of information and data

1.2 Critically evaluate information and data to ensure its accuracy, currency and relevance?





1.3 Determine appropriate formats for information and data storage and retrieval?

Comments:

2.1 Inform managers and key personnel of legal requirements for information and data collection and record-keeping?

2.2 Keep health and safety records using appropriate tools?

2.3 Collect workplace information and data according to established procedures?

2. Assist in the application of policies and procedures for collection of workplace information, data and records

2.4 Regularly review procedures for information and data collection, record-keeping, amendments to legislation and distribution of records to ensure their usability?

Comments:

3.1 Make recommendations for storage of health and safety information and data, for it to be accessible to stakeholders and key personnel?

3.2 Accurately enter and store ethically, information, data and records?

3.3 Identify purposes and appropriate uses of health and safety information and data for meaningful outcomes?

3. Assist in maintaining an information and data management system that enables retrieval and distribution of health and safety information and data 3.4 Accurately meet legislated

reporting requirements to external bodies within time limits?



3.5 Regularly assess, and action as appropriate, training needs for appropriate personnel relevant to the management of the information and data system?

3.6 Regularly evaluate information and data management system to ensure its ease of use and relevance to the WHS needs of the organisation?

Comments:

4.1 Evaluate information and data collected for validity and reliability?

4.2 Identify analytical techniques appropriate for evaluation of WHS performance (including positive performance indicators) and areas for improvement?

4.3 Apply analytical techniques appropriately and accurately?

4. Participate in the analysis of information and data to identify trends and actions for prevention

4.4 Regularly review health and safety information and data analysis processes, in consultation with stakeholders, to ensure organisational and legislative requirements?

Comments:

5.1 Appropriately format outcomes of information and data analysis taking account of the target audience?

5. Communicate WHS information and results of data analysis to stakeholders and external bodies

5.2 Disseminate WHS information and data to managers, key personnel and stakeholders, taking account of legal and ethical requirements?





5.3 Communicate health and safety information and data objectively, and seek feedback?

5.4 Make recommendations for improvement in prevention strategies based upon information accessed and data analysis?

Comments:

6.1 Review regularly the effectiveness of the health and safety information and data system?

6.2 Determine, in consultation with stakeholders, the frequency, method and scope of review?

6.3 Ensure stakeholders had input to the review?

6.4 Identify areas for improvement in the health and safety information and data system, and make recommendations for improvement?

6. Communicate the effectiveness of health and safety information and data systems through monitoring and evaluation

6.5 Communicate improvement strategies arising from the review to appropriate levels of authority through planning, documentation and implementation?

Comments:


Comments: further comments by assessor (if required)

Keep a record of the following:

Name of person completing checklist:

Background/ experience in topic (if any)

Date:

Relationship to person being assessed (tick)

Mentor/coach for

Months

Manager for

Months

Other Months

(explain)

Team Manager/Mentor’s Signature: _______________________

Assessor’s Signature: _____________________________

Date: ______________________________




Skills checklist For BSBOHS502B – Participate in the management of the OHS information and data systems.

Candidate’s name

Assessor’s name

Work activity Health and safety information and data

Unit of competency For BSBOHS502B – Participate in the management of the OHS information and data systems

Location

Instructions:

The candidate undertakes management of health and safety data and information (may be simulated).

During management of health and safety data and information did the candidate demonstrate or provide evidence of the following abilities:

Yes No

Access internal and external information and data on health and safety?

Produce effective graphical representations of workplace information and data?

Carry out simple arithmetical calculations (eg, percentage change), and produce graphs of workplace information and data to identify trends and recognise limitations of data?

Analyse relevant workplace information and data and correlate with observations of workplace tasks and interactions between people, their activities, equipment, environment and systems of work?

Prepare reports for a range of target groups including health and safety committee, health and safety representatives, managers and supervisors, using language and literacy skills appropriate to the workgroup and task?


During management of health and safety data and information did the candidate demonstrate or provide evidence of the following abilities:

Yes No

Employ consultation and negotiation skills, particularly in relation to developing plans and implementing and monitoring designated actions?

Manage own tasks within a time frame and apply project management skills to achieve change?

Use language and literacy skills appropriate to the workgroup and the task?

Apply continuous improvement and action planning processes to contribute to the performance of the management of health and safety information and data?

Contribute to the assessment of the resources needed to systematically manage health and safety information and data and, where appropriate, access resources?

The candidate’s overall performance met the standard:

Yes No

Comments/observations:

Assessor’s signature

Candidate’s signature

Date of assessment




Interview questions For BSBOHS502B – Participate in the management of the OHS information and data systems. Note to participant The questions listed below cover the performance criteria for this unit and support your required knowledge and skills. The assessor can add to or modify these questions to suit the particular context.

Candidate’s name

Assessor’s name

Work activity Health and safety information and data

Unit of competency For BSBOHS502B – Participate in the management of the OHS information and data systems

Location

Instructions:

The candidate is required to provide verbal answers (using examples where possible) to the following questions that will be asked by the assessor. It is suggested that the interview should be a ‘conversation’. The interviewer should be prepared to insert his or her own questions to explore weaknesses, or other queries, that arise during the ‘conversation’.

Did the candidate satisfactorily answer the following questions?

Yes No

1. In your workplace, have you been involved in managing the collection, storage and retrieval of health and safety information and data?

What sources of information outside the workplace did you access? How did you evaluate the accuracy and relevance of the information?

What types of data from inside the workplace were collected?

How was the data collected in the workplace?

What strategies were used to maximise the validity and reliability of the workplace data collected?

What ethical and practical issues were considered in determining the procedures and format for entering and storing data?

Who did you talk to in determining the procedures and format for entering and storing data?

How did you ensure that legal requirements for maintaining records were addressed?



Did the candidate satisfactorily answer the following questions?

Yes No

2 Have you been involved in analysing and formatting data to identify trends and areas for improvement?

What types of data did you analyse? How did you evaluate the validity and reliability of

the data? What statistical techniques did you use? Who was the target audience for the information? What types of formats did you use to display the

data?

3 How were managers and key personnel advised of the legal requirements for collecting WHS information and record-keeping?

4 In communicating the resultant information, how did you ensure that:

all those who needed the information, or had a right to the information, received it?

legal and ethical issues were addressed in the dissemination?

the information communicated, and the format used, met the needs?

5 How was the information used in improving WHS?

6 What did you learn during the management of health and safety information and data?

Did you encounter any problems in managing the collection, storage, analysis and dissemination of health and safety data and information? How did you overcome these problems?

Were WHS specialists involved in the management of health and safety information and data? How was it decided either to involve, or not involve, WHS specialists?

What were the key points that you learned? What would you do differently next time?

The candidate’s required knowledge was satisfactory:

Notes/Comments:

Assessor’s signature

Candidate’s signature

Date of assessment

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