Health & Safety Risk Management for Higher Degree Research Students

1. Health & Safety Risk Management for Higher Degree Research Students Ross Hansen Senior Health & Safety Advisor

2. You may well ask....... Why is this important to me? I’m just a student....and anyway, QUT has a responsibility to ensure I’m safe.

3. Obligations of students (and others) to comply with instructions given for workplace health and safety by QUT and its staff; to use personal protective equipment (PPE) where provided (by QUT or yourself) and given proper instruction in its use; not to wilfully or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided for workplace health and safety at the workplace; not to wilfully place at risk the workplace health and safety of any person at the workplace; not to wilfully injure yourself.

4. Risk Management at QUT Risk is the chance of anything happening that would adversely impact upon your research, especially your own research projects; Risk management is the culture, processes and structures that are directed towards the effective management of risks in order to ensure you complete your projects to eliminate or minimise the effect of adverse incidents. Risk management process is the systematic application of management policies, procedures and practices to eliminate or minimise risks through: • establishing their context, • identifying, analysing and evaluating them, • treating (or controlling) them, and • monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of the controls.

5. A freezer/refrigerator fire

6. An autoclave explosion

7. Risk Management – put simply • Hazard identification – What can go wrong? Establish the context. • Risk Assessment– Who could be affected and how bad can it be? • Risk Control – What are we going to do about them? Treat them or tolerate them? • Monitorand Review – Did we get the control right?

8. Identifying the hazards Think of the context of your research – What do you hope to achieve? Where will you be doing it? What equipment or substances will you use? How will you be using them? What can go wrong?? Hazards come in all shapes and sizes and may include the following types: • Manual Handling/Ergonomic • Hazardous substance • Machinery or equipment (plant) • Energy - eg electrical, noise, radiation • Work Environment – eg psychological and physical

9. QUT Risk Matrix

10. Consequences/Severity (outcome or impact of an event) Consider factors which can influence the consequences of an event: ·Potential for a “chain reaction” (minor hazard escalating into a major hazard) ·Concentrations of substances ·Volumes of materials ·Speeds of projectiles and moving parts · Position of a person relative to the hazard ·Weights ·Forces and energy levels

11. Likelihood (probability) These factors can affect the likelihood of an incident occurring: • How often the situation occurs • How many people are exposed • The skills and experience of persons exposed • Any special characteristics of people involved • The duration of the exposure • The position of the hazard relative to the workers and other hazards • Possible distractions • Quantities of materials or multiple exposure points involved • Environmental condition • Condition of equipment • The effectiveness of existing control measures

12. Risk Treatment • Avoid the risk – Don’t start or don’t continue the activity; • Share the risk – eg insurance where there’s a risk of loss or damage; • Accept and reduce the risk – use hierarchy of control; • Retain the risk as is - only if • already ‘as low as reasonably practicable’, or • the resources for treating the risk are grossly disproportionate to any expected reduction in the risk. (ongoing monitoring required).

13. Hierarchy of Control Consider control measures in the following order (Hierarchy of Control) — • Can you eliminate the hazard or prevent the risk? • If not, can you minimise the risk by — (i) substituting the hazard giving rise to the risk with a hazard giving rise to a lesser risk? (ii) isolating the hazard giving rise to the risk from anyone who may be at risk? (iii) using engineering means? (iv) applying administrative measures? (v) using personal protective equipment (PPE)?

14. Monitor and Review • After any controls are implemented, there may still be a Residual Risk. • It is therefore important to: • Monitor the effectiveness of controls; and • Review the activities or practices to ensure that no additional hazards have been created or become apparent.