Workplace Health & Safety

HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK ONLINE COURSE

ACS student comment: Yes [I find the course valuable], because it is opening my eyes further to what I am studying and making me look for info and answers on the internet rather than being spoon fed info from the course notes. The feed back from the tutor is great and is very encouraging and the marking time frame very efficient. Paula Farrell, Australia, Workplace Health and Safety course.

This course helps you understand how to minimize the risk of loss and disruption that can come when accidents, injury or illness interupts the smooth running of a business or any other workplace.

Work related fatalities, injuries and diseases are a huge cost to the economy in virtually every country of the world. The personal, social and economic impact of injuries and health problems in the workplace are a serious concern. Attention to these matters is a responsibility for not only management, but for everyone who works in or visits a workplace.

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction
   • Nature and Scope of Workplace Health and Safety
   • Work Related Fatalities
   • Duty of Care: employer, employee, other person, manufacturer
   • Significance of Illness
   • Protective Equipment; personal protection, machinery, equipment, signs and information
   • Further Information and Resources
2. Legislation
   • Legislation across different countries: Australia, UK, Canada, USA, NZ etc
   • Examples: Worksafe Australia, Health & Safety Commision UK, Occupational Health & Safety Commission USA, etc
   • International Commission on Occupational Health
3. Protective Equipment
   • Introduction
   • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
   • Selecting and Maintaining PPE
   • Hand Protection
   • Eye Protection
   • Hearing Protection
   • Respiratory Protection
   • Body Protection
   • Knee Protection
   • Foot and Leg Protection
   • Sunscreen
   • Head Protection
   • Machine and Equipment Guards
   • Flooring
   • Protective and Temporary Barriers
   • Temporary Signs
   • Protecting Hearing
4. Handling Chemicals
   • Storage and Disposal
   • Transporting Chemicals
   • Protecting theEnvironment
   • Protective Clothing
   • Safe Use and Mixing Chemicals
   • Toxicity of Pesticides
   • Safe Application of Pesticides
   • Hazardous Substances
   • Personal Protective Equipment Plan
5. Handling Equipment
   • General Safety Rules
   • Manual Handling
   • Employer Responsibilities
   • Employee Responsibilities
   • Safety with Different Types of Equipment
   • Handling Tools and Equipment Safely
   • Machinery Safety
   • Machine Hazards
   • Machine Guards
   • Welding Equipment, Compressors, Conveyor Belts
   • Horticultural Equipment; Mulchers, bruch cutters, mowers, chainsaws
   • Tool Maintenance
   • Safety with Electricity
6. Handling Objects
   • How to Lift
   • Strategies for Manual Handling
   • Skin Penetrating Injuries
   • Risk Categories
   • Preventative Measures
   • Treating Wounds: First Aid
   • Case Studies of Manual Handling Injuries
7. Using Computer Work Stations
   • Using VDU's
   • Eyesight
   • Repetative Strain Injuries
   • Carpel Tunnel
   • Headaches
   • Radiation
   • Creating a Healthy Work Station
   • Rest Breaks, Stretching, Posture
8. Working Alone
   • Duty of Care, Responsibilities
   • Common Tasks Undertaken by a Lone Worker
   • Mobile Workers
   • Risk Assessment
   • Risk Management
9. Standards and Rules
   • Introduction
   • Identifying Risks
   • Hazard and Risk Management
   • Workplace Policy
   • Risk Assessment Safety Audits
   • Identifying Risks
   • Audit Forms
   • Safety Audit
   • Safety Outdoors; fire, bites, potential accidents, cuts, strains, poisoning, allergies, etc
   • First Aid; Shock, Fainting, Fractures, Strains, Sprains, Heat Exhaustion, etc
   • Skin Cancer
   • First Aid Supplies
10. Signs and Signals
    • Introduction to standard signs and signals
    • Conventions in different countries; UK, Australia

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Determine procedures followed in the workplace to control workplace health and safety practices.
• Determine workplace health and safety legislation which is relevant to your industry and locality.
• Identify procedures for the safe use of chemicals in the workplace.
• Identify procedures for the safe use of equipment, including tools and machinery, in the workplace.
• Identify procedures for the safe manual handling of objects in the workplace.
• Develop workplace health and safety rules and practices, for a specified workplace.
• Identify standard signs and hand signals used in workplace health and safety in Australia.

