Duties for employees at a major hazard facility (MHF)

Background

Employers, including operators, at a major hazard facility are required to protect employees from any risks to health and safety created by their employment. At the same time, employees have a general duty relating to health and safety, as well as specific duties associated with MHFs.

Summary of employee duties

The OHS Regulations require employees at a major hazard facility to:

• follow prevention and risk control measures put in place by the operator
• follow emergency procedures where necessary
• immediately inform the operator of any circumstance that they think could lead to a major incident, and
• take corrective action where necessary and notify a supervisor of any action taken

Safety role for employees

Operators and/or employers must also develop a safety role for employees covering how employees will work with the employer to achieve safe operation.

The safety role includes procedures for employees to follow in assisting the operator to:

• identify major incident hazards and major incidents
• conduct or review a safety assessment
• adopt or review risk control measures
• establish and implement a safety management system