Relevant legislation regarding requirements includes the following:
Relevant Standards to consult on requirements – see Australian Standards online.
Legislative requirements for inspection, testing and monitoring are detailed in the WA OSH Regulations 1996, which also reference relevant standards and guidelines.
Guidelines to safety in the workplace and conformance to relevant local, state and national legislative requirements including testing, inspection and monitoring.
The purpose of these guidelines is to:
The scope of these guidelines covers inspections, testing and monitoring requirements covered under OHS and other relevant legislation and standards for all UWA facilities. It provides a guide for the majority of requirements for inspection, testing and monitoring that need to be conducted for UWA operations and facilities.
For the purpose of these guidelines:
Examples of independent inspection processes include:
UWA Safety and Health will provide general guidelines on relevant legislation and standards through this procedure and through its website. However, each school/section/unit needs to identify and document the relevant legislation and Standards for inspection, testing and monitoring of plant and equipment and the work environment that is applicable to their workplace.
This documentation should also specify the training and competency required to do the various testing and inspection activities that have been identified.
For a guide for inspection and testing refer to the index of the WA OHS Regulation 1996.
The overall responsibility and accountability resides with the University of Western Australia Senate. The Senate delegates its responsibility to the Vice-Chancellor and the Senior Management Group to ensure that appropriate procedures for inspection and testing are developed, maintained and reviewed to check their effectiveness.
Responsibility for developing a faculty and school/section/unit inspection and testing plan and program rests with the deans and heads of schools/sections/units. They may delegate this to school and unit managers. Facilities Management has specific responsibilities for inspecting building infrastructure, essential services, grounds and walkways, plant and equipment and security.
UWA Safety and Health may conduct scheduled and ad hoc inspections to identify foreseeable hazards, to assist Schools/Sections/Units with assessing and prioritising safety and health risks and to monitor the effectiveness of local risk control implemented. Work areas that conduct testing have a responsibility to verify that the tests' results conform to specified standards, to take corrective action if they don’t conform, and to inform any areas that may be affected by the test results.
Deans and Heads of Schools/Sections/Units are responsible for developing an inspection and testing plan for their area of responsibility in consultation with senior managers and workplace safety and health committees. The plan should be developed by:
The OSH Regulations 1996 specify that certificates of competency are required for:
Contractors who conduct tests of equipment and services must be able to demonstrate that they have the required certification and competency for the testing they perform. Personnel who engage contractors need to obtain relevant records confirming the contractors' competency, licensing and other bona fides.
People doing workplace inspections should have completed training relevant to the nature of the inspection to be undertaken – for example, safety and health consultation, biosafety and radiation safety training.
Licences are required for asbestos removal work and radiation work. Occupational hygiene qualifications or equivalent are required for occupational hygiene monitoring activities including sampling and analysis of test results.
Inspections could include: scheduled or ad hoc workplace inspections by supervisors, workplace safety and health committees, research safety committees, safety and health representatives, safety officers, Safety and Health, Facilities Management, Security personnel or by Heads of Schools, research centres and units.
Inspections can be undertaken for specific purposes to:
In addition, WorkSafe may inspect a workplace following a verbal or written report of an incident to inspect the scene, interview witnesses, take photos and other evidence, assess if corrective action has been taken on the factors contributing to the incident, check if risk assessments and safe work method statements are being followed, and check if a system-wide inspection has occurred in response to a significant occurrence.
Testing and inspections can consist of either a scheduled program to meet requirements of legislation and standards or an ad hoc inspection initiated because an issue arises that requires testing to diagnose the cause or source and resolve the safety and health problem.
Test Type | Responsibility for Testing | Frequency |
---|---|---|
Cooling towers | Facilities Management – and maintenance contractors | Monthly |
Air conditioning plant | Facilities Management – and maintenance contractor | Annual full check |
Fire extinguishers and fire hoses | Facilities Management and fire handling equipment contractors | six-monthly |
Fume cupboard | Facilities Management – maintenance contractor | Annually |
Pressure vessels and boilers | Facilities Management – and maintenance contractor | Annually |
Essential services – gas, water and electricity | Facilities Management | TBA |
Building emergency evacuation alarms | Facilities Management and Fire handling equipment contractors | TBA Check Security |
Building evacuation test drills | Unit Management – S&H | Annually |
Lighting on campus | Facilities Management – Security | Weekly |
Exit lights in buildings | Facilities Management | Regularly |
Bio-safety cabinets | Laboratory Managers | Annually |
Building compliance | Facilities Building Compliance Manager | Annually |
Centrifuges | Laboratory Managers | Annually |
Occupational hygiene monitoring | Facilities Management or external consultants | Following request to S&H |
Radioactive waste | Persons using radioisotopes in laboratory | Weekly |
Biological waste | Persons generating biological and clinical waste | Weekly |
Hazardous waste | Persons working with hazardous substances | Weekly |
Confined spaces entry | Persons entering potential or actual confined spaces | Prior to entry |
Plant and equipment | Owners of plant and equipment | See OHS Regulations |
Scaffolding | Operators of scaffolding- Facilities or contractors | Prior to start of work |
Lifts | Facilities Management – and Lifts maintenance contractor | Regularly and when problem reported |
Workplace inspection | Workplace Safety committees | Quarterly |
Physical containment level 2 inspections | UWA Biosafety Committee | Annually |
Radiation laboratories | Local School Radiation Safety Officer/S&H | Annual schedule |
Dangerous goods storage | Laboratory manager for local School/ Research Centre | Weekly |
First aid kits | School Manager / First Aid Officer | Regularly |
Emergency eyewash and shower equipment | Laboratory Managers | In accordance with ANSI Z358.1 |
Persons who are responsible for coordinating inspections and testing of items are also responsible for the maintenance and security of related records. Inspection and test results should be made available to the manager of the area concerned and those who were present during inspection or requested testing.
Confidentiality and privacy of records need to be in place with regard to biological monitoring test results. Other results of workplace inspections and test results should be made available to the manager of the area and the relevant safety and health committee.
It is important that inspection and testing results are discussed with local safety and health committees to ensure that all possible solutions are found to the issues raised by staff.
Procedures must be reviewed to ensure relevance, currency and corrective action on non-conformances found during inspection or testing procedures. There needs to be a clear documented avenue of appeal if building occupants do not think sufficient action has been taken since safety and health issues were raised as a result of inspection or testing work.