Plant Safety Under WHS Regulations Chapter 5: Design and Plant Registration

Scope of Chapter 5 - duties for plant

Chapter 5 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations addresses plant and structures, outlining specific duties for designers, manufacturers, importers, suppliers and users. The term 'plant' is defined broadly in section 4 of the WHS Act and encompasses machinery, equipment, appliances, containers, implements, tools, and any component of these. These duties are intended to ensure the health and safety of workers interacting with plant. WHS primary duty (s.19) places a responsibility on persons conducting businesses or undertakings to manage risks associated with plant.

Parts 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 of the chapter detail the requirements. Part 5.1 sets out general duties to manage risks associated with plant. Part 5.2 specifies control measures relating to guarding, operator controls, emergency stops, warning devices and maintenance. Part 5.3 outlines additional duties specifically for powered mobile plant, lifts and pressure equipment. Some work involving plant requires High Risk Work Licences.

Part 5.4 of the chapter details registration requirements. This includes registration for plant designs and specific items of plant listed in Schedule 5.

Designer, manufacturer, importer and supplier duties

Designers have specific obligations under the WHS Act. Section 22 of the WHS Act and regulation 192 require designers to ensure plant is designed to be without risks to health and safety. To facilitate safe manufacture, designers must provide manufacturers with the information needed to manufacture the plant safely (regulation 193). A 'design verifier' independent of the designer must verify the design against the relevant Australian Standard before design registration. This is particularly important when considering Working at heights (WHS Part 4.4) and Hazardous manual tasks (WHS Part 4.2).

Manufacturers are obligated to adhere to design registration requirements. Regulation 244 states that manufacturers must make plant only from registered designs where Schedule 5 requires design registration. This ensures a level of design scrutiny and verification before plant enters the supply chain.

Importers and suppliers also have duties. Importers must ensure the plant they import has its design registered if required (regulation 252). Suppliers must provide users with operating instructions, maintenance specifications and any necessary training materials (regulation 200) to ensure safe operation and maintenance of the plant.

Schedule 5 - registration of plant designs and items

Schedule 5 outlines the requirements for registering both plant designs and individual items of plant. Part 1 details plant designs that are subject to registration, including examples such as boilers, pressure vessels, tower cranes, lifts, escalators, building maintenance units, amusement devices and concrete-placing booms. Part 2 lists items of plant requiring registration, such as mobile cranes, tower cranes, prefabricated scaffolding and pressure vessels classified as hazard level A, B or C according to AS 4343:2014. High Risk Work Licences may be relevant to the operation of some registered plant.

Design registrations remain valid indefinitely unless cancelled, while item-of-plant registrations are valid for a period of five years and require renewal. The registration number must be clearly marked on the plant, ensuring it remains legible during operation. Pressure equipment is classified according to hazard levels under AS 4343:2014, with hazard levels A, B and C necessitating registration, while levels D and E are exempt. Asbestos removal licence classes are not relevant to plant registration.

State regulators typically charge a fee for design registration, and often require a design verifier statement as part of the registration process. Fee schedules are usually published annually by the relevant regulator, such as SafeWork NSW.

PCBU duties when using or controlling plant

PCBU duties relating to plant use and control are clearly defined within WHS regulations. Where a PCBU has management or control of plant at a workplace, they are obligated to inspect, maintain, and where required, clean that plant (regulation 213). Furthermore, guarding on plant must be fixed or interlocked to prevent access where it is not necessary (regulation 208). Failure to adhere to these duties can result in significant penalties, ranging from individual administrative penalties of $6,000 to category 1 offences carrying fines of up to $600,000 and imprisonment of up to 5 years for reckless conduct. [Industrial manslaughter by state] and [WHS industrial manslaughter comparison] provide further information on potential legal consequences.

To ensure safe operation, PCBUs must provide warning devices and operator instructions, and guarantee that operators are competent (regulation 206). Specific types of plant, such as lifting plant, require thorough examination at intervals outlined in the relevant Australian Standard.

Following incidents involving plant, PCBUs must report notifiable incidents to the regulator and preserve the site. Examples of notifiable incidents include dangerous incidents as defined under section 37 of the WHS Act.