OHS Changes and how to Embrace the Risks A call to action

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Mike Boyd QBE Workers Compensation, OHS & Risk Management Consultant

17th November 2012

OHS Changes and how to Embrace the RisksA call to action

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Session Outline

1. Safe or Not? An introduction

2. The nature of OHS changes• Law & financial risks• Enforcement

3. How to embrace risk• Law, enforcement & financial changes• Workplace risks• Key processes• Resources

OHS Changes and how to Embrace the Risks

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Mobile LibrariesSafe or Not?


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Safe or Not? – My first thoughts...

OHS Changes and how to Embrace Risks

Image courtesy of dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Isolated workers

Fatigue

Slips & trips

Heavy vehicles – road accidents

Moving books – back injuries

Stress

Assaults

Computer workstations – wrist injuries

Electrical connection - falls

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Safe or Not? – My first thoughts… ‘Very risky’


Isol

ated

wor

kers

Fatig

ueSlips & trips

Heavy

vehic

les –

road a

ccide

nts

Moving books – back injuriesStre

ss

Assaults

Computer workstations

– wrist injuriesElectrical connection - falls

Image courtesy of dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Safe or Not? – I had a closer look


1. Statistics

2. Googling mobile library safety

3. Visited a modern mobile library in action

4. Discussion with two experienced operators

5. Discussion with mobile library manager

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1. Statistics





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Statistics


1. Statistics

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1. Statistics





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2. Googling

Found good resources!

Specifications and guidance re. safe mobile libraries and services

Did not find many examples of risky mobile libraries

All good so far!


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1. Statistics





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Looking good


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Looking a lot better than this…


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1. Statistics





15 15 OHS Changes and how to Embrace the Risks

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Discussions

1. About 40 years experience in total at the meeting

2. OHS has improved dramatically over the years

3. Good vehicles were a major part of that

4. Neither the mobile library staff or the operators had any OHS issues


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Safe or Not? – Looking good so far…


1. Statistics





18 18 OHS Changes and how to Embrace the Risks

But…

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OHS Changes1. Law & financial risks


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Our world has changed –

Heavy emphasis on Work Health and Safety

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Changes to OHS law

‘National’ legislation

• Adopted, or soon to be adopted in › QLD, › NSW, › ACT, › SA, › Tas

• Not adopted in› WA› Vic - However, Vic. OHS law is

similar to the new legislation


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Coverage

Mobile libraries are workplaces

People covered• Employees• Independent contractors• Apprentices• Volunteers• Outworkers• Trainees• Readers


What does it mean for me?

• Action to ensure volunteers, and readers are safe in my library

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Category 1 Fines*

Penalties for breaches of duty of care are based on the degree of ‘culpability’ and risk / degree of harm

Corporation Individual as PCBU or officer Individual eg. worker

$3 m $600 k $300 k5 yrs jail 5 yrs jail

* For the most serious cases. If the person is reckless as to risk of death or serious injury to an individual.

Increased fines for corporations, officers & individuals


Image: Tim Pearce, Los Gatos‘ Used under a Creative Commons Licence

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Increased fines for corporations, officers & individuals


OHS compliance is a personal matter for officers of corporations, with large fines.

More emphasis on OHS

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Directors and Officers – New Duty - Active Due Diligence

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Directors and Officers – New Duty - Active Due Diligence



For example:• procedures• inspections and audits• documentation• reporting• timely incident response

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Another financial risk – workers compensation premium increases

Note: Illustrative figures only. Actual impact will vary for each Council

Council’s workers compensation premium*

2012 2013 2014 2015470,000

480,000

490,000

500,000

510,000

520,000

530,000

540,000

550,000

No ClaimOne Claim

One claim could cost Council $150,000 in increased premium

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Another financial risk – workers compensation premium increases


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Costs

Accident Settlement Prompts Tax Hike and Loss of Bookmobile ServicesOrland Park (Ill.) Public Library has indefinitely parked its bookmobile as the result of a recent $8.5-million personal injury settlement stemming from a December 2001 traffic accident that left an Orland Township man severely brain-damaged

Source: https://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2005abc/march2005ab/settlement.cfm

Which would not happen here. The scary part is that due to the cost, Orland Park Mayor Daniel McLaughlin has asked the library to sell the bookmobile. “We’re suggesting that they just get out of that business altogether,” he said

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OHS Changes2. Enforcement


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“Telling your workers to ‘be careful’ isn’t going to cut it,” WorkSafe Victoria’s Executive Director for Health and Safety Ian Forsyth said after the prosecution of an employer over the death of a worker.

