School: Medical and Health Sciences

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Workplace Hazards
  • Unit Code

    OHS6107
  • Year

    2024
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    3
  • Credit Points

    20
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Mrs Sally-Anne Jonathyn DOHERTY

Description

This unit introduces students to a range of work related hazards and their potential adverse impacts on the health of workers. Students will cover a range of hazards to which an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professional needs to be aware. A number of tools that may be used to assess the extent of the risk of exposure to chemical, physical, gravitational, plant, electrical, biomechanical, psychological and biological hazards will be covered.

Non Standard Timetable Requirements

On-line delivery of modules and utilising case studies and discussion boards.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Identify and classify hazards according to the type (chemical, physical, gravitational, plant, electrical, biomechanical, psychological and biological) and assess when a hazard becomes a risk to humans, plant, organisation and/or the environment.
  2. Evaluate the potential health impacts associated with exposures to a range of chemical, physical, gravitational, plant, electrical, biomechanical, psychological and biological agents.
  3. Propose control strategies, including principles of safe design to reduce the risk from exposures to a range of workplace hazards.
  4. Communicate using professional and academic writing and research skills at a postgraduate level.

Unit Content

  1. Hazard as a concept.
  2. Design and control requirements for reducing risks from mechanical, fixed plant and mobile plant.
  3. Issues relating to gravitational hazards (people and things falling from heights), slips and trips and electrical hazards.
  4. Chemical safety including dangerous goods and Safety Data Sheets.
  5. Physical hazard: Noise.
  6. Physical hazard: Thermal.
  7. Biomechanical hazards including introduction to ergonomics.
  8. Psychosocial hazards.
  9. Introduction to biological hazards such as viruses, bacteria and fungi.
  10. Basic engineering principles of safe design.

Learning Experience

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Additional Learning Experience Information

This is an off-campus unit and therefore the majority of the contact will be via interaction on-line. Key study material and readings will be set for each topic and a threaded discussion will take place between students with the teaching staff. Teaching will centre on a problem-solving approach.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentBriefing Note on a Specific Occupational Hazard30%
PresentationToolbox Talk on a specific occupational hazard25%
Reflective PracticeReflective paper on presentation5%
TestOccupational hazards test (end of semester)40%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

OHS6107|3|1

School: Medical and Health Sciences

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Workplace Hazards
  • Unit Code

    OHS6107
  • Year

    2024
  • Enrolment Period

    2
  • Version

    3
  • Credit Points

    20
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Mrs Sally-Anne DOHERTY

Description

This unit introduces students to a range of work related hazards and their potential adverse impacts on the health of workers. Students will cover a range of hazards to which an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professional needs to be aware. A number of tools that may be used to assess the extent of the risk of exposure to chemical, physical, gravitational, plant, electrical, biomechanical, psychological and biological hazards will be covered.

Non Standard Timetable Requirements

On-line delivery of modules and utilising case studies and discussion boards.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Identify and classify hazards according to the type (chemical, physical, gravitational, plant, electrical, biomechanical, psychological and biological) and assess when a hazard becomes a risk to humans, plant, organisation and/or the environment.
  2. Evaluate the potential health impacts associated with exposures to a range of chemical, physical, gravitational, plant, electrical, biomechanical, psychological and biological agents.
  3. Propose control strategies, including principles of safe design to reduce the risk from exposures to a range of workplace hazards.
  4. Communicate using professional and academic writing and research skills at a postgraduate level.

Unit Content

  1. Hazard as a concept.
  2. Design and control requirements for reducing risks from mechanical, fixed plant and mobile plant.
  3. Issues relating to gravitational hazards (people and things falling from heights), slips and trips and electrical hazards.
  4. Chemical safety including dangerous goods and Safety Data Sheets.
  5. Physical hazard: Noise.
  6. Physical hazard: Thermal.
  7. Biomechanical hazards including introduction to ergonomics.
  8. Psychosocial hazards.
  9. Introduction to biological hazards such as viruses, bacteria and fungi.
  10. Basic engineering principles of safe design.

Learning Experience

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Additional Learning Experience Information

This is an off-campus unit and therefore the majority of the contact will be via interaction on-line. Key study material and readings will be set for each topic and a threaded discussion will take place between students with the teaching staff. Teaching will centre on a problem-solving approach.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentBriefing Note on a Specific Occupational Hazard40%
PresentationToolbox Talk on a specific occupational hazard30%
Reflective PracticeReflective paper on presentation10%
TestOccupational hazards test (end of semester)20%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

OHS6107|3|2