WHS duties
Everyone in the workplace has WHS duties under the model WHS Act.
You have specific duties if you are:
- a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU)
- a principal contractor
- a designer, manufacturer, importer, supplier and installer of plant, substances or structures
- an officer.
The model WHS Regulations have duties that apply to road transport. This includes managing risks of powered mobile plant, hazardous manual tasks and falls from height.
As a PCBU, you must, so far as is reasonably practicable:
- ensure the health and safety of workers and others at your workplace
- consult with workers who carry out work for the business or undertaking and who are (or are likely to be) directly affected by a health and safety matter, and
- consult cooperate and coordinate activities with all other relevant duty holders.
Managing risks
As a PCBU, you should manage risks by following a systematic process of:
- identifying hazards—find out what could go wrong and what could cause harm.
- assessing risks —understand the harm each hazard could cause, how serious the harm could be and the likelihood of it happening.
- controlling risks—implement the most effective control measures that are reasonably practicable in the circumstances.
- reviewing control measures to ensure they are working as planned.
- ongoing consultation with workers.
Some of the most common road transport hazards are:
- time pressures
- shift work, fatigue and physical fitness
- poor vehicle design
- manual handling of heavy weights
- working at height
- exposure to gases and fumes.