Woodworx (Pty) Ltd is a large-scale sawmill which turns timber into pieces of cut wood which can then be cut further into boards to be used in construction. Woodworx is considered old-fashioned as it is not computerized and automated as other modern sawmills of today.

Every piece of timber begins as a log. A sawyer uses a head saw, head rig and primary saw to initially break the log into cants. Several boards can be cut from a single log. Cants are then fed into the sawmill. Cants go through rows of main saws each of which has rows of rotating, extremely sharp blades. This sawmill use manual feeding of the timber into the main saws.

The cut timber goes down a conveyor belt and a trimmer are used to trim the boards to the required specifications. The timber is stacked before it has to go onto being dried and planed for final finishing.

QUESTIONS 1

1.1. Provide any three (3) legal appointments from the applicable OHSA Regulations that Woodworx would be required to make and provide the relevant legal reference.

1.2. Woodworx employs 84 employees. This Sawmill operates on a two-shift basis, a morning shift from 6am to 6pm and a night shift from 6pm to 6am. 41 Employees work on the morning shift and 43 employees work on the night shift.

1.3. Assume you have been appointed as Health and Safety Consultant by Woodworx to advise the Sawmill on the number of health and safety representatives to be appointed at the Mill. Make reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 in your answer.

1.4. In your own words, provide a detailed explanation of what the legal requirements are when it comes to the safe use of circular saws in industry.

1.5. Explain the ‘hierarchy of control’ and provide one (1) example of each control level as it would apply to Woodworx.

1.6.With reference to the case information, provide the five (5) major types of hazards and cite one (1) example of each hazard that may be present at Woodworx.

1.7. Explain the term ‘peril’ in your own words.

1.8. Explain in your own words what ‘a holistic approach’ to safety means.

1.9 .Summarise your understanding of the core aspects of an OSHMS and briefly explain each aspect as it would apply to your organisation.

QUESTION 2

2.1. “Back injuries account for the highest number of on-the-job employee injuries”.

2.1.1. What do you suggest can be done to prevent back injuries when it comes to manual handling in your organisation?

2.2. Describe and expand on Frank E. Bird’s Pyramid, the cornerstone of the 20th century workplace health and safety philosophy.

2.3. Discuss seven (7) methods of incident prevention as it would apply to your workplace. Include related examples to support your discussion.

2.4.“It is very important that fire extinguishers are numbered and entered into a register. Monthly checks must also be carried out”.

2.4.1. Describe seven (7) important items that you would need to check for when conducting these monthly checks within your organisation.

2.5 .“An occupational hygiene programme should be designed around the nature of the business operations and should take the form of an all-inclusive written document”.

2.5.1. Briefly explain how your company can ensure the success of its ‘occupational hygiene programme’.