| Occupational Health & Safety
Workplace Health & Safety
Call it what you like – it’s here to stay.
It doesn’t matter how “safe” you make an piece of OPE if you have got an idiot using it there will eventually be an accident of some sort. Therefore engineering solutions can only ever be part of the answer. Operator Education remains a vital part of the safety process.
Were your business to acquire, say, a forklift, every operator would have to have officially proven their competency sufficiently to acquire a Fork-Lift Drivers’ Licence (the exact terminology varies from State to State). This is the same with many other types of plant and equipment. The process is not onerous and once acquired the qualification is fully portable. However, to get the licence an operator must be able to prove their awareness potential hazards and demonstrate safe operating practices. Today a brief perusal of employment classifieds shows that many jobs are advertised with a Forklift Licence as a prerequisite.
Would a similar licence system prove worthwhile initiative for Commercial Operatives?
A group of contractors in Queensland have said: “Yes!”
To this effect a group of QPGMA contractors recently undertook a chainsaw operators’ course in Queensland. Organised by Steve Smith the course took a single day and covered chainsaw safety and operation. A second course follows this focusing on correct and safe tree felling techniques. QPGMA member Dough Raymond undertook the more demanding trainers’ course so that he is now qualified to train other contractors.
Syllabus
The course was broken into three sections:
Chainsaw Safety
Work Place Health & Safety Act
Objectives of the WPH & S Act
Obligations of All Persons Concerned
PPE Equipment Requirements
Risk Management Assessment
Hazards of Chainsaw Operations
Chainsaw Maintenance
AS Standards Which Apply to Chainsaws
Chainsaw Components Maintenance
How to Sharpen a Chain
Guide Bar Maintenance
How to check the type of Chain Used
Pre & Post Operation Checks
Trim & Cross Cut Felled Trees
Risk Assessment at the site
Starting Procedures
Basic Cutting & Reduction of Kickbacks
Kickback Prevention
Compression & Tension Cutting
Dos & Don’ts in Chainsaw Operations
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Steve Smith’s company has an equivalent certification program for Brushcutters and is compiling a similar syllabus for mowing, which should be ready next year.
All of the certificates support our professional approach to our industry and may ultimately be required by insurers.
Phasing in such qualifications would present some short-term difficulties. It would take some time for the present workforce to satisfactorily demonstrate the competency of its individual members. As in the past, it remains possible for conventional education providers to offer courses and test students to verify their expertise. However, in a similar manner to that proposed by OPEA for OPE Technician training, use of such current facilities as “mentoring” (where people holding a qualification are able to help teach those trying to acquire it – like QPGMA’s Doug Raymond) and “Recognition of Current Competency” and “Recognition of Prior Learning” should make the process less daunting that it might first seem.
All commercial operators would then understand correct, safe operating procedures. Because usingf most pieces of Outdoor Power Equipment can seem so easy (and so much like driving a car) many operators fail to appreciate the potential hazards of incorrect operation. While the ability to pull Casual Staff off the street gives the industry great flexibility, the fact remains that these operatives frequently do not know how to undertake correct Risk Assessment. In a similar situation, it was a casual employee that was at the centre of the infamous “Arbor Case”.
Yes, it initially might be something of an inconvenience to have to employ only licenced operators but
Employers have a ”Duty of Care” towards their employees (as does a self-employed contractor). Operator licencing is an ideal way for that “Duty of Care” to be demonstrated.
Safer workplaces will make businesses more money. Properly trained operatives should cause less third party damage (eg thrown stones damage). With less accidents, Liability insurance and Workers Compensation premiums should drop.
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