Updated introduction to the Australian WHS workplace inspection process- self guided induction lesson.

1. An introduction to the WHS
workplace inspection

2. You should remember, though, that a WHS inspection is only one
of many ways that hazards and risks are identified in the
workplace
We need to actively look for hazards, before they become a
problem, by using:
• Workplace inspections
• Consultation
• Looking at injury and illness records
• Recording complaints
• Observing the workplace
This slideshow will talk you through the process of doing a
workplace inspection.

3. A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:

4. A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:
1. Identify
hazards
(problems)
Identifying
the hazards

5. A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:
2. Assess
risks (harm)
Deciding on
how much
harm they
can cause

6. A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:
2. Assess
risks (harm)
Deciding on
how much
harm they
can cause
(Which tells
us how soon
to fix them)

7. A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:
3. Risk
control
(solutions)
And working out
what the best
solutions are for
that hazard

8. A WHS inspection has three distinct elements. In short, they are:
Let’s explore that in a bit more detail.

9. Identifying the hazards (problems that might cause an injury)
includes physically walking around the workplace looking for
anything that might cause an injury.

10. Identifying the hazards (problems that might cause an injury)
includes physically walking around the workplace looking for
anything that might cause an injury.
Remember that you are not just looking for physical hazards,
though. Psychological hazards are the cause of most time off
in the community services sector, so keep a look out for
things that might cause burnout or stress overload.

11. Identifying the hazards (problems that might cause an injury)
includes physically walking around the workplace looking for
anything that might cause an injury.
Remember that you are not just looking for physical hazards,
though. Psychological hazards are the cause of most time off
in the community services sector, so keep a look out for
things that might cause burnout or stress overload.
Keep an eye out for situations of potential violence, too. Violence
by clients is another cause of injuries in the Community
Services sector.

12. Once we know the problem, we need to see how
bad it can be.
We need to think about how much harm it could
cause, and how likely it is.
First, lets look at how much harm it could do.. On
the inspection form, it looks like this:

13. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MODERATE MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
A pretty minor
injury that only
needs minor
first aid, like a
cut finger.
A major
injury, like a
broken bone
Would cause
a long term
disability or
death

14. Now we look at how likely it is to happen…
2. Assess risks
(harm)

15. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
e.g, Cut by broken glass,
left on football field
e.g. Cut by broken
glass, left in garbage bin

16. Then we can look at the two together, and give it a
score out of six, like this:

17. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
Poison in cupboard- very unlikely to cause an injury

18. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
Poison in cupboard- very unlikely to cause an injury,
but really dangerous if it did

19. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
Poison in cupboard- very unlikely to cause an injury,
but really dangerous if it did
So it scores a three

20. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
Paper cuts- very likely to cause an injury,

21. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
Paper cuts- very likely to cause an injury,
but not really dangerous if it did

22. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
Paper cuts- very likely to cause an injury,
but not really dangerous if it did
So it scores a three

23. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
So.. How would you rate the idea of letting snakes
loose on a plane?

24. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
So.. How would you rate the idea of letting snakes
loose on a plane?
Yeah, probably not a good idea

25. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
And how about leaving an extension cable lying where
somebody could trip and fall?

26. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6
And how about leaving an extension cable lying where
somebody could trip and fall?
Not as bad as snakes on a plane, but still
pretty serious (and reasonably common)

27. This means that, by looking at how thing score, we
can decide if they need to be addressed straight
away:

28. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6

29. .. Or if we can go on working, but fix them as soon
as possible:

30. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6

31. … or if we can plan to leave it a while, because it’s
not very likely, and wouldn’t cause much harm
anyway:

32. LIKELIHOOD:
How likely is it
that it will occur?
CONSEQUENCES: How severely
could it hurt someone?
EXTREME MAJOR MOD. MINOR
VERY LIKELY
1 1 2 3
LIKELY
1 2 3 4
UNLIKELY
2 3 4 5
VERY UNLIKELY
3 4 5 6

33. Our form might look like this:
Extension
cord that
could easily
be tripped
on
B B 2 ASAP

34. Our form might look like this:
Sharp knives
in client
kitchen area-
potential self
harm hazard
C A 2 ASAP

35. Ok, so now we’ve got a list of hazards (problems) and we
know which are the most important to fix first.
How do we fix them?

36. Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety
problems.

37. The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely
Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety
problems.

38. The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely
Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety
problems.
EXAMPLE:
Remove the cable,
Don’t have poisons on the property if you can help it,
Don’t transport snakes on a plane.

39. The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely
Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety
problems.
The next best way is to restrict it somehow
-Substitute it with something better

40. The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely
Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety
problems.
The next best way is to restrict it somehow
-Substitute it with something better
EXAMPLE
Use a different type of chemical, or paper that doesn’t cause cuts.

41. The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely
Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety
problems.
The next best way is to restrict it somehow
-Substitute it with something better OR
-Isolate people from the hazard OR
-Engineer a better way of working

42. The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely
Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety
problems.
The next best way is to restrict it somehow
-Substitute it with something better
-Isolate people from the hazard OR
-Engineer a better way of working
EXAMPLE
Make sure the cables are tied back where they can’t be tripped
on, Lock the poisons away if they have to be on the property,
Keep safety guards on all machinery so nobody can get hurt by
them,
Use safety gates so kids can’t get where they shouldn’t be,
Keep sharp knives away from people who might hurt themselves

43. The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely
Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety
problems.
The next best way is to restrict it somehow
-Substitute it with something better
-Isolate people from the hazard
-Engineer a better way of working
Finally, if you can’t do the above, set up administrative controls-
signs and policies that stop accidents from happening.

44. The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely
Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety
problems.
The next best way is to restrict it somehow
-Substitute it with something better
-Isolate people from the hazard
-Engineer a better way of working
EXAMPLE
A policy that says that children must be supervised at all times,
Signs that warn people to keep away from hot surfaces or
dangerous locations
Finally, if you can’t do the above, set up administrative controls-
signs and policies that stop accidents from happening.

45. The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely
Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety
problems.
The next best way is to restrict it somehow
-Substitute it with something better
-Isolate people from the hazard
-Engineer a better way of working
Finally, if you can’t do the above, set up administrative controls-
signs and policies that stop accidents from happening.
Personal protective Equipment (PPE) is also a last resort

46. The best way is always to eliminate the problem completely
Think about what would be the best way to fix the safety
problems.
The next best way is to restrict it somehow
-Substitute it with something better
-Isolate people from the hazard
-Engineer a better way of working
EXAMPLE
Wear safety goggles as well as having barriers to stop people
getting hurt by machines, not instead of.
Wear safety gloves when handling food, but also take appropriate
precautions by using tongs and wise policies.
Finally, if you can’t do the above, set up administrative controls-
signs and policies that stop accidents from happening.
Personal protective Equipment (PPE) is also a last resort

47. Our form might look like this:
Extension
cord that
could easily
be tripped
on
B B 2 ASAPTape extension
cord down so that
it cannot be
tripped on

48. Our form might look like this:
Sharp knives
in client
kitchen area-
potential self
harm hazard
C A 2 ASAPRemove knives
from area, keep in
staff office

49. Disclaimer
This guide is an introduction to the general principles of –
1.Identifying hazards
2.Assessing the degree of harm/ risks
3.Controlling the risks that you find.
It is up to you to put it into practice- if you need more
information on a particular workplace health and safety issue,
useful resources can be found at
www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au