Work Health and Safety Essay Example for Free

Work Health and Safety Essay Queensland workplaces operate under the framework of the â€Å"Work Health and Safety Act† (2011). This Act outlines how to protect and balance the health, safety and welfare of all workers at the resort or workplace. The WHS Act also provides protection for the community so that their health and safety is not placed at any risk by work undertakings. At this resort as an employer, our responsibility is to make a risk assessment and to put in place the measures that are necessary for the health and safety for all employees and others, including customers and visitors who come to the hospitality venue. This responsibility is called duty of care. It is needed to organise work systems, equipment and training to minimise risk of illness or injury. This would include health and safety work areas, safe equipment, protective equipment, safe access, security, safety training and supervision. You as an employee; whenever you are working in a hospitality workplace you must be aware of your legal duty of care. You must work in a safe manner and follow all safety instructions and work as you have been directed to correctly use or wear any safety equipment or personal protective equipment, such as gloves or hair covers. You must inform your employer about any hazards, injuries, faulty equipment or safety concerns (Sturt University, 2014). The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, include more detailed legal requirements dealing with specific issues of health and safety at work such as noise, electricity, pregnancy at work, manual handling of loads, etc. Manual handling includes lifting and carrying boxes, putting down, stacking shelves, pushing, pulling or moving a weight, can lead to a risk of injuries to workers, (particularly to the back and repetition injury). The most common injuries experienced in this industry include sprains and strains. These injuries occur due to pushing, pulling or over working during the manual handling process. Strains and sprains can result from common day-to-day activities such as serving customers (e.g. balancing trays, leaning through the drive-thru window to serve customers, bending to pick up objects), and working in the kitchen (carrying hot  liquids, pushing fryer cleaning equipment, lifting and carrying full hot pans and pots). There is a high risk of chance to injuries for those who are young workers, male workers and night workers. Stress/fatigue can also lead to mental conditions such as depression and anxiety and increase the risk of accidents and injuries. It has been shown that staying awake for 17 hours has the same effect on performance as having a blood alcohol content of 0.05%. If an employer works more than 48 hours within a week, the individual begins rise levels to fatigue, and affect the health and safety. It is important for the employees to stay healthy, this means, the employer and employees will struggle to do the occupation right. Slips, trips and falls are an unavoidable issue that can contribute workplace injuries and accidents. For example, many accidents in the Hospitality Industry can cause injuries in a cafà © and restaurants such as slips, trips and falls (University Sydney, 2014). These are generally due to lack of housekeeping practices such as water or oil spilt on the floor. W hen this issue is assessed the potential for slips, trips and falls, it is important to look at out of sight areas such as freezers, cool and storage rooms, stairways, loading docks and behind bars (Worksafe, 2012). Case Study 0.2 â€Å"Good Afternoon Administration of the Hotel Industry† Sustainability has been a recent key factor of an organisation for the industry departments. A sustainable business industry is about maximising the businesses potential without corrupting the environment. The environmental sustainability is the outcome of consuming resources, involving making decisions and taking the interest of protecting the environment and to reduce the negative impact on it (Legrand, 2007). Hotels have many benefits that are being implemented into sustainability in the hotel such as cost reduction, improved process efficiency, reduced environmental impacts and enhanced company image (Arthur, 2009). Therefore, integrating sustainability into business planning, policies, practices and training should be considered standard practice. Waste management is a main key issue with the hospitality industry. There can be times where our hotel and others as well loses customers due to the fact of construction of the  industry services. This would cost the hotel more money when purchasing items and materials. It is important for the industry to improve strategies for a good waste management plan. Recycling significantly decreases the total of waste going to landfill. This can reduce the waste costs in the Hotel if less gatherings are needed for general waste. With recycling, this will save money on waste costs as less gatherings for general waste will be needed. Resources such as plastic, paper and wood should be maximised to improve environmental sustainability. For the hospitality industry to improve the environment sustainability, it is needed to reduce, re-use, recycle and treat waste that cannot be avoided, to make this hotel industry less hazardous. In industries recycling is the practice of gathering and sorting materials such as paper, plastic and glass (Rai, 2009). This means that the raw materials that have been used previously are being used into new products, helping with sustainability and resource mana gement. Usually items and materials such as containers, boxes or bottles are being thrown away. With this we can contribute the thrown materials and being aware of the products by putting recycling and re-use policies into place. The use of energy is also another way that our industry can practice sustainability. Throughout the hotel, changing light bulbs to energy efficient light bulbs, turning off lights and computers after the end of the day can minimise the amount of energy that all industries uses. (Tourism WA, 2014) For the industry to improve it is suggested to switch to environmentally sustainable energy sources. This will help for the industry to minimise the amount of energy that our and other industries consumes. Water is another issue for the hospitality industry to be sustainable. Water is a needed resource for the hospitality industry due to its lack and its role with the amount of activities during the day in the property such as food production, energy use, bathrooms and outdoor facilities. For the industry to reduce the waste of water it is important that minim ising water waste minimises the cost. Implementing water saving will save money and help Australia to conserve its water resources. This will also save the energy bills as hot water requires significantly. Employing water saving techniques such as installing low flow shower heads or taps are becoming a more common practice within the hospitality industry. Reducing waste, energy and water consumption can save money and improve the industries environment and sustainability. â€Å"So don’t  just waste bills down the drain. Be more efficient in reusing, recycling and conserving water and energy within the hotel.† Bibliography (1) Transpacific – Recover Recycle Reuse (2014) http://www.transpacific.com.au/content/hospitality.aspx (2) The University of Sydney (2013) Manual Handling http://sydney.edu.au/whs/guidelines/manual_handling/ (3) Academia (2012), Implementing Sustainable Practices http://www.academia.edu/1906099/Implementing_Sustainable_Practices_in_Greek_Eco-friendly_Hotels (4) Queensland Government (2011) Dangers in you Workplace http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/workplace/hazards/dangers/noise/effects/index.htm#.UxP9OfmSxR9 Last updated 16 April 2013 (5) Office of Regulatory Services (2010) Stress http://www.worksafe.act.gov.au/page/view/1225 Last updated 23 December 2011 (6) Sustainability Development Practices (2009), Potential Strategy for Sustainable Development http://www.academia.edu/2448061/Sustainable_Development_Practices_A_Potential_Strategy_for_Sustainable_Development_in_Emerging_Economies (7) Best Practices in Sustainability (2007) http://www.academia.edu/424130/CASE_STUDIES_OF_BEST_PRACTICES_IN_SUSTAINABILITY_IN_GERMAN_AND_ESTONIAN_HOTELS (8) Industry Examples of Sustainable Practices http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au/Policies_Plans_Strategies/Climate_Change/Pages/Industry_Examples_of_sustainable_practices.aspx (9) WorkCover Occupational Health and Safety in Hospitality (2003)