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Monsters beware!
Introduction
Mastering the numeracy and maths associated with Occupational Health
and Safety contributes greatly to a true understanding of important OHS
issues. This unit is part of a series of three activity-based units dealing with OHS and numeracy.
The purpose of the activities is to introduce OHS content in an engaging manner with a view to better
preparing the learner for the workplace, whilst developing numeracy and mathematics skills required
for Foundation/Intermediate VCAL.
Each unit consists of two main activities dealing with different aspects of OHS and a range of numeracy
skills. The activities use OHS issues as the context to introduce the numeracy and mathematics skills
necessary for young learners to fully engage with real work environments.
The units have been written so they can be used by both maths teachers and teachers who do not have
a strong mathematical background or who are not experienced in teaching numeracy. They contain a
number of features that may assist in the delivery, including: approaches to using the activities;
preliminary and follow up exercises; suggested questions for discussion; and student worksheets and
handouts, including guides for creating tables, graphs and reports.
Purpose
Young people are most at risk from workplace OHS incidents. Identifying some of the potential hazards
in a workplace, and gaining a real appreciation of the consequences of disregarding them, may assist
young workers to gain enough confidence to speak out or ask questions at work.
The purpose of this unit is to raise awareness of likely workplace hazards, look at signage and other
warning systems used in workplaces, and decide which are the most effective warning signs and/or
systems. It should lead to more informed discussions about the injuries most common to young
workers in relation to these hazards.
The activities in this unit focus on three important questions:
Which hazards are most likely to be the cause of injuries?
What warning systems are being used in workplaces?
How is signage used in workplaces? What makes signage effective?
Overview of the unit
There are two main activities in this unit. They are designed to complement and enhance each other,
however, either activity can be done independently. The activities depend on all students visiting one or
more local sites (preferably workplaces, but also public facilities such as sports centres, libraries, bus or
train stations or shopping malls). Visits can be done either as a class, in small groups or individually.
Data for both activities can be collected on the same visit. The unit activities will require two or more
class sessions plus the time for the visit(s). Some preparation is needed before the visit.
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Activity 1 – Here be monsters
Through a preliminary discussion, followed by a visit to a workplace or public facility, learners
investigate the potential hazards most likely to cause workplace injuries. Collected data is presented in
tables, graphs and reports and may be compared with statistics on the ‘Injury Hotspots’ website.
Activity 2 – Good signs, bad signs
Learners collect information on warning signs and protective measures at the site(s) visited and analyse
their usefulness and effectiveness. They analyse categories of OHS signs and then design, measure and
draw signs of their own in accordance with OHS sign conventions and sizes.
The activities can be contextualised to a particular local industry, or conducted over a range of
industries and workplaces, as applicable. Students could also choose to investigate workplaces in which
they work or have work placements.
Activity Numeracy content OHS learning
Activity 1: Here Be Monsters – hazards
Creating tables
And graphs
Writing reports of numeracy activities
Interpreting site plans (if available)
Locating and interpreting maps and public transport maps – internet or hard copy (optional extra)
Locating and interpreting timetables – internet or hard copy (optional extra)
Calculating with time (optional extra)
Potential hazards in some local workplaces
How OHS helps reduce accidents in the workplace
Activity 2: Good Signs, Bad Signs
Recognising and naming 2D shapes
Designing 2D signs according to conventions
Using measuring instruments to measure and draw shapes
Drawing 2D shapes in simple ratios (e.g. half or quarter real size)
Interpreting site plans (if available)
Locating and interpreting maps and public transport maps – internet or hard copy (optional extra)
Locating and interpreting timetables – internet or hard copy (optional extra)
Calculating with time (optional extra)
Meanings of OHS signs and language
Categories of OHS signs
Elements of effective and ineffective signs
How OHS helps reduce accidents in the workplace
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Resources requirements
Activity sheets and handouts
Activity 1
Worksheet 1: Potential workplace hazards
Worksheet 2: Workplace hazard observations
Site plan of relevant workplaces (if available)
Handout 1: Elements of a good graph (optional)
Handout 2: Guide to writing a report on an activity (optional)
Hazard Fact sheets for relevant industries downloaded from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/safe@work/workplace_hazards.asp
Activity 2
Worksheet 3: OHS signs survey
Activity sheet 1: OHS signs and categories
Site plan of relevant workplaces (if available)
Facilities and equipment White board or butchers paper
Access to computers and internet for: o safety sign information o Google maps and public transport sites (optional)
Street directories and/or local maps (optional)
Rulers and pencils
Graph paper (optional)
Video camera (optional)
Assessment and curriculum alignment
The activities in this unit are designed to support student learning but may also be used for assessment
purposes. The activities support the learning outcomes listed in the table below but may not cover all
the elements. If the activities are to be used as assessment tasks, teachers should check the relevant
curriculum document, e.g. the VCAL Curriculum Planning Guides, to ensure all the elements are
covered and the activity is consistent with the unit purpose statement.
