Course Title: Ensure a safe workplace

Part B: Course Detail

Teaching Period: Term2 2015

Course Code: OHTH5592C

Course Title: Ensure a safe workplace

School: 650T Vocational Business Education

Campus: City Campus

Program: C6102 - Advanced Diploma of Business (Public Relations)

Course Contact : Sally Parrott

Course Contact Phone: +61 3 9925 5175

Course Contact Email:sally.parrott@rmit.edu.au


Name and Contact Details of All Other Relevant Staff

Alain Grossbard

99255522

alain.grossbard@rmit.edu.au

Nominal Hours: 60

Regardless of the mode of delivery, represent a guide to the relative teaching time and student effort required to successfully achieve a particular competency/module. This may include not only scheduled classes or workplace visits but also the amount of effort required to undertake, evaluate and complete all assessment requirements, including any non-classroom activities.

Pre-requisites and Co-requisites

None

Course Description

Managers play an important role in ensuring the safety of the workplace and the wellbeing of their staff. This unit applies to managers working in a range of contexts. It takes a systems approach and ensures compliance with relevant legislative requirements.

All those who have, or are likely to have, a management responsibility for OHS should undertake this unit. It is relevant for those with managerial responsibilities, either as an owner or employee-manager of a business.
 


National Codes, Titles, Elements and Performance Criteria

National Element Code & Title:

BSBOHS509A Ensure a safe workplace

Element:

1. Establish and maintain an OHS system

Performance Criteria:

1.1   Locate, adapt, adopt and communicate WHS policies that clearly define the organisation’s commitment to complying with WHS legislation
1.2   Identify duty holders and define WHS responsibilities for all workplace personnel according to WHS legislation, policies, procedures and programs
1.3   Identify and approve financial and human resources required by the WHS management system (WHSMS)

Element:

2. Establish and maintain participative arrangements for the management of OHS

Performance Criteria:

2.1   Work with workers and their representatives to set up and maintain participation arrangements according to relevant WHS legislation
2.2   Appropriately resolve issues raised through participation and consultation arrangements according to relevant WHS legislation
2.3   Promptly provide information about the outcomes of participation and consultation to workers and ensure it is easy for them to access and understand

Element:

3. Establish and maintain procedures for identifying hazards, and assessing and controlling risks

Performance Criteria:

3.1   Develop procedures for ongoing hazard identification, and assessment and control of associated risks
3.2   Include hazard identification at the planning, design and evaluation stages of any change in the workplace to ensure that new hazards are not created by the proposed changes and existing hazards are controlled
3.3   Develop and maintain procedures for selecting and implementing risk controls according to the hierarchy of control and WHS legislative requirements
3.4   Identify inadequacies in existing risk controls according to the hierarchy of control and WHS legislative requirements, and promptly provide resources to enable implementation of new measures
3.5   Identify requirements for expert WHS advice, and request this advice as required

Element:

4. Establish and maintain a quality OHS management system

Performance Criteria:

4.1   Develop and provide a WHS induction and training program for all workers as part of the organisation’s training program
4.2   Use a system for WHS recordkeeping to allow identification of patterns of occupational injury and disease in the organisation, and to maintain a record of WHS decisions made, including reasons for the decision
4.3   Measure and evaluate the WHSMS in line with the organisation’s quality systems framework
4.4   Develop and implement improvements to the WHSMS to achieve organisational WHS objectives
4.5 Ensure compliance with the WHS legislative framework so that, as a minimum, WHS legal requirements are achieved

Learning Outcomes


This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to establish, maintain and evaluate the organisation’s occupational health and safety (OHS) policies, procedures and programs in the relevant work area in accordance with OHS legal requirements.


Details of Learning Activities

Individual and group activities. Length: 200 to 500 words each
Aims: Analyse and describe current occupational and health regulations using government system concepts and tools. Suggest ways the issue could have been reduced or resolved, in hindsight.
Apply skills in finding information using real life situations, online resources, books, journals and newspapers.
You must have a clear idea of which stage the workplace and organisation is at in relation to OHS in order to plan and respond appropriately. This means that you must be able to plan and undertake audits which check the hazards and actions that should be taken for OHS management systems in the organisation. You must also be able to report on the audit outcomes in a helpful manner to all interested parties.  Students complete number of activities and workshops that will be assessed via a final test in class. There will be a number of short answer questions that will cover all the lectures covered in both “Apply Government Systems’ and ‘Ensure a safe Workplace’. The Test will be conducted in Week 14 and will take one hour to complete. Each question will be allocated a mark and the total mark will add up to 100%.


Teaching Schedule

Week
Week Commencing 2015 Topics
1 6 July Course Induction
• Course delivery and assessment details
• Course support documents – any text books or readings
• Online learning environment – go through Blackboard shell
• Grading – remind them of codes and no marks (codes at end of doc)
• Plagiarism – must have signed cover sheets on all assessments
• Appeals – take them through this process and where it is on website
• Extensions – take them through process (details on website.)
• Feedback – when they can contact you and expect a response.
• Submission requirements – how all work must be uploaded and how
• Resubmission policy – one resubmission, marked to a pass allowed
• Where to get support - Student study support details
• Student responsibilities – must check emails and bb shells weekly
2 13 July Course introduction – Overview on Government systems
Major Assignment to be distributed
3 20 July Current knowledge of government systems: Why is the knowledge of government systems important to public relations practitioners? Why do we need government relations? What are the three tiers of government and are they related? Who are our political parties?
 

