White Card Course
There are literally thousands of hazardous chemicals used in the workplace – paints, pesticides, cleaners and fuels, to name a few. They come in various forms – powders, solids, liquids and gases. Reducing high levels of exposure to hazardous chemicals at work through the safe use, storage and handling of chemicals is an essential part of creating a healthy, safe and productive workplace.
Your employer is required to protect you from the risk of exposure to dangerous goods in the workplace.
At the same time, you have a general duty under the WHS/OHS Act to take reasonable care for your own health and safety, and that of others who may be affected by your work, and to cooperate with your employer's efforts to make the workplace safe.
This may include following workplace policies and procedures, attending health and safety training as well as helping to identify hazards and risks.
Work involving hot or cold temperatures can lead to a range of symptoms from physical discomfort through to life threatening conditions. Air temperatures that are too hight or too low can contribute to fatigue and heat or cold related illnesses. Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world with more than 380,000 people treated for the disease every year. At least one out of every two Australians will require treatment in their lifetime for various forms of skin cancer.
Construction workers have a higher risk of skin cancer than many other workers due to long periods exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from direct sunlight and UV rays reflected from nearby surfaces such as concrete.
Every year, workers sustain horrific injuries as a result of dangerous machinery and equipment. Machinery and equipment have moving parts. The action of moving parts may have sufficient force in motion to cause injury to people.
Poor equpiment guarding allows people to come into contact with moving parts of a machine, is the most common cause of injury.
Work Safely in the Construction Industry and Skills
Falls from height can leave employees with permanent and debilitating injuries. Falls often occur from roofs, scaffolds, ladders, trucks and mezzanine floors or into pits or holes.
Falls from less than one metre can result in serious injuries such as fractures, spinal cord injury, concussions and brain damage. The risk of serious injury or death from a fall increases significantly when working at heights over two metres.
Deciding whether a risk is acceptable or unacceptable may be different for each organisation. It will depend on the internal policy, goals and objectives of the organisation and relevant legislation.
The risk level can be used to decide the risk priority, showing which risk must be managed first in order to reduce the exposure to danger. Small or insignificant risks might be treated immediately where it would be relatively fast or inexpensive to do so. A quick assessment of each situation can help to decide what the risk level is.
Controlling a hazard can be achieved by a whole range of possible solutions. You will need to work out which is the best option for the situation.
Before you start, check for any documentation, workplace procedure or workplace policy that explains how to complete a risk assessment to help eliminate or control the hazard.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is clothing and equipment designed to lower the chance of you being hurt on the job. It is required to enter most work sites.
Each workplace and job requires different PPE. These items are often a mandatory requirement of entering work areas.
Make sure any PPE you are wearing is in good condition, fits well and is right for the job.
If you find any PPE that is not in good condition, tag it and remove it from service. Tell your supervisor about the problem and they will organise to repair or replace the PPE.
The code of practice recommends general induction training for the following people, occupations and tasks:
- Management, Casual, part-time or labour-hire persons performing construction work.
- Owners carrying out construction work.
- Installation of joinery, pre-cast concrete panels, windows.
- Delivery drivers dropping off materials inside the construction zone.
- Engineers and surveyors who undertake preparatory site work.
- Cleaning and maintenance of structures under construction.
- Work experience students undertaking construction work.
- Traffic control for on-site construction work.
- Finishing and fit-out work such as painting, tiling, carpet laying, floor sanding.
- Landscaping.
Both you and management have a legal responsibility under duty of care to do everything reasonably practicable to protect others from harm in the workplace.
Duty of care applies to:
- Employers and self-employed persons.
- Persons in control of the worksite.
- Supervisors.
- Manufacturers and suppliers.
- Workers.
- Subcontractors and inspectors.
Your own responsibilities are to comply with safe work practices nationally, including activities that require licences, tickets or certificates of competency, as well as to help the employer on WHS matters. You should take reasonable care to protect the health and safety of yourself and others through your actions at work.
Your employer’s responsibility is to provide a safe working environment, systems, equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), facilities, WHS information, first aid, instruction and training. This safe environment should also extend to protecting members of the public or visitors to the construction site.
White Card Course in Australia
Safe work practices are the actions that you take while at work to minimise the chance of causing harm to yourself, others or equipment. It is your responsibility to make sure that you work in a safe way to avoid accidents.
First aid training is highly recommended for all construction employees.
There should be toilets and clean drinking water on site for you to use. It is your responsibility to make sure the toilet facilities are clean and hygienic.
Drink plenty of water during the day to keep yourself hydrated, especially if you are working outside in the sun. Dehydration can cause fatigue and make it harder for you to concentrate.
Drugs and alcohol can affect your ability to concentrate and work safely. You are a danger to yourself and to those around you when working under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Training for White Card Course
Before you start work, you need to check for any hazards or dangers in the area. If you find a hazard or danger you need to do something to control it. This will help to make the workplace safer.
Working with electrical equipment can be hazardous. Electrical equipment is high powered and can cause serious injury on a construction site if not used correctly, including not wearing the correct PPE. This training course covers a range of hazards including electrical related hazards. Equipment with faulty cords can also pose as a serious risk to the worker. Workers may suffer electrical shock, which could result in death, heart problems, internal organ damage or burns.
Objects have the potential to fall onto or hit people at the workplace or adjoining areas if precautions aren’t taken. Adjoining areas may include a public footpath, road, square or the yard of a dwelling or other building beside a workplace.
Noise in an occupational setting is regarded as unwanted or damaging sound. The level of noise in a workplace is a problem when it has the potential to damage employees' hearing.
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Each state has strict white card course requirements. Please select the state you reside in to get started:
