Individual risk management report, Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon

Risks and hazards exist all the time regardless of work sites/places, the main differences are the consequences and severity of the risks and hazards. Therefore, under the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act, it is a requirement for all employers to adhere and ensure that there is a safe working environment for their employees (Workplace Safety and Health Council, 2015). Apart from that, stakeholders are also responsible for taking appropriate measures to ensure their own safety and health (Ministry of Manpower, n.d). Employers must also conduct risk assessments according to the WSH Risk Management Regulation to identify potential safety hazards at the workplace and do their best to minimise or eliminate the risks completely (Ministry of Manpower, n.d).

In this assignment, we’ll be looking specifically at Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon and the plant and chemical hazards that exist within their workplace. The hazards will be looked into with depth along with risk assessments and possible control measures that can be put in placed to mitigate the risks in this report below.

Plant hazards refer to the danger posed by stuff like machinery, equipment, tools and appliances that helps carry out work in the workplace (NSW Government, 2019). This plant hazards will pose danger and can possibly cause injuries to the employees if appropriate safety precautions are not put in place to mitigate the risks.

In Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon the plant hazards would include things like the scissors that the hair stylists use, the chair on which patrons sit on, the machinery used to carry out different services, the appliances like hair dryers and even the electrical cables of the machinery and appliances.

The first plant hazard identified would be the tools used by the hair stylists in the salon. If proper training and care is not put into place when handling the tools like the scissors, hair straighteners, shavers and hair curlers (Sam Villa, n.d) that are used to provide services to the customers, injuries like cuts and burns could occur to either customers or the employees.

Another plant hazard that exists in the salon would be the stand-alone machineries that are used in the salon like the stand-alone unit hair steamer. If mishandled, these machineries could potentially fall over on to people and cause serious injuries to both employees and customers.

Lastly, the last plant hazard identified would be the electrical cables from all the machinery and tools used by the employees in the shop such as the shavers, hair dryers and stand-alone unit hair steamers. As these equipment need a power source, this means that the cabling from the equipment would be lying across the floor which would pose as a potential trip hazard to everyone who is in the shop.

According to WSH (General Provisions) regulations, it is a requirement that workers are sufficiently trained so that they can properly handle the equipment with care to mitigate the risks involved otherwise, supervision by someone with adequate knowledge and competence is needed. Warning labels should also be placed on electrical equipment in different languages to show case the dangers to everyone who is in the hair salon (Workplace Safety and Health Council, 2007).

Chemical hazards refer to danger posed by stuff like substances, mixtures and chemicals used at the workplace which can cause health hazards like skin irritation, respiratory damage, headache or even nausea through either direct contact or prolonged exposure (Comcare AU, n.d).

In Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon, the identifiable chemical hazards would include things like the hair dyes, shampoos and hair serums or chemicals that are used daily for operational purposes within the salon.

The first chemical hazard identified is P-phenylenediamine which is commonly found in hair dyes (Womens Voices, n.d)exposure to this substance can cause skin irritation and prolonged exposure to it can cause dermatitis. Dermatitis is a condition that causes skin to form rash, become swollen and in worst cases cause the skin to blister (Mayo Clinic, n.d).

Another chemical hazard is Styrene which is used as hair extension glue, exposure to it will cause vision problems, trouble concentrating and prolonged exposure comes with the potential long term effect of cancer (Womens Voices, n.d).

The last chemical hazard that can be found is Ammonium Persulfate which is commonly found in hair bleach. Exposure to this substance can cause eye, skin and nose irritation, coughing and even shortness of breath. Unhealthy prolonged exposure to the substance can cause asthma and dermatitis as well (Womens Voices, n.d).

The Globally Harmonised System (GHS) of classification and labelling of chemicals states that it is a requirement for manufacturers and suppliers to display a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) on chemical products (National GHS Task Force, 2015). The labels serve as a warning and helps people to identify the potentially hazardous chemical products so that they will be handled with care.

The labels should have as much details as possible so that users can be well informed of the hazardous risks involved in using the product. The sample of SDS can be found in Appendix 1, the SDS includes details like proper usage and handling of the products, how to dispose of the products properly, the chemical composition and ingredients within the products.

Figure 1: Risk Assessment Matrix

The risk assessment matrix will help determine whether the plant and chemical hazards will cause a significant effect on the safety and health of the stakeholders.