4 27 July The structure of the Federal Government, the role of federal parliamentarians, the judiciary and the public service; lobbyists and how they work.
Safety for workplaces
• Overview
• Legislation & guidance
• Responsibilities & resources
• Cost of illness & injury
• Broad impact on OHS
5 3 August The structure of the Federal Government, the role of federal parliamentarians, the judiciary and the public service; lobbyists and how they work.
Simulation Case Study
Safety for workplaces
• OHS management systems
• Induction & training
6 10 August The structure of the State Government, the role of state parliamentarians, the judiciary and the public service; lobbyists and how they work.
Safety for workplaces

• Workplace consultation
• Communication with everyone
• Resolving OHS issues
• Communicating OHS outcomes effectively
7 17 August Discussion on role of PR in the delivery of a government service in Victoria and the relationships necessary to achieve outcomes; analysis of last year’s State Government elections.
Guest speaker – PR Manager, State Government
8 24 August Role of PR in the delivery of a government service
Mid Semester Break
31August – 4 September inclusive

9 7 September Visit to State Parliament.
Guest speaker – State Member of Parliament
Everyone is a Partner in Safety
• Workplace consultation
• Communication with everyone
• Resolving OHS issues
• Communicating OHS outcomes effectively
10 14 September Elections and campaigning; political parties, their images and the role of public relations within them.
Guest speaker – Political campaigner
What Could Happen?
What could go wrong and how bad it could be?
• Controlling the risks
• Back to work
11 21 September Pressure groups; who are they, how do you deal with them; what influences are exerted on governments, why and how?
Guest speaker – Pressure group leader
12 28 September The structure of Local Government in Victoria; the roles and responsibilities of Councils and Council Officers; how do these differ from other forms of government?
Guest speaker – PR Manager from Local Council
or President of Municipal Association of Victoria
13 5 October Excursion/visit to Melbourne Town Hall Council Chambers
Guest speaker on local government; the role of communications and its importance in a large metropolitan council; dealing with the extensive number of stakeholders.
Guest speaker – Lord Mayor
What is happening?
• Moving toward the OHS goals
• Find out
• Putting it together
14 14 October Test - What has been learnt?
15 21 October Return final assessment and schedule any resubmission for next week
16 28 October Interviews/Assessment feedback/resubmissions
 


Learning Resources

Prescribed Texts


References


Other Resources

nil


Overview of Assessment

Students must demonstrate an understanding of all elements of a particular competency to be deemed competent. Assessment methods have been designed to measure achievement of each competency in a flexible manner over a range of assessment tasks.

Assessment will incorporate a variety of methods including assignments, journals, presentation and written or test. Students are advised that they are likely to be asked to personally demonstrate their assessment work to their teacher to ensure that the relevant competency standards are being met.
 


Assessment Tasks

This course is co-delivered and co-assessed with POLI5019C Apply government systems (PSPGOV601B)

Assessment Task 1 - 3 Reports dealing with ensuring a safe workplace and apply government systems

  • Individual and group activities. These three reports are worth 30% of the total course submission.
  • Length: 200 to 500 words each
  • Aims: Analyse and describe current occupational and health regulations using government system concepts and tools. Suggest ways the issue could have been reduced or resolved, in hindsight.
  • Apply skills in finding information using real life situations, online resources, books, journals and newspapers.
  • Assessment criteria:
    Application of government systems concepts and tools to answer the questions
    Good use made of a variety of resources
    Presentations of each activity to the class

Assessment 2 Assignment – Develop a Communication Plan for a Member of Parliament

  • Group-based - Work in groups of 3 and develop a written Communication Plan.
  • Length: 1800 - 2000
  • Aim: This assignment requires you to develop a Communication Plan for a member of Parliament to assist the politician respond to their issue.
  • Students must meet at least 2 times and provide Meeting Minutes to the teacher outlining items discussed and action agreed for preparation of joint report. Class time will be used for meetings if time permits. Student must also complete a peer review form and give it to the teacher.
  • Details of the assignment will be provided in Week 3. The final Report must be submitted by Week 10.
  • This assignment is worth 40% of the total marks.

Assessment 3 Test covering lectures and activities/workshops

  • Individual activity -
  • Students complete number of activities and workshops that will be assessed via a final test in class. There will be a number of short answer questions that will cover all the lectures covered in both “Apply Government Systems’ and ‘Ensure a safe Workplace’. The Test will be conducted in Week 14 and will take one hour to complete. Each question will be allocated a mark and the total mark will add up to 100%.
  • This assessment is worth 30% of the total marks


Assessment Matrix

A matrix will be provided in the Course Guide on RMIT Learning Hub

Other Information

Nil

Course Overview: Access Course Overview