PROHSS1 Make sure your own actions reduce risks to health and safety

Overview

This standard is for everyone at work (whether paid, unpaid, full or parttime). It is about having an appreciation of significant risks at work, knowing how to identify and deal with them.

This standard is about the health and safety responsibilities for everyone at work. It describes the competences required to make sure that:

1. your own actions do not create any health and safety hazards
2. you do not ignore significant risks at work, and
3. you take sensible action to put things right, including: reporting situations which pose a danger to people at work and seeking advice

Fundamental to this standard is an understanding of the terms "hazard", "risk" and “control”.

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

1. identify workplace instructions relevant to your job
2. identify working practices in your job which may harm you or others
3. identify aspects of your work which could harm you or others
4. check which potentially harmful working practices and aspects of your work present the highest risks to you or to others
5. deal with hazards in accordance with workplace instructions and legal requirements
6. name and locate people responsible for health and safety at work
7. control those health and safety risks within your capability and job
   responsibilities
8. carry out your work in accordance with your level of competence, workplace instructions, suppliers or manufacturer's instructions and legal requirements
9. pass on suggestions for reducing risks to health and safety to the responsible people
10. check your behaviour does not endanger the health and safety of you or others at work
11. use equipment, materials and products safely following workplace instructions and suppliers' or manufacturers' instructions
12. report any differences between workplace instructions and suppliers' or manufacturers' instructions following standard operating procedures
13. check your personal presentation and behaviour at work:

• • protects the health and safety of you and others,
  • meets any legal responsibilities, and
  • is in accordance with workplace instructions

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand:

1. what "hazards" and "risks" are
2. your responsibilities and legal duties for health and safety in the workplace
3. your responsibilities for health and safety as required by the law covering your job role
4. hazards which exist at work and the safe working practices which you must follow
5. particular health and safety hazards which may be present in your own job and precautions you must take
6. importance of remaining alert to presence of hazards in the whole workplace
7. importance of dealing with, or promptly reporting, risks
8. responsibilities for health and safety in your job description
9. safe working practices for your job
10. responsible people you should report health and safety matters to
11. where and when to get additional health and safety assistance
12. your scope and responsibility for controlling risks
13. workplace instructions for managing risks which you are unable to deal with
14. suppliers' and manufacturers' instructions for the safe use of equipment, materials and products you must follow
15. importance of personal presentation in maintaining health and safety at work
16. importance of personal behaviour in maintaining health and safety