What You Will Do

• Define workplace health and safety, for a specified industry.
• List different individuals and groups within a workplace who have a responsibility with respect to workplace health and safety.
• Identify the role of the workplace health and safety officer in a workplace.
• Explain the operation of consultative processes in the management of workplace health and safety.
• Define duty of care, for a specific industry.
• Outline the scope of federal legislation in workplace health and safety.
• Outline the scope of state legislation in workplace health and safety.
• Explain workplace health and safety regulations within a specified industry.
• Explain the legal standing of workplace health and safety codes of practice.
• Assess different specified workplace situations to determine which are liable to prosecution, and which are not liable to prosecution, including:
  • petroleum products
  • cleaning chemicals
  • explosives
  • pesticides
• Explain factors that contribute towards problems with dangerous chemicals.
• Analyse a workplace situation to determine potential safety problems with dangerous chemicals.
• Recommend changes in the workplace in response to the potential safety problems with dangerous chemicals.
• List legal requirements for storage and use of dangerous chemicals in a specified workplace situation.
• Explain appropriate storage procedures for different types of chemicals, including:
  • pesticides
  • petroleum products
  • cleaning chemicals
  • explosives
• Explain appropriate disposal procedures for different types of dangerous chemicals.
• Identify potential problems in the workplace with different types of dangerous chemicals.
• List factors that contribute towards safety problems with equipment.
• Analyse a workplace situation to determine potential safety problems with equipment.
• Recommend changes in the workplace in response to the potential safety problems with equipment
• Develop a procedure for the safe operation of a piece of machinery.
• List factors that contribute towards problems with manual handling, in a specific industry.
• Analyse three different case studies of injuries which resulted from incorrect manual handling.
• Recommend changes in three different specified workplaces, in response to the analysis carried out on manual handling injuries.
• Determine health risks in a specified workplace.
• Determine accident risks in a specified workplace.
• Develop a code of practice to minimise health risks in a specified work place.
• Develop a code of practice to minimise accident risks in a specified workplace.
• Distinguish between different classes of dangerous goods, for a specific industry
• Interpret different standard hand signals used in a specific workplace.
• Interpret different standard signs used in the workplace, including:
  • hazardous chemicals
  • vehicle and pedestrian
  • fire
  • dangerous machinery
  • noise
  • eye protection

What qualification will I achieve for completing this course?

This is an individual module course.  The individual module courses are 100 hour long usually and can be taken on their own or as part of a larger program of study. 

If you wish to take an individual module course as a stand alone course, you can elect to sit an optional exam at the end of it. 

If you successfully pass the exam and all assignments, you will receive a Statement of Attainment. You can take examinations at a time and location to suit you.  If you enrol, you will be sent further information on how to arrange examinations at the end of the course. 

If you do not wish to take the exam, you will receive a Course Completion letter when you have passed all assignments. 

There is an assignment at the end of each lesson. So for example, if an individual module course contains ten lessons, you will need to complete ten assignments. Assignments can be sent to us via email, post or fax.

Other qualifications, such as certificates, diplomas etc may require examinations to be taken as part of the overall assessment process.

You can find further information on the examinations process by clicking on the “Enrolment” link above.

You can find further information on other courses by clicking on the “Courses” link above.

More Information on ACS Distance Education and our courses

Who are our tutors?

Our tutors are all highly experienced and professional, knowledgeable in their field of study.  We have staff from around the world, enabling us to gain a wide variety of perspectives.  We have a school in the UK and in Australia. If you would like to have a look at our tutors, then click on the “About Us” in the boxes above and choose “The Staff” option.

Sample Course Notes

Our courses are all written by highly qualified tutors and writers, who also teach on the courses, so know them well.  We strive to update our courses and improve them with new information, methods and knowledge on an ongoing basis.  If you would like to see examples of some of our courses, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, and then click on “Sample Course Notes”.

What learning method should I choose?

We offer three learning methods – e-learning, correspondence and online. If you are not sure which is the right choose for you, then click on the “Learning” box above, then “Learning Methods.”

How Long will it take to complete the course?

This obviously varies from student to student. Some students will have more time for study than others. Some students may work quicker than others, so it is an individual thing.  We estimate that most students will take, for example, 4 – 6 months to complete a 100 hour individual module, but we allow up to 12 months for you to complete it.

Longer courses will obviously take longer.  You can find more information on the length of time required and so on the “Enrolment” box, then selecting “Terms and Conditions of Enrolment.”

What Do Our Students think of us?

If you would like to read comments from our previous students, then choose the “About Us” option above, then “Student Testimonials”.

I don’t think this is the right course for me.

If you’re not sure about this course, then why not look at our wide range of other courses. Click on the “Courses” box above.

You may also wish to design your own course to fit in with exactly what YOU want. To do so, click on the “Enrolment” box, then “Design your Own Course”.

If you would like more advice on a course, then you can contact us and ask a tutor about the courses. You can contact us by calling 0800 328 4723 or +44(0) 384 442752 or emailing info@acsedu.co.uk

Recognition and Accreditation

For more information on our recognition and accreditation, click on “The School”, then “Recognition”.

Who is ACS Distance Education?

If you want to know more about ACS and our history, then please click on “The School”, then “About us.”