While documentation from undertaking the activities in this unit can be collected to build a portfolio of
evidence to be used for the assessment of relevant learning outcomes, students should demonstrate
competence of a learning outcome on more than one occasion and in different contexts, to ensure the
assessment is consistent, reliable, fair and equitable.
VCAL
Foundation
VCAL Inter-
mediate
VCAL Senior VELS Primary e-
phase
Activity 1:
Here Be
Monsters –
hazards
Numeracy -
LO 5
WRS 1 &2
Numeracy -
LO 5
WRS 1 &2
Mathematics
Measure-ment, chance & data
Engage Explore Explain Elaborate Evaluate
Activity 2:
Good Signs,
Bad Signs
Numeracy -
LO 1
WRS 1 – LO 4
Numeracy -
LO 1
WRS 1 – LO 4
Mathematics
Space
Engage Explore Explain
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Preparation for the unit
Planning visits
Before students can do these activities it is necessary to plan how each student can visit one or more
workplaces. They could either go on teacher organised visits (as a whole class or in smaller groupings)
or they could plan their own visit to workplaces that they are familiar with - those in which they already
have jobs or work placements, or workplaces of friends or family.
Note: If a class visit is planned, you will probably need to make a preliminary visit or contact the
worksite prior to the excursion to collect a simple site plan and seek information on the protocols
and/or requirements for the visit (e.g. need for protective clothing, prohibited areas, supervision
requirements, how many students are allowed in one area at a time and how long they may stay there,
etc). Viewing the site plan would be valuable prior to the excursion.
If students are making visits in pairs or small groups, make sure they know to ask about, and observe,
the required protocols for the sites they visit (e.g. do not enter prohibited areas, wear hard hats, etc).
Encourage them to obtain copies of site plans if possible.
If workplace visits are not feasible, or if you want students to look at multiple sites, they could also
make brief visits to public facilities such as libraries, sporting facilities, hospitals, bus or train stations, or
shopping malls.
Optional preliminary activity
If students are going on a visit to somewhere unfamiliar to them, you could get them to do some
planning for the trip as a preliminary class exercise. Planning activities could involve any of the
following:
Locate the site on a map using Google Maps, hard copy maps or street directories (whatever is
appropriate for your locality and student group).
Use the map or a public transport site to decide on feasible public transport routes.
Use timetables and likely travelling times to decide which bus, train, tram, etc to catch (using
either public transport sites or hard copies of timetables).
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Activity 1: Here be monsters
Before you begin
Providing relevant OHS materials: Download several ‘Hazard Fact Sheets’ that might be relevant to the
workplaces or sites being visited.
See http://www.education.vic.gov.au/safe@work/workplace_hazards.asp
What to do
Provide students with copies of relevant Hazard Fact Sheets to refer to throughout the activity.
Raising awareness of workplace hazards
Ask students to brainstorm situations that lead to injuries in their individual work, leisure, home or class
situations [e.g. burns (fast food outlets), muscle strain (gym work or sports), psychological stress (busy
customer service situations), hearing loss (loud concerts)]. If they do not immediately come up with ideas of
their own, distribute copies of the ‘Hazard Fact Sheets’
During the brainstorm:
Try to get students to focus on hazards found in situations they are familiar with (many will be
generic or cover more than one workplace).
Distinguish between the idea of a ‘hazard’ as opposed to an ‘injury’ or ‘accident’.
Introducing the workplace visit
Discuss the purpose of the workplace visits with the students (observing OHS hazards and signs) and canvas
suggestions for potential workplace sites they could visit in small groups. The potential industries or
worksites identified can then be used for the following exercise.
Identifying potential hazards related to class visit(s)
On the next page is a sample table with possible visit sites as column headings and with examples of hazards
that may be found in the first column. The likelihood of this type of hazard being found at each site can be
denoted by a tick in the appropriate cell. Together with the class, use Activity sheet 1: Potential workplace
hazards to create a similar table for sites relevant to your students’ visits.
Note: If all students are going on the same visit you might want to use different sections or workstations
within that workplace as your column headings. The site plans would be useful at this point, so that students
could locate each of the sections or workstations/workspaces.
