DEVELOPMENT OF SAFE WORK

PROCEDURES GUIDELINES
Contents

1 Background ........................................................................................................................... 2
2 Scope .................................................................................................................................... 2
3 Responsibilities ..................................................................................................................... 2
3.1 Heads of Schools and Managers of Units.................................................................. 2
3.2 OHS Unit .................................................................................................................... 2
3.3 Employees, Contractors, Students and Visitors......................................................... 2
4 Safe Work Procedures .......................................................................................................... 2
4.1 Development .............................................................................................................. 2
4.2 Process Steps ............................................................................................................ 3
4.3 Priorities ..................................................................................................................... 3
4.4 Inclusions ................................................................................................................... 3
4.5 Approval ..................................................................................................................... 4
4.6 Implementation........................................................................................................... 4
4.7 Accessibility and Display............................................................................................ 4
4.8 Records Management................................................................................................ 4
5 Review And Evaluation ......................................................................................................... 4
6 Related Documents............................................................................................................... 5
7 Version Control Table ........................................................................................................... 5
Appendix 1: How to Complete a Safe Work Procedure .................................................................... 6
Appendix 2: Example Safe Work Procedure..................................................................................... 9

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 Development of Safe Work Procedures Guidelines

1 Background
The University of Wollongong recognises that written safe work procedures are essential to ensure a safe
work environment and are an important part of an overall occupational health and safety program.

Safe work procedures provide information necessary to assist all staff and students to perform tasks safely.
These procedures also assist in the training and orientation of new staff and students in the hazards of the
tasks to be performed, as well as providing them with the rules necessary to ensure that they can perform
their work in a safe manner. Safe work procedures are also a valuable to in assessing the level of
understanding with regards to on-the-job training.

2 Scope
This document applies to any safe work procedure used for any work activity at or on behalf of the University
of Wollongong.

3 Responsibilities

3.1 Heads of Schools and Managers of Units

Heads of School and Managers of Units have the responsibility for ensuring that safe work procedures are
implemented as appropriate for their area of control.

3.2 OHS Unit

The OHS unit is responsible for the creation and maintenance of these guidelines, associated tools/forms
and providing training in the development of safe work procedures.

The OHS Unit is also responsible for auditing the development and use of safe work procedures in
accordance with the OHS Auditing Guidelines.

3.3 Employees, Contractors, Students and Visitors

All employees, contractors, students and visitors who undertake activities which involve OHS risk are
expected to familiarise themselves and comply with the safe work procedures that exist in their area of work.

4 Safe Work Procedures

A safe work procedure can be defined as the written instruction of a task/activity outlining the preferred
method whilst emphasising ways to minimise any risk(s) of harm. A safe work procedure outlines the
hazards, risks and associated controls measures to be applied to ensure the task/activity is conducted in a
way to reduce the risk of injury.

4.1 Development
Safe work procedures should be developed and implemented for all task/activities, processes, and the
operation of equipment and machinery, where a risk assessment identifies the requirement as a suitable
control measure to reduce the risk of injury.

The following provides practical information on developing safe work procedures.

ƒ Safe work procedures should be written by a staff member with sound, hands on experience and
knowledge of the task;
ƒ They are developed in consultation with employees or their representatives;
ƒ Hazards are identified through local workplace safety inspections or OHS Committee campus
inspections;
ƒ Relevant legislation, standards or University Guidelines must be reviewed and referred to where
appropriate;
ƒ Inclusion of the experience of several staff members or students will enhance the usefulness of
the safe work procedure;

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 Development of Safe Work Procedures Guidelines

ƒ As far as practicable, a local Workplace Advisory or School Safety Committee representative

should be consulted in the development of the safe work procedure.
ƒ When finalised, the safe work procedure is to be reviewed by the appropriate supervisor for
approval prior to being available for use. This may include the supervisor of the person, area
and/or equipment.

4.2 Process Steps

To aid in the development of a safe work procedure the following steps should be followed:
Step 1. Observe the task or process;
Step 2. Record the sequence of basic job steps;
Step 3. Assess potential hazards of each step;
Step 4. Review associated legislative requirements;
Step 5. Assess the risks of the hazards;
Step 6. Suggest ways of eliminating and controlling the hazards;
Step 7. Test the procedure by consultation and verify relevant issues are documented;
Step 8. Obtain approval of the procedure from a supervisor or manager.

