Safety Talk ST001- Understanding Duty of Care
Sheet 4 - The Incident
Bryan Smith was unloading stationery and medical started to move some of the material to the lower
supplies from the back of his van. He had been asked shelves.
by Karen Stone, the supervisor, to take the material
into the store room. Three weeks earlier, Frances and the others had
attended a safety talk where they had been shown the
Three times this month Bryan had delivered material correct storage and stacking methods and how to use
to the clinic. On each occasion he had been step ladders for reaching the high areas .
instructed to stack the material against the office wall
in the store room where it could be sorted and Some of the material Frances had to move was on the
distributed to other departments later. higher shelves and required a ladder to reach it. The
material Bryan had delivered was stacked in front of the
The store room contained equipment and materials ladder storage area. This didn’t concern Frances as
such cleaning materials, electrical leads, ladders etc. she had often stood on an office chair in the past to
reach the top shelves. She didn’t hesitate to use it
As normal he was in a hurry, he decided to save time again this time.
by placing all the stores in one heap on the floor of the
store room. No one had commented about this in the The storage shelves she was clearing were located
past. behind the store room door. The door was not fitted
with a lock.
To cover himself Bryan told Alice Wright, the
receptionist, to let someone know the material was on As Frances stood on the chair Bill, the cleaner, opened
the floor. Alice forgot to pass on the message. the door knocking the chair which was fitted with
casters.
Frances White, was responsible for the storage of all
the equipment and materials. She had spent the Frances fell from the chair and broke her wrist.
morning tidying up some of the storage racks and now
TRAINING NATIONAL
Safety Talk ST001- Understanding Duty of Care
Sheet 5 - Bryan Smith
Bryan has failed to ensure the safety and
health of another employee by not
stacking the material as instructed.
He left the hazard for others to fix. Just
informing the receptionist about the
problem does not meet his Duty of Care
responsibility.
TRAINING NATIONAL
Safety Talk ST001- Understanding Duty of Care
Sheet 6 - Karen Stone (The Supervisor)
The Supervisor has failed to
enforce safety and health
procedures.
She failed to take appropriate
action on three occasions in the
past when Bryan had stacked the
material creating a hazard.
She should have arranged for
the immediate relocation of the
material.
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Safety Talk ST001- Understanding Duty of Care
Sheet 7 - Alice Wright
Alice failed to ensure the safety of
others by not informing the
supervisor that the material was in a
heap on the floor.
Meeting your Duty of Care requires
you to act and work in a way that
does not put your safety and the
safety of others at risk.
This means following company
operating procedures and safety
rules.
TRAINING NATIONAL
Safety Talk ST001- Understanding Duty of Care
Sheet 8 - Frances White
Frances failed to ensure her own health and
safety by standing on the chair.
She should have followed company safety
rules and procedures. She had been trained
in the correct storage and stacking
practices.
Not taken shortcuts to save time or effort.
Using a ladder and wedging the door would
have prevented the accident.
TRAINING NATIONAL
Safety Talk ST001- Understanding Duty of Care
Sheet 9 - The employer
The employer has failed
to enforce a safe system
of work.
He failed to enforce
adequate supervision.
He failed to enforce the
correct safe guards eg.
Ensuring the door was
locked or appropriate
signs.
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