RM13 - Risk Treatment
| Issue Date | Effective Date | Version |
|---|---|---|
| 19/09/2017 | 01/01/2018 | 1.0 |
Risk Likelihood and Consequence
To ensure risks in Aquatic facilities are controlled to as low as reasonably practicable
Control Measures
The owner or operator of an aquatic facility should implement control measures that:
- Provide for the reduction to a level that is as low as reasonably practicable of risks to health and safety of persons at or near the aquatic facility
- Provide for inspection, testing and maintenance of the safety equipment and hardware that are the physical control measures for those risks; and
- Provide for the induction, training, exercising and development of the safety personnel that are the behavioural control measures for those risks; and
- Provide for audit, review and continual improvement of the standard operating procedures that are the procedural control measures for those risks; and
- Provide for adequate communications between the facility and any relevant safety and/or emergency services:
- Provide for any other matter that is necessary to ensure that the Risk management system meets the requirements and objects of these Guidelines; and
- Specify the performance standards that apply
- Identify further more extensive assessments that are required
The owner or operator of an Aquatic facility should implement risk control measures designed to minimise, in the event of a major incident occurring, its magnitude and the severity of its consequences to persons both on-site and off-site.
The Hierarchy of Control
The ways of controlling risks are ranked from the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest, known as the hierarchy of control.
- Elimination – The most effective control measure involves eliminating the hazard and associated risk. By designing-in or designing-out certain features, hazards may be eliminated.
If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate a hazard the following control measures should be considered:
- Substitution – replace a hazardous process or material with one that is less hazardous to reduce the risk
- Isolation – separate the hazard or hazardous work practice from people, for example designing the layout of a building so that noisy machinery is isolated from workstations
- Engineering controls – use engineering control measures to minimise the risk, for example, including adequate ventilation and lighting in the design, designing and positioning permanent anchorage and hoisting points into buildings where maintenance needs to be undertaken at height
- Administrative controls – If engineering controls cannot reduce the risk sufficiently, then administrative controls should be used, for example using warning signs or exclusion zones where a hazardous activity is carried out.
- Personal protective equipment – (for example hard hats, respiratory protection, gloves, ear muffs) should be used to protect the worker from any residual risk. It is the least effective control measure as it relies on the worker’s behaviour and therefore requires thorough training and a high level of supervision to be effective
In many cases a combination of control measures will be required to minimise the risks. When considering which control measures to implement:
- Look specifically at identifying any risks that a competent builder or user would not be expected to be aware of
- Consider where residual risks remain, and ensure these are communicated to the builder and/or other people likely to exercise control in the next stages of the lifecycle of the structure, for example clients and maintenance contractors
- Take a holistic view on the interaction of hazards in the assessment of their risks and implementation of control measures
- Assess alternative control measures for their applicability
Documenting the Risk Treatment
Once treatment options for individual risks have been selected, all treatment options should be consolidated into risk treatment plans and/or strategies. As one risk treatment may impact on multiple risks, treatment actions for different risks need to be combined and compared so as to identify and resolve conflicts between plans and reduce duplication of effort.
Risk Treatment plans should:
- Identify the reasons for the selection of treatment options, including expected benefits to be gained
- Identify accountabilities and responsibilities
- Identify timing, schedules, contingencies, the expected outcomes, , performance measures and the review process to be set in place
- Identify resource requirements such as budget, staffing and plant/equipment needs.