In determining potential hazards in a task or process the following factors could be considered:
ƒ Are there any requirements specified in applicable legislation, standards or codes of practice?
Refer to OHS Legislative Compliance Guidelines for further information.
ƒ Is there exposure to noise, fumes, or dust?
ƒ How can equipment fail in any way?
ƒ Is the work physically strenuous?
ƒ Is the work made harder by external factors (climate, noise etc.)?
ƒ Is the work made harder by the way it is organised (shift work, adequate rest breaks)?
ƒ Is there enough space to move about?
ƒ Does the body have to sustain awkward body postures, such as crouching, reaching overhead?
ƒ Are there demands on vision, hearing and communication skills?
ƒ Can the person be struck by or contacted by anything while doing this step of the job?
ƒ Can the person strike against or make injurious contact with anything?
ƒ Can the person be caught in, on or between anything?
ƒ Do loads need to be lifted/or handled?
ƒ Can the person slip or trip or fall?
ƒ What level of supervision is required?
ƒ Are there any exposures to psychological hazards (such as dealing with public complaints/abuse,
shift work, dealing with trauma)?

4.3 Priorities
It is recognised that, in some areas, the preparation of safe work procedures may take some time. The
priorities for the preparation of safe work procedure should be:
ƒ All new tasks where there is a high to medium risk should have safe work procedures prepared
before they are put into general use;
ƒ For existing processes, safe work procedures for high risk tasks should be prepared first, followed
by medium and low risk tasks;
ƒ A higher priority should be placed on the tasks that are carried out by students and/or tasks
carried out most frequently.

4.4 Inclusions
Safe work procedures are to include:
ƒ A description of the activity or process;
ƒ Tools or equipment used in the process;
ƒ The person or position that has supervisory responsibility for the activity or process;
ƒ A clear explanation in sequential order of the steps or stages comprising the procedure or
process;
ƒ Potential hazards and their associated risk using the UOW risk assessment matrix, Figure 1;
ƒ Risk controls to prevent injury and/or persons coming in contact with known hazards including the
information and training requirements;
ƒ Reference to UOW guidelines, legislation, codes of practices or Australian Standards. This aids
in determining appropriate control measures.

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 Development of Safe Work Procedures Guidelines

Figure 1: UOW Risk Assessment Matrix

Step 1 – Consider the Consequences Step 2 – Consider the Likelihood Step 3 – Calculate the Risk
What are the consequences of this incident What is the likelihood of the consequence identified in 1.Take step 1 rating and select the correct column
occurring? Consider what could reasonably have step 1 happening? Consider this without new or 2.Take Step 2 rating and select the correct line
happened as well as what actually happened. Look at interim controls in place. Look at the descriptions and 3.Circle the risk score where the two ratings
the descriptions and choose the most suitable choose the most suitable Likelihood. cross on the matrix below.
Consequence. E = Extreme, H = High, M = Medium,
L = Low, N = Negligible
CONSEQUENCES LIKELIHOOD
CONSEQUENCES
Consequence Description Likelihood Description
Severe Major Mod Minor
Severe Death or extensive injuries A The event is expected to occur
A E E H M

LIKELIHOOD
Major Medical treatment B The event is likely to occur in most
circumstances B E H M M
Moderate First aid treatment C The event could occur sometime
C H M M L
Minor No treatment, report only D The event may occur, but probably
never will D M M L N

4.5 Approval
Once completed, the safe work procedure requires approval from the supervisor, manager of the
area/process involved. Approval should be made on the safe work procedure form including the date.

4.6 Implementation
Once the safe work procedure has been approved it is then implemented and available to use. If developed
in SafetyNet, the safe work procedure will be classified as ‘Closed’ which identifies it as available for use. If
the safe work procedure has been developed using the template, the finalised copy shall be placed in the
relevant location for the area where it will then be available for use.

4.7 Accessibility and Display

Safe work procedures should be physically displayed prominently or readily available in the areas in which
they are to be used.

4.8 Records Management

The development of safe work procedures shall either be in SafetyNet or, where access to the SafetyNet
database is not possible, using the Safe Work Procedure Template.
ƒ Appendix 1 outlines the process of completing a safe work procedure using the template
ƒ Appendix 2 is an example of a safe work procedure written using the template

Safe work procedures shall be retained locally for future reference and maintained in accordance with the
requirements of the OHS Document Control & Records Handling Guidelines.

