Safety and Risk Management

Hazards

Hazards are processes, tools, activities, or anything that has the potential to cause harm, injury, damage, or loss.

In the Systems Engineering workshop, the soldering irons, variable DC power supplies, drill presses, 3D printers, laser cutter, hand tools, and chemicals are the main hazards.

Risks

A Risk, is the chance that a hazard could cause harm. A high-risk activity means that it has a high change of causing harm.

Harm

Harm is injury, illness, death, or a person, or damage to a place. A hazard can have multiple sources of harm. For example, a drill press has the risk of capture (hair, clothing) as well as eye injury from debris, among other risks.

Safety

Safety is the process of being protected from harm.

Risk Assessment

A Risk Assessment assesses each risk of harm occuring from a particular hazard.

Depending on each individual, burning yourself on a soldering iron is anywhere from Possible to Almost Certain. The consequences of the harm are probably minor, but for a once a week injury, that is still a high risk.

At a school level, we implement Safe Working Procedures (SWPs) during induction to the workshop, but at VCE you are also responsible for conducting risk assessments, and understanding how to manage hazards and risks in the workshop.

Hierarchy of Controls

The hierarchy of control structure, developed by WorkSafe Victoria, is a systematic approach used to manage hazards effectively. It prioritises methods to eliminate or reduce risks in order of effectiveness, ensuring that risks are managed in a structured and effective manner. This approach focuses on prevention and protection.

Once a risk is identified, we must follow the heirarchy of controls to minimise the risk of harm from a hazard.

Each step is less effective that the previous, with Elimination being the most effective method of risk reduction.

Elimination

Elimination is removing the risk of harm entirely. At Year 7, we do not allow students to use chisels or cordless drills in the workshop, so the risks associated with those tools are completely eliminated.

At Year 12, students are currently not allowed to operate the industrial plant in the staff workshop, eliminating risks from those tools.

Reduce the Risk

There are three potential practices at this stage of the Heirachy of Controls

• Substitution
  • e.g. Using a clamp and drill press instead of using a cordless drill
  • Using PLA instead of ABS printing material
• Isolation
  • using loud power tools in a separate space
  • using remote controls to operate dangerous machinery
• Engineering Controls
  • mechanical devices such as trolleys or hoists to move heavy loads
  • guards around moving parts of machinery

Administrative controls

Administrative controls are procedures designed to minimise exposure to a hazard. For example:

• developing procedures on how to operate machinery safely
• limiting exposure time to a hazardous task
• using signs to warn people of a hazard

PPE

PPE limits exposure to the harmful effects of a hazard but only if people wear and use the PPE correctly. Common PPE in the systems workshop includes safety glasses, enclosed shoes, and good ventilation,