The plant hazard that has the highest risk in a hair salon would be the electrical cables that lie around on the ground when the employees are using the relevant equipment and tools like the hair dryer, stand-alone unit hair steamer and shavers. This hazard would carry the severity rating of “Major”, 4 with the likelihood rating of “Almost Certain”, 5 as the employees in the salon constantly use the equipment and tools on a daily basis and the chances of the accident occurring is higher due to the fact that it can be caused not only by the employees but also the customers that visit the shop. Therefore, this hazard carries an overall rating of 20.

The plant hazard of employees using their own tools like scissors, shavers, hair curler and straightener carries a severity risk of “Major”, 4 and a likelihood rating of “Occasional”, 3 as this accident will occur only if the employees are not sufficiently trained in the usage of the tools. Therefore, this hazard carries an overall rating of 12.

The chemical hazards that mentioned above, P-phenylenediamine, Styrene and Ammonium Persulfate carry a severity rating of “Major”, 4, “Catastrophic”, 5 and “Major”, 4 respectively due to a difference in consequences of prolonged exposure.

However, the likelihood of Styrene occurring and causing issues to the employees compared to P-phenylenediamine and Ammonium Persulfate is lower as the number of customers going for hair extensions is lesser compared to customers who do to salons to dye or bleach their hair. Therefore, the likelihood for the occurrence of Styrene is “Occasional”, 3 and “Frequent”, 4 for P-phenylenediamine and Ammonium Persulfate. Therefore, the overall rating for P-phenylenediamine and Ammonium Persulfate is 16 and 15 for Styrene. A more detailed look into the risk assessment can be found in Appendix 2.

The hierarchy of controls is an approach that can be put in place to help manage and reduce hazards within the workplace.

Figure 2: Hierachy of Control (US Dept of Labour, n.d)

The best outcome from conducting risk management will be the complete removal of the risks, however that is rarely the case due to a variety of reasons. Therefore, the hierarchy of control model is in created to choose the next best solution after elimination (Archer, 2017).

The next option after elimination is Substitution which includes substituting a process or product with something less hazardous to mitigate the risks.

If substitution isn’t possible, the next option is Engineering Controls. This process targets making physical changes to the work environment or work processes.

The next solution in line after engineering controls is Administrative Controls. This solution includes reduction of the risk through adhering to procedures and instructions which need to document all the steps and controls that are to be taken into consideration for a safer work environment.

The last resort in line for the hierarchy of controls is Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) which states that employees always have to put on appropriate protective equipment to reduce the severity of the hazards (Workplace Safety and Health Council, n.d).

The plant hazard with the highest risk mentioned above is the risk of loose electrical cabling lying around which causes a hazard to both employees and customers of the salon. Therefore, elimination and substitution are impossible which means the next resort in line is engineering controls. It would be recommended for Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon to fix cable trays in place to prevent loose electrical cables lying around which causes a trip hazard to all stakeholders of the salon. With the recommendation in place, the severity of the hazard would remain the same, “Major”, 4 but the likelihood of the hazard would be reduced to “Remote”, 2 meaning the overall rating would drop to an 8.

The chemical hazards are impossible to eliminate as well therefore, the recommendation for the salon is to install additional better air ventilation systems within the salon. This allows for the air within the salon to be circulated more efficiently and reduce the risk for the occurrence of the possible injuries that come along with using of the products. This will not reduce the severity of the chemical hazards, but it will reduce the likelihood of the hazards occurring.

The new overall rating can be found in appendix 2 below.

Based on the above-mentioned recommendations, it would be practical for Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon to install new ventilation systems within the shop itself. A cheap and basic ventilation system can be purchased and installed at a price $89.95. Thorough vetting of the ventilation system has to be done to ensure that the system is energy efficient and will not create additional hazards to the stakeholders like noise hazard.

It is also practical for Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon to install cable trays to ensure that there are no loose cables lying around which can pose a tripping hazards to both employees and customers of the salon therefore reducing a hazard that currently exists within the salon.

The new plant purchases will not need additional training for the employees as the do not directly impact the work processes of the employees and they can be easily implemented for Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon.

It is impossible for Streakers to completely eliminate all the hazards that exist within the salon. However, the recommendations mentioned above will help to reduce and mitigate the likelihood some of the risks and hazards that exist within the salon. Therefore, to comply with the WHS Act of ensuring a safe working environment for their employees it is the responsibility of Streakers to do as much as they can to reduce and mitigate the risks.

Word count: 1872 words

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