Electronic safe work procedures stored in SafetyNet can be uniquely identified as each document contains
the following;
ƒ Document identifier: The reference number shall be displayed in the format ‘UOWXXXXX’, where
X is the document number e.g. UOW00001;
ƒ Date of Creation: the date the document was closed;
ƒ Date of Last Update: the date the document was last closed.

5 Review And Evaluation

Safe Work Procedures are required to be reviewed whenever:
ƒ Whenever the task or activity changes;
ƒ When a new hazard is identified;
ƒ After an associated near miss, injury or illness with the task or activity;
ƒ Whenever there is a change to legislation, standards or codes of practice;
ƒ In the case of hazardous substances whenever the Material Safety Data Sheet is updated (i.e.
every 5 years).

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 Development of Safe Work Procedures Guidelines

In order to ensure that these guidelines continue to be effective and applicable to the University, the program
will be reviewed in accordance with the OHS Document Control & Records Handling Guidelines. However,
more frequent reviews may be required as per system reviews.

Following completion of any review, the program will be revised and updated in order to correct any
deficiencies. Any changes to the program will be consulted through the OH&S Committee.

6 Related Documents
ƒ Risk Management Guidelines
ƒ SafetyNet Safe Work Procedure Form
ƒ Safe Work Procedure Template
ƒ OHS Document Control & Records Handling Guidelines

7 Version Control Table

Version Date Approved By Amendment

Control Released
1 April 2003 OHS Manager Document created.

2 January 2004 OHS Manager Inclusion of legislative requirements referencing.

3 April 2004 OHS Manager Scheduled review Minor changes only.

4 March 2006 OHS Manager Scheduled review – minor changes only.

5 October 2006 OHS Manager Scheduled review – minor changes only.

6 August 2008 OHS Manager Scheduled review. Addition of SafetyNet references as

appropriate.
7 April 2010 OHS Manager Minor review no scheduled changes.

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 Development of Safe Work Procedures Guidelines

Appendix 1: How to Complete a Safe Work Procedure

SAFE WORK PROCEDURE

Initial Details
Faculty/Division: The faculty/division where the activity/process/equipment is used Unit: The unit where the activity/process/equipment is used
Work Activity: Description of the task/activity/process being performed
Type (select one only): Field Work General Maintenance Office Other Research Teaching
Developer/s: Approver/s: Signature: Date:
1. Name of person(s) developing procedure 1. Name of person(s) approving procedure Approvers signature
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
Risk Assessment
Likelihood (select one only): Consequence (select one only): Risk Score: CONSEQUENCES
Severe Major Mod Minor
Severe (Death or extensive injuries) A (The event is expected to occur)
Major (Medical treatment) B (The event is likely to occur in most A E E H M
circumstances)

LIKELIHOOD
Moderate (First aid treatment)
C (The event could occur sometime) B E H M M
Minor (No treatment, report only)
D (The event may occur, but probably never H M M L
C
will)
D M M L N
Referenced Documentation
Type (select one only): Description
Aust Std CoP Legis. Other UOW Doc. List any UOW Guidelines, legislation, codes of practice or Australian Standards used to determine controls.
Aust Std CoP Legis. Other UOW Doc.
Aust Std CoP Legis. Other UOW Doc.
Aust Std CoP Legis. Other UOW Doc.

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 Development of Safe Work Procedures Guidelines

Personal Protective Equipment

Type (Check the box for required PPE) Description
Gloves Select PPE required to complete the job safely and provide a description
Safety glasses
Goggles
Face shield
Safety footware
Enclosed footware
Gumboots
Hard hat
Hat
Hairnet
Ear plugs / muffs
Lab coat / gown
Apron
Overalls
High visibility vest / clothing
Wet weather clothing
Job specific clothing
Fire resistant clothing
Particulate respirator
Gas respirator
Supplied air respirator
Sunscreen
Lifeline / body harness
Personal monitor
Personal floatation device
Radio / communication device
Signage
Safety cones / barricades
Intrinsically safe equipment
Other
No PPE required

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 Development of Safe Work Procedures Guidelines

Action Plan
Step Job Step Potential Hazards Controls
Number (Steps in the process/task) (What could cause an injury) (What can be done to minimise the risk of injury)
1 Activities may include Eg. Any hazards identified with preparation work List the controls required to make the risk associated with the
preparation, steps in the actual before the process is conducted. hazard as low as possible. Controls should be implemented as
process, clean up, removal of per the hierarchy of controls:
waste and emergency Eg. Any hazards identified as part of using the
procedures. specified equipment or process. 1. Elimination,
2. Substitution,
Eg. Any hazards associated with cleaning or disposal 3. Isolation;
of waste generated from the process. For example 4. Engineering;
hazardous waste. 5. Administrative;
6. Personal Protective Equipment, ie gloves, glasses.
Eg. Any specific emergency procedures required. For
example working alone procedures.

