CAM WHS Cttee• Chair, Catherine Fitzgerald• Secretary, Oliver Morton• Rep on Central, Vikki Hardy-Crump• PCBU’s Officers’ nominees: Shane Griffin and Vaughan

Macefield• Evan Crawford, Rakime Elmir, Kathy Kyle, Louise Marr, Poonam

Mudgil, Terri Mylett, Carol Robson-Beddie• Robert Lockie, Peter Simpson• Thanks to Alex and Nicole

Issues Canvassed: Process• Cttees (facilitate co-operation, assist in developing

rules, standards and procedures) AND • HSRs (represent, monitor, investigate, inquire)• Relationship between the cttee and Schools • Relationships between the cttee and Central cttee,

School cttees, and OHS Unit• Data reporting, access, resources, new IS, training for

HSRs/cttee members

Issues Canvassed• Providing HSRs timely information esp ‘notifiable incidents’• Signage and staff directory: awareness of all staff, students

and ‘others’ re: role of their HSRs.• WHS in induction: access/role of their HSRs• Org change: consultation on WHS implications of change.• CAM campus development (traffic)• Emergency wardens in common teaching areas?• Records of emergency drills

Issues: Actions• Correspondence to all Deans about our presence,

role, support for participants.• Analysis and discussion of hazard and injury reports

to identify priorities• Incident Sub-committee formed: to analyse and

report on data of hazards/injuries.

Incident Sub-cttee: Findings• Date supplied by WHS Unit, Jan – Aug• Incidents of note highlighted (see report from Louise Marr;

copies available)• Finding: majority of incidents occurred during student

placements• Recommendation: obtain procedural documentation and

information from three Schools (NM, M, SH).

Risks (Likelihood/Severity = High)• Sharps/needle sticks• Contact with blood and/or infectious agents• Manual handling esp patient handling• Two violent incidents (patient to student)• Chemical splash• Car accidents

HSR activities• Enforcement of smoking policy, esp library areas• Concerns about health (psychological and physical)

around academic workloads --- lack of supervisory support/excessive expectations.

• Professional staff work overload: sick leave increase• Some action on hazards undertaken via CWF

One view from below on pre-2012 perception

Due Diligence (section 27)• This is the standard for the duty of care of Officers of the

PCBU (see Johnstone and Tooma 2012 Ch 3).• Positive and proactive duty:1. Knowledge of WHS matters2. Understanding the nature of the operations and the risks

associated with the operations3. Ensure availability of resources and put processes in place

for risk management4. Monitoring safety performance (reporting, acting on reports

and other data)5. Legal compliance (consultation, incident notification) 6. Verification of implementation (don’t rely on assurances).

Reasonably Practicable, s18Safe Work Australia guidance

• First, consider what can be done.• Second, consider if it is reasonable, in the

circumstances, to do all that is possible.• “This means that what can be done should be done unless it is

reasonable in the circumstances for the duty holder to do something less… [a]ll of the relevant matters must be taken into account and weighed up and a balance achieved that will provide the highest level of protection that is both possible and reasonable in the circumstances”

(SWA 2011 in J&T 2012: 75).

Author: Mary-Lynn from Taos, NM, United States

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fallen_Tree_(2451075658).jpg