By Chris Coetzee, Health and Safety Consultant, OHSS Consulting
P.R.I.M.E – The Plumbing Risk and Incident Management Education Course brought to you by OHSS Consulting (Pty) Ltd and Sponsored by IOPSA is the benchmark safety course for plumbers
Chris Coetzee. Image by Chris Coetzee
Many plumbers may not know about this course or why it was designed. Let us look at what’s inside the PRIME course and how you can be a part of it.
Back in 2019, there was a question on the minds of the IOPSA safety department, “How do we make safety more enjoyable, accessible and specific for our members?” With this spark and a few months of deep thought, the P.R.I.M.E course was shaped.
Starting off with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act) as the first few modules, we delve into the 50 sections of the current OHS Act of South Africa, reading and explaining each section. This is vital as every employer and employee should know and understand the health and safety legislation and try to apply it daily.
This then led us naturally to the next set of modules which helps plumbers understand their legal liability in terms of their roles and responsibilities of the law. Each of us has a part to play in the safety management system of our company. This course helps you to navigate the ins and outs of liability.
Next, we thought about a major part of the safety management system, communication between management and employees, specifically around OHS needs and responsibility. With that in mind, the third set of modules discuss the functions of workplace health and safety representatives, known as ‘SHE Reps’ by many.
Although the law states that you only need to ensure you have a SHE Rep when the company reaches 20 employees or more, IOPSA knows that this is the minimum compliance structure, and you may choose to implement this structure for the betterment of your company and employees. IOPSA encourages its members to initiate this programme regardless of how many employees you have and ensure the lines of OHS communication are open.
Now that a student has a good understanding of the safety legislation and how a safety system is developed, we take a step into the hazard identification and risk assessment part of the course, with a two-part section, the ‘Introduction to HIRA’ and ‘HIRA for Plumbers’.
In these modules we explain how hazards can be identified and where they originate from. We also look at the risk mitigation strategies that are based off well known and developed systems such as the ‘Hierarchy of Controls’ that point us in the direction of risk elimination and engineering type strategies before we even consider a document or Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
The right equipment is vital for safety. Image by pvproductions on Freepik
This helps a plumber get into the risk-based thinking mindset and aids in helping every person on the job to be keenly aware of their surroundings and the potential for risk from the very start of a project or task.
In the ‘HIRA for Plumbers’ modules the focus is on what a plumber may experience in their daily working routines and shows how we may take for granted the risks we face each day. Often the risk is well known and thought to be part of the job, or on the other hand, the task is seen as a normal situation and not a risk. In both instances, we may become relaxed in our thinking of risk and allow these dangers to cause harm and damage. These modules also assist the supervisor in understanding what risk control measures must be implemented before any tasks are undertaken.
It was at this point of developing the PRIME course that we needed to take into consideration that incidents and accidents occur, and these must be dealt with in a manner that focuses on the prevention of future incidents.
In these modules under ‘Incident Management’, we look at the various incident and accident scenarios and what must be done from a legislative and a prevention point of view. Knowing which document must be submitted to the Department of Labour, to what is needed to claim from compensation, this essentially becomes a how-to guide for incident investigators.
Plumbers must also be prepared for emergencies; this is the next set of modules which discusses ‘Emergency Planning and Management’. In these modules we are taken through various emergencies and what steps are suggested to ensure that you are ready for firefighting, first aid or evacuation.
IOPSA and OHSS Consulting (Pty) Ltd wanted to complement this PRIME course with another set of practical training, free Basic Firefighting and free First Aid Level 1. These are classroom-based courses that will be facilitated at various venues around South Africa.
With its official start in 2022, we have had an overwhelming appreciation from plumbers who have gone through the programme and who have attended the classroom based free courses. This means that the online PRIME course is still ongoing and ready to be taken up by any plumber. The value of the course is R15,000.00, with IOPSA members getting this as well as the first aid level 1 and basic firefighting free of charge.
The right equipment is vital for safety. Image by Freepik
So, if you have not had the opportunity to do so yet, get in touch with IOPSA and become a member today.
We have also had confirmation that any plumber who wishes to work toward a ‘Master Plumber’ status can use this as their health and safety course, making P.R.I.M.E the benchmark for all plumbers.
| This Plumbing Risk and Incident Management Education Course was designed to assist IOPSA member plumbers to achieve a high standard of occupational health and safety within their company.
The content of this course was derived from various sources including training manuals previously used by OHSS Consulting (Pty) Ltd to train and mentor businesses within South Africa. All the content of this course was specifically chosen by OHSS Consulting (Pty) Ltd to create a comprehensive Occupational Health and Safety Course that focuses on all the specific needs of plumbers within South Africa. The material and content are based off legislation, industry best practice and standards that are used to achieve health and safety compliance. |
The materials and content used are designed to assist IOPSA Member Plumbers design, implement and continually improve their Occupational Health and Safety compliance in their businesses, on projects, on sites and at their clients.
The materials and content used are designed to assist IOPSA Member Plumbers design, implement and continually improve their Occupational Health and Safety compliance in their businesses, on projects, on sites and at their clients.
It is the desire of both OHSS Consulting (Pty) Ltd and The Institute of Plumbing South Africa – IOPSA, that every Member Plumber undertake this course. Get in touch via the IOPSA website or send us an email to safety@iopsa.org
