Job Start Risk Assessments

NECA maintains a range of pre-prepared SWMSs that have the advantage of being tested and proven over time with extensive industry input, review and improvement through ongoing consultation and feedback to assist you in getting you SWMS prepared in collaboration with your workers. As indicated, issues that are specific to the worksite (including any WHS management plan, rules or circumstances at the workplace that may affect the way the work is carried out) can be recorded in a risk assessment prepared for the relevant work. The documented risk assessment then forms part of the SWMS for that job. On longer term jobs such as on building sites it may be better to combine this information into the SWMS.

All workers involved in the work tasks are expected to be familiar with all the requirements and control measures of the SWMSs that apply to their normal activities – this is completed via consultation with the worker in the preparation of the SWMS. If a worker does not fully understand the requirements outlines within the SWMS being utilised, they should stop the work task and seek clarification from their supervisor or manager.

A SWMS must be reviewed and, if necessary, revised whenever there are changes to the HRCW task or if there is an indication that control measures are not adequately controlling the risks, including after any incident that occurs during HRCW

SWMS’s don’t need to be in the immediate work area but a fully completed working copy of the SWMS’s being utilised for the work task and other such material should be readily accessible to those workers for review, referencing or amending as may be required for the duration of the task.

Your employer may maintain a range of safe work procedures that have been developed over many years. They identify safe work practices and provide effective controls for many common workplace activities within our industry and help to create and maintain a safe workplace.

These procedures have been most effective in communicating to the skilled workers actually doing the work, suitable safety standards and safe work practices. They identify the sequence of task steps for work activities and appropriate risk control measures. The SWPs may be more detailed than the SWMSs, but the information and controls in the SWPs should be clear and succinct and must be consistent with the SWMSs relevant to the job.

SWPs assist in providing you with information and instruction; and should be confirmed as suitable for the task at hand, you need to understand the requirements and be competent in their use.

If you have any concerns then talk with your supervisor.

The Start Right is an informal process in which an individual or a group pause and take time to consider potential OH&S aspects of the work activities prior to them being performed. It is not always documented.

The supervisor or technician in charge of the work at hand is responsible for ensuring that this process is undertaken prior to commencing any task, without exception.

The S.T.A.R.T. Acronym within the S.T.A.R.T. Right… process means:

STOP – step back & observe

THINK – through the task

ASSESS – the hazards, pathways and impacts

REVIEW – and document findings if required

TALK – it through and complete the task

A Start Right can be used without completing additional risk assessment (HRA) forms when:

The tasks are already identified in the safety management system and there are completed established pre-written risk assessments covering the work and the workers are inducted into those procedures
The task is performed regularly or frequently
The task is performed by experienced, qualified personnel
No significant or unusual hazards are involved
The work is straightforward with relatively little complexity for the worker
Occurs in a relatively predictable environment
Has a history of relatively few and/or generally minor injuries, incidents or near misses

A Stop Right policy when implemented by a employer seeks to empower all personnel to feel comfortable stopping unsafe work by implementing a Stop Work Authority process known as Stop Right. The Stop Right process involves a stop, notify, correct and resume approach for the resolution of a perceived unsafe condition, act, error, omission or lack of understanding that could result in an undesirable event.

Everyone working in the electrical industry community should be encouraged to stop and challenge unsafe acts or conditions any time they see or feel exposed to unacceptable risk. Team members should be encouraged to raise issues – a team member can tell a colleague that things are going wrong – and the message is passed on.

Situations that may initiate the use of Stop Right include:

Anytime anyone does not know or understand their tasks or responsibilities.
When a new hazard is identified that was not expected or anticipated, or the hazards are not understood.
The level of risk associated with the hazards is not known or understood or is much higher than originally thought.
A hazard is not appropriately controlled.
A change in conditions is noticed.
They do not feel safe with site conditions.
An incident occurs.
The attitude and behaviours of other people in the work area compromise the health and safety of themselves and others.
If there is a breach of a Life Saving Rule.

In the case of emergency, any team member must be able to call attention to the situation. The team needs to establish a code for this warning, such as

“STOP NOW!”

This should command the attention of everyone on the job.

The responsibilities of each person with regards to the Stop Right Authority process are:

Employees are responsible to initiate a Stop Work Intervention when they feel their safety or the safety of others is at risk. Employees are also responsible for participating in resumption of the activity or find suitable alternative work to continue with while the Stop Right is resolved. A further responsibility is also for employees not to abuse the Stop Right authority.
Supervisors are responsible to ensure that all personnel are supported when a Stop Right is being exercised. They must be respected, taken seriously and appropriate actions taken to resolve any identified issues prior to allowing operations to resume.
Management must establish and support clear expectations with regards to the support of the Stop Right. They must also hold those accountable who choose not to comply with the established Stop Right process.
Safety personnel must support operations in the implementation of the process and monitor compliance with the requirements of this program.

The risk assessment form is useful to record and communicate the risk assessment or risk management process and can have many names. We have used “HRA” as a convenient abbreviation of Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment. They may also be known as JSA (Job Safety Analysis), pre-start, job sheet, or other names. They can take many forms but basically facilitates the six steps of risk management and can have a “check list” to prompt consideration of issues.

Your company may have one or more standard risk assessment forms.

The key to effective communication is to provide a clear and succinct statement of risk control measures. These may reference relevant information to be followed, including SWMSs and SWPs or other safe work procedures (including Compliance Codes or this Red Book). There is no requirement to duplicate the information or combine the measures into a single document:

Typically your company may have well proven standard model task-related SWMSs and SWPs with which you are well versed. The SWMS or SWP may incorporate the risk assessment for a circumstance.
If the circumstances change or are different (e.g. site issues or there are client requirements in plans or rules) then you may need to prepare a HRA and use it to identify site specific issues and special requirements relevant to the current work. In this way the model SWMSs and SWPs may be retained intact, combining with the HRA and act to modify the SWMS and SWP through a process of reporting by exception.
This process is pragmatic because workers can move between many locations and tasks in the course of a day. Physically modifying and retaining the documented SWMSs and work processes on a per job basis may well not be practical, whereas preparing a HRA can be.

If required on a construction project or otherwise considered appropriate, this information may be combine into a task or site specific SWMS.

Consultation is a critical part of the occupational health and safety process. Resolution of workplace issues is much more effective when the views of the people on the job are sought and valued. Consultation can best be achieved with the supervisors and workers directly involved on the job. This needs to extend across organisations where those organisations potentially interact and also to the Health and Safety Representatives (HSR), where they have been appointed to the work area. Also consult with the owner or controller or other departments or contractors in case of impacts on others. Formalised safety meetings are also a good way to raise and resolve issues and for compliance reporting to be tabled and discussions around strategies to continuously improve workplace and worker safety.

Undertaking an initial risk assessment and gathering appropriate information for the job in consultation with the others in the work team (eg through a Toolbox Talk) and then seeking input and suggestions; assessing capabilities and commitment to implement the risk control measures required to carry out the work will assist in improved safety. Review individual needs in relation to the work activities and environment to ensure each person is appropriately equipped, trained and informed and ensure appropriate monitoring of the work tasks.

Confined space entry permits are mandated under legislation. Other permit to work systems can exist for such activities as hot work, live work, working on high voltage or supply network, working on automatically energised & remote equipment, at heights or in isolation. They usually exist as either company or client policy requirements and not for legislative reasons.

Permit to work systems are designed to eliminate or minimise serious risks by controlling approvals, specifying supervision & monitoring and identifying who, how and when the work is undertaken.

NECA’s Life Saving Rules

Emergency Preparedness