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 Development of Safe Work Procedures Guidelines

Appendix 2: Example Safe Work Procedure

SAFE WORK PROCEDURE

Initial Details
Faculty/Division: Facilities Management Unit: Facilities Management
Work Activity: Use of Oxy Acetylene
Type (select one only): Field Work General Maintenance Office Other Research Teaching
Developer/s: Approver/s: Signature: Date:
1. W.White 1. B.Black
2. B.Brown 2. G.Green
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
Risk Assessment
Likelihood (select one only): Consequence (select one only): Risk Score: CONSEQUENCES
Severe (Death or extensive injuries) A (The event is expected to occur) M Severe Major Mod Minor
Major (Medical treatment) B (The event is likely to occur in most
circumstances) A E E H M
Moderate (First aid treatment)
C (The event could occur sometime)

LIKELIHOOD
Minor (No treatment, report only) B E H M M
D (The event may occur, but probably never
will)
C H M M L

D M M L N
Referenced Documentation
Type (select one only): Description
Aust Std CoP Legis. Other UOW Doc. UOW Hot Work Permit Guidelines
Aust Std CoP Legis. Other UOW Doc. OH&S Regulation 2001
Aust Std CoP Legis. Other UOW Doc. AS 1674.1
Aust Std CoP Legis. Other UOW Doc. AS 1674.2

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 Development of Safe Work Procedures Guidelines

Personal Protective Equipment

Type (Check the box for required PPE) Description
Gloves Leather
Safety glasses
Goggles Welding
Face shield
Safety footware Steel toe cap
Enclosed footware
Gumboots
Hard hat
Hat
Hairnet
Ear plugs / muffs
Lab coat / gown
Apron Welding
Overalls
High visibility vest / clothing
Wet weather clothing
Job specific clothing
Fire resistant clothing
Particulate respirator
Gas respirator
Supplied air respirator
Sunscreen
Lifeline / body harness
Personal monitor
Personal floatation device
Radio / communication device
Signage
Safety cones / barricades
Intrinsically safe equipment
Other
No PPE required

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 Development of Safe Work Procedures Guidelines

Action Plan
Step Job Step Potential Hazards Controls
Number (Steps in the process/task) (What could cause an injury) (What can be done to minimise the risk of injury)
1 Preparation Explosion • Check plant for leaks by pressurising system to 100Kpa, use pressure
Burns drop method and locate leaks with soapy water;
Escaping gases • Physically check hoses and fittings for damage;
Fire • Check area for combustible materials eg, petrol, oil, gas, grass, rags,
carpet insulation etc;
• Light with fuel gas only using lint lighter or pilot light (do not use
disposable lighters);
• Provide fire fighting equipment appropriate for the task;
• Refer to manufacturer’s chart for correct settings;
• If plant has been shut down for more than half an hour purge two
seconds for every 5 metres of hose;
• Ensure bottles are upright and secure;
• Where applicable obtain a Hot Work Permit;
• Appropriate signage to warn persons near area;
2 Flashback Explosion • Recognition: a) shrill hissing or squeaking, b) smoke issuing from
Burns blowpipe tip
Escaping Gas • In case of flashback: close oxygen valve, close fuel gas valve, turn off
Fire cylinder valves
• Flashback arresters must be fitted at: a) the regulators of oxygen and
acetylene cylinders, b) the blowpipe when hose lengths exceeds 10
metres, c) outlet of banked cylinders
3 Backfire Explosion • Where persistent backfire occurs shut down and check for causes, ie too
Burns close to work, dirty tip, loose nozzles, incorrect pressure, over heating
Escaping Gas tip
Fire
4 Shutdown Explosion • Close blowpipe fuel valve then oxygen valve
Burns • Close cylinder valves
Escaping Gas • Release gas from regulators and lines
Fire • Back off regulators
• Check are from burning/smouldering material

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