End of earthmoving licenses in NSW and QLD
Fri, Oct 28 2011
As of 1st October 2011 NSW no longer issues licences for earthmoving equipment. Queensland is soon to follow on 1st January 2012. So what does this mean for mining companies, earthmoving companies and private contractors who use earthmoving equipment as part of their business?
Meeting the employer Duty of Care under the OHS Act
The main difference “post NSW and QLD earthmoving licence” is that the duty of care of the employer is greatly increased. If an accident involving earthmoving equipment was to occur on site, the employer would need to show that they met their duty of care obligations by doing everything possible to make sure the operator was properly trained, and had the right skills and knowledge to be performing that task at the time the incident occurred.
What do businesses need to do to meet their duty of care once earthmoving licenses are gone?
Let’s tackle this question from this point of view. A WorkCover/WorkSafe inpector comes out to a worksite to investigate why a worker was injured when the excavator he was operating rolled over. What are they going to want to see from the employer?
1. Did you recruit properly?
While not always an issue there’s many times where you’re going to want an experienced operator. The best way to show that you recruited a person competent for the job is to either employ someone who has had their licence under the old system, or someone who has received a statement of attainment for a relevant unit of competency from a registered training organization (RTO). A statement of attainment from the new RII09 units of competency are a current, nationally recognized qualification for specific pieces of earthmoving equipment.
2. Did you check that they were competent?
Did you just look at their qualifications and experience and think “They should be right?” or did you actually verify that they were competent? Verification of competency (VOC) is another key area that employees need to be aware of with earthmoving licenses being dropped.
In simple terms, VOC works like this. Before someone starts using a piece of earthmoving equipment you give them a written or oral test and practical test to prove they have the knowledge and skills to operate the machine safely. If they pass then you’ve verified that they are competent. If they do not pass, you have identified their training requirements and can organise training for them.
The trainer's resource CD has all the written and practical tests you need to verify that your staff are competent. The trainer's resource CD comes as part of our our Start Up Pack.
3. Did you train your employees properly?
You can’t always recruit an operator who has the experience you’d like on that particular machine. Sometimes you are going to train someone to do the job. Under the new system this is fine, but you need to make sure you’ve done it properly. You need to have good training materials and assessment materials, and a competent trainer who can teach the operator and assess that they’ve learned what they need to know. If possible your training materials should be written to a national unit of competency. A national unit of competency statement of a attainment is a government document used by registered training organizations (RTOs) all over Australia. By training to a national unit of competency you are showing that your training meets the required skills and knowledge the industry skills council for your industry has recommended.
4. Do you have proof of all this?
A verbal agreement is not worth the paper it’s NOT written on. If you did face some sort of legal action because of a workplace incident you need written documentary evidence that you’ve met your duty of care. By having the original application from the operator which shows he had experience, the results of their written and practical VOC test, evidence of the training and assessment you’ve given them, you’ve gone a long way to proving you met your duty of care.
Will Queensland and NSW dropping their earthmoving licences make the earthmoving industry unsafe?
No, there is no reason why it should. It just brings these states in line with the other Australian states and territories. It may actually help make the industry safer. Employers cannot be slack when employing operators under the new system. To meet their duty of care means employers must put more checks and training in place to make sure their employees are competent. These checks don’t necessarily happen now because it is assumed that because someone holds a licence, they are competent.
Putting someone on a machine without verifying that they are competent could be dangerous.
Where can I get good training courses and assessment materials?
We recommend the new RII09 Start Up Packs.
http://www.easyguides.com.au/store/front-end-loader/front-end-loader---civil-construction
http://www.easyguides.com.au/store/excavator/excavator-startup-pack---pre-order
http://www.easyguides.com.au/store/skid-steer-loader/skid-steer-loader-startup-pack---pre-order
http://www.easyguides.com.au/store/backhoe/loaderbackhoe-startup-pack---pre-order
These materials were built for registered training organisations to help pass audit and for private companies to help meet their duty of care. They come with everything you need to train and assess your staff including easy to read guides, logbook, multimedia presentations and a trainer’s resource CD which contains a range of training and assessment tasks.
For more information about these training materials or how to meet your duty of care, please email me at cal at easyguides dot com dot au – or phone on 1300 733 220.