Work health and safety and risk management: HSC Design and Technology Designing and Producing
“Apply work health and safety principles to the design and production of a solution, including hazard identification, risk assessment, control measures, safe operating procedures and relevant standards”
Work health and safety in design means systematically identifying hazards, assessing their risk, and controlling them using the hierarchy of control: eliminate, substitute, isolate, use engineering controls, use administrative controls, then use personal protective equipment as a last resort. Safe operating procedures, training and compliance with relevant Australian Standards keep production safe, and WHS evidence is required throughout the folio.
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What this dot point is asking
NESA wants you to apply work health and safety, or WHS, throughout the design and production of your solution. This means identifying hazards, assessing the risk they pose, choosing control measures, writing safe operating procedures and following relevant standards. WHS is both a professional obligation and an assessable part of the Major Design Project folio.
The answer
Why WHS matters in design
WHS is a legal and ethical responsibility, not an afterthought. Designers must consider safety for the people who make a product and the people who use it. In the Major Design Project, planning and recording safe practice is assessable, and high risk processes such as work involving mains electrical voltage require certification by an accredited person in line with Australian Standards.
Hazard identification
The first step is identifying hazards, anything with the potential to cause harm. In a workshop these include sharp tools, machinery, dust, fumes, noise, heat, chemicals, electricity, manual handling and the layout of the space itself. Hazards are identified by inspecting the workspace, reading equipment manuals and consulting safety data sheets for materials.
Risk assessment
Once hazards are identified, you assess the risk each poses by considering how likely harm is and how severe it would be. A risk matrix combining likelihood and consequence helps rank hazards so the most serious are controlled first. Documenting this assessment in the folio shows a professional, systematic approach to safety.
The hierarchy of control
Risks are reduced using the hierarchy of control, from most to least effective:
- Eliminate the hazard entirely, for example by removing a dangerous process.
- Substitute it with something safer, such as a less toxic adhesive.
- Isolate people from the hazard, for example with guarding or a separate area.
- Engineering controls, such as ventilation, machine guards or dust extraction.
- Administrative controls, such as safe procedures, signage and training.
- Personal protective equipment, such as eye protection, gloves and hearing protection, used only as a last resort.
The order matters: PPE protects one person if everything else fails, whereas elimination removes the risk for everyone.
Safe operating procedures and training
A safe operating procedure sets out the correct, safe steps for using a particular machine or process. Combined with proper training and supervision, these administrative controls ensure equipment is used correctly. Recording the procedures you followed in the folio demonstrates that production was managed safely.
Standards and compliance
Australian Standards define safe requirements for materials, equipment and processes. Relevant standards might cover electrical safety, protective equipment or particular materials. Compliance is both a legal duty and evidence of professional practice. High voltage practical work must be checked and certified by an accredited person before use.
WHS evidence in the folio
WHS is documented across the folio, not in a single page. The proposal flags safety considerations, development records risk assessments for chosen processes, and realisation shows safe practice with dated evidence such as photographs of guarding, PPE and a tidy, controlled workspace. This continuous record is what markers reward.
Why this matters in the HSC
Safe practice is assessed within the Major Design Project, and the written paper can ask about WHS in design and production. A response that names the hierarchy of control and explains why elimination beats PPE, supported by a real example from a workshop process, shows the depth markers look for.
The hierarchy of control ranks risk treatments from most to least effective as eliminate, substitute, isolate, engineering controls, administrative controls and finally personal protective equipment, so PPE is the last resort rather than the first response.
- Treating PPE as the main control
- PPE is the last resort; eliminating or substituting the hazard is far more effective.
- Listing hazards without assessing risk
- Rank hazards by likelihood and consequence so the most serious are controlled first.
- Documenting WHS on one page
- Safety evidence should run continuously through proposal, development and realisation.
- Ignoring standards and certification
- High risk work, such as mains electrical work, requires certification by an accredited person under Australian Standards.
Exam-style questions
Questions in the style of NESA exam questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer. They are written by ExamExplained unless tagged "Past paper"; the year shows the paper a question is modelled on.
2023 HSC-style1 markWhat is the primary purpose of a work health and safety (WHS) risk assessment? A. To identify dangerous equipment B. To evaluate workshop organisation and practices C. To assess the impact of materials on the environment D. To identify and assess potential injury or illness in the workplaceShow worked answer →
The correct answer is D, to identify and assess potential injury or illness in the workplace.
A WHS risk assessment is the systematic process of identifying hazards and judging the likelihood and severity of the harm they could cause, so that control measures can be put in place. Its purpose is therefore to identify and assess potential injury or illness, which is exactly what D states.
A is too narrow, dangerous equipment is only one possible hazard. B describes a general workshop review rather than a risk assessment, and C confuses WHS with environmental impact assessment, which addresses harm to the environment, not worker safety.