- Include mechanisms for assessing and monitoring treatment effectiveness within the context of individual responsibilities and organisational objectives and processes for monitoring treatment plan progress against critical implementation milestones
- Document how practically the chosen option will be implemented
Monitoring and Review of Control Measures
An owner or operator who implements a control measure to eliminate or minimise risks at an aquatic facility should ensure that the control measure is, and is maintained so that it remains, effective, including by ensuring that the control measure is and remains:
- Fit for purpose; and
- Suitable for the nature and duration of the aquatic facility; and
- Installed, set up and used correctly
An owner or operator should review and as necessary revise control measures implemented under these Guidelines so as to maintain, so far as is reasonably practicable, an aquatic facility that contains risks as low as reasonably practicable
Without limiting the above guidelines an owner or operator should review and as necessary revise a control measure in the following circumstances:
- The control measure does not control the risk it was implemented to control so far as is reasonably practicable;
- Before a change at the aquatic facility that is likely to give rise to a new or different risk that the measure may not effectively control;
- A new relevant hazard or risk is identified;
- A health and safety representative requests a review
A change at an aquatic facility includes:
- A change to the aquatic facility itself or any aspect of the aquatic environment; or
- A change to a system of work, a process or a procedure
A health and safety representative for workers at an aquatic workplace may request a review of a control measure if the representative reasonably believes that:
- A circumstance referred to in paragraph (2) (a), (b), (c) or (d) affects or may affect the health and safety of a member of the work group represented by the health and safety representative; and
- The nominated aquatic safety representative has not adequately reviewed the control measure in response to the circumstance
Communication and Consultation of the Risk Treatments
Communication and consultation of the Risk Identification process should include:
- Identifying the key stakeholders who need to be informed of the risk treatment process
- Communication of the risk treatment plan including who is responsible for what
- Communication of changes to risk level over time to inform further risk treatment decision and identify successes in managing risk
- Communication of any urgent changes required to further reduce risk level
References
- AS/NZS ISO 31000:2018 Risk management- Principles and Guidelines
Appendix 1 - Risk Criteria
Consequence Table
| Level | Severity | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Catastrophic | Fatalities, Fatal Drowning |
| 4 | Major |
Serious injury/illness, such as permanent disability; Non-Fatal Drowning |
| 3 | Moderate | Medical treatment or lost time injury; |
| 2 | Minor | Minor injury/illness, such as first aid; |
| 1 | Insignificant | No injury/illness. |
Likelihood Table
Estimate how likely the consequence is to happen as a result of exposure to the hazard using the following table: (scrolling bar available at the bottom of the table)
| Level | Likelihood Level | Probability | Access to Emergency or Rescue Services is | History of Major Incidents | History of Minor Incidents | Volume of Activity / Use | Frequency of Activity | Competence in Activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Almost Certain | Will probably occur more than once | 30+ minutes | 1 or more within a month | Daily | 500+ at a time | Daily Activity or Event | No or limited awareness, skills or experience |
| 4 | Likely | High probability will occur at least once | 15-30 mins | 1 or more within past 12 months | Weekly | 100-500 at a time | Weekly activity or event | Fundamental awareness, skills or experience |
| 3 | Possible | Reasonable that it could occur more than once | 10-15mins | 1 or more within past 3 years | Monthly | 50-100 at a time | Monthly activity or event | Partial awareness, skills or experience |
| 2 | Unlikely | May occur once | 5-10mins | 1 or more within past 5 years | Annually | 5-50 at a time | Annual activity or event | Intermediate awareness, skills or experience |
| 1 | Rare | May occur in exceptional circumstances | 0-5mins | 1 or more within past 10 years | More than annually | Less than 5 at a time | Greater than annual | Advanced awareness, skills or experience |
Risk Level
| Likelihood level | Consequence Level | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insignificant | Minor | Moderate | Major | Catastrophic | |
| Almost certain | Medium | Medium | High | High | High |
| Likely | Low | Medium | Medium | High | High |
| Possible | Low | Low | Medium | Medium | High |
| Unlikely | Low | Low | Low | Medium | Medium |
| Rare | Low | Low | Low | Low | Medium |
Control Effectiveness Table
| Level | Extent | Reliability | Availability | Effectiveness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Very High | Mostly reliable | Always | Mostly effective |
| 4 | High | Often reliable | Mostly | Often effective |
| 3 | Moderate | Somewhat reliable | Sometimes | Somewhat effective |
| 2 | Low | Rarely reliable | Rarely | Rarely effective |
| 1 | Very Low | Not reliable | Not | Not effective |
Risk Level
| Risk Level | Urgency |
|---|---|
| High | Immediate – stop until treated. For complex treatments, implement short term controls with permanent controls implemented as soon as possible |
| Medium | Treat as soon as practicable but within at least 1 year |
| Low | Ongoing control as part of general or routine management activities |
Risk Tolerance
References
- AS/NZS ISO 31000:2018 Risk management- Principles and Guidelines