The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court has fined the owner of a building company $30,000 after a man fell 3 metres to his death

Forsyth said - “The take-home message here is clear – if you’re responsible for a workplace, you need to be actively looking for hazards every day and taking steps to eliminate them.”

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You have mail!

Image: CC BY-ND 2.0Rupert Ganzer Flickr 2006

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Enforcement - Reckless endangerment – fatality, fines and gaol

The factsOrbit Drilling employed Bradley Alford to drive a Mack truck.• Had a trucking licence for just over two weeks • Was to reverse the Mack truck onto a drilling pad located at the top of a steep hill. • Off-road manoeuvre• Not supervised• The truck gained speed causing it to lose control and roll over at the bottom of the slope. • Mr Bradley was thrown from the truck cabin, and was subsequently crushed underneath the truck and died.

Image: CC BY 2.0 2006Steve Wilson

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Orbit Drilling employed Bradley Alford to drive a Mack truck. Mr Alford had held his trucking licence for just over two weeks prior to the incident…


The fines

Company fined $750,000 Director fined $120,000 Supervisor sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for three years,


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For example:• procedures• inspections and audits• documentation• reporting• timely incident response



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How to embrace risk1. Law, enforcement & financial changes


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How to embrace the law, enforcement and financial changes

Short answer

1. Support processes designed to eliminate or reduce risk as far as is reasonably practicable.

2. Put the major effort into the major risks.


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Basic actions

1. Take reasonable care for your own health and

safety; and

2. take reasonable care that your acts or omissions

do not adversely affect the health and safety of

other persons; and

3. comply, so far as reasonably able, with any

reasonable instruction

4. co-operate with any reasonable policy or

procedure.

Source: Model National OHS Act


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Risk Ninja’s

Become a leaderBecome a ‘Risk Ninja!’ – supporting the daily fight against risk


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Easy to say, but…

The easy way is so attractive!

This mobile library has a chute in the side that can be used to load boxes of books.

However the quick way to load/unload is to move 2 boxes via the stairs.

Given that slips, trips and falls are a major library risk, is this a good idea?


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Being proactive – weapons for the fight

1. Risk management process

2. Communication & consultation


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Recognising the enemy


WorkSafe claims report for this conference. Library workers’ compensation claims FYE 2001 to 2011

Manual handling Slips, trips & falls

Stress Being hit by moving objects

050

100150200250300

No. of claims in 11 Years - Libraries93% of claims for libraries are from these cat-

egories

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Lifting, carrying & putting down

objects

Pushing & pulling

Repetitive movement

Postural0

20406080

100120140

Manual handling claims – Moving objects accounts for 70% of these

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* Technically less than or equal to 2 claims over the 11 years that this data represents46



Vehicl

e Acc

idents

Assau

lts

Burns a

nd el

ectric

al

Chemica

l & bi

ologic

al02468

10

Interestingly – about 1 claim associated with a vehicle accident per year, and no* assaults

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Recognising the enemy - Summary

1. Lifting and carrying objects

2. Pushing and pulling objects

3. Slips, trips and falls and

4. Vehicle accidents (very rare, but very costly)


Data and observations suggest you are doing a great job

The likely major enemies remaining to be attacked further are as follows

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Risk Management Process

1. Identify the risk

2. Assess the risk

3. Control the risk

4. Review the control

Must be done in consultation with management


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Step 1 - Identifying risk

Some examples of methods used to identify risk

1. Observation

2. Inspections

3. Checklists

4. Discussion


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Risk identification examples

Risk OutcomeMobile library leans towards the curb – older, new, reader enters the library, loses balance and falls

Breaks hip

Moving full boxes of books from storage to the mobile library

Back strain

Footpath works at normal parking spot – readers may trip

Broken limbs

Driving in heavy rain – vision restricted, road slippery

Traffic accident


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Step 2 - Risk Assessment – Setting priorities

This matrix can be used to work out what is high, medium and low risk.

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Step 2 – Risk Assessment Examples


Risk Outcome RiskLevel

Mobile library leans towards the curb – older, new, reader enters the library, loses balance and falls

Breaks hip Medium


Back strain High


Broken limbs Low


Traffic accident Medium

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Step 3 - Controlling risks


Provide personal protective equipment

Introduce administrative controls

Engineer out the problem

Eliminate the hazard or risk

Step 3 - Control the Hazard!

How can risks be controlled?The best solutions are at the top of the listSometimes we use more than on of these types of controls

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Step 2 – Risk Assessment Examples


Risk Outcome RiskLevel

Risk Control

Mobile library leans towards the curb – older, new, reader enters the library, loses balance and falls

Breaks hip Medium Self levelling


Back strain High Procedure – boxes only to be half filled


Broken limbs Low Procedure to alert operators before leave base & to arrange an alternate location


Traffic accident Medium Procedure - Cancel service for the day?

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Step 4 – Reviewing risk controls


Risk control measures must be reviewed and if necessary revised to maintain a safe work environment.

This includes when:

1. the control measure does not work

2. before a change occurs that may create a new risk

3. a new relevant hazard or risk is identified

4. the results of consultation required under the laws indicate that a review is necessary

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Other key risk reducing weapons - Consultation and Communication


Your Council’s will probably have health and safety management systems – these need information in order to work.

Risk Ninja’s can help with the battle against injury and illness by:

1. communicating about risks that they discover and

2. discussing the risk level and suggesting risk control measures and

3. reviewing current risk controls and suggesting improvements

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Mobile LibrariesRisk Resources


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Risk Resources


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Mobile library OHS related resources 1

From: Beyond a Quality Service: Strengthening the Social Fabric Standards and Guidelines for Australian Public Libraries, 2nd ed 2012 www.alia.org.au/publiclibraries

Has general guidelines on mobile libraries, presented in Section G 12 and in Section 4.2 should be used in conjunction with the detailed guidance to be found in the following resources:

Country Public Libraries Group (Victoria) 2005, Health and safety in a mobile library; guidelines for staff:Issue no. 2, prepared by ARK Consulting Group, August 2005: www.libraries.vic.gov.au/downloads/Country_Public_Libraries_Group/health_and_safety_in_a_mobile_library_v3.doc

Country Public Libraries Group (Victoria) 2005, Mobile libraries occupational health and safety checklist.Issue no. 2, prepared by ARK Consulting Group, August 2005: http://www.libraries.vic.gov.au/downloads/Country_Public_Libraries_Group/mobile_libraries_ohs_checklist_v3.doc

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions 2010, Mobile library guidelines. Revision bya working group of the IFLA Public Libraries Section, co-ordinated by Ian Stringer. IFLA Headquarters, 2010(IFLA professional report no 123).


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Mobile library OHS related resources 2

Beyond a Quality Service: Strengthening the Social Fabric Standards and Guidelines for Australian Public Libraries, 2nd ed 2012www.alia.org.au/publiclibraries

Department for Victorian Communities 2003, Taking services into the future; a manual for country libraryservices. Prepared by John Liddle, JL Management Services, August 2003:http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/38049/0806-53TakingServicesFuturePart1.Pdf

mobile libraries.com.au: http://www.mobilelibraries.com.au/- This mobile libraries site provides guidance in developing and managing mobile library services inAustralia, and fosters networking among mobile library operators. Mobile librarians are encouragedto share their experiences, knowledge and tips.

State Library of Queensland 2009, Mobile libraries standard (Queensland Public Library Standards andGuidelines), June 2009: http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/146262/SLQ_-_Mobile_libraries_standard_June_2009.pdf


http://www.alia.org.au/publiclibraries

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General OHS Resources

The OHS authority for your state or territory. These are listed on the following page of the Safe Work Australia’s website.http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/AboutSafeWorkAustralia/WhoWeWorkWith/StateAndTerritoryAuthorities/Pages/StateAndTerritoryAuthorities.aspx

Safe Work Australia - numerous, codes of practice and guidance notes that relate to the new harmonised Work Health and Safety legislation that has been adopted by most states. http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/AboutSafeWorkAustralia/Whatwedo/Publications/Pages/Publication.aspx

A good starting point is Safe Work’s ‘MANAGING RISKS TO HEALTH AND SAFETY AT THE WORKPLACE FACT SHEET’


http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/AboutSafeWorkAustralia/Whatwedo/Publications/Pages/Publication.aspx



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Mobile LibrariesSummary


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1. Risk class: ‘Low Frequency / High Severity’

2. Increased risk for Council management & staff from new OHS laws

3. Need to maintain the communication, consultation and hazard management processes required for legal compliance.

4. Low rate of claims but potential for big claim costs & premium increases

5. Non employee personnel; eg. readers & volunteers safety important

6. Manual handling, slips, trips and falls, and driving safety risks remain

Summary


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The challenge


You have been doing a good job, but the risk environment has changed

It is time to bring out your inner ‘Risk Ninja’ and take mobile library risk management to a new level.

I expect that you are up to the challenge

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Questions & answers


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Mike BoydQBE OHS & Risk Management Consultant+61 3 9246 [email protected] http://www.qbe.com.au/Workers-Compensation/Insurance.html

Thank you

OHS Changes and how to Embrace the Risks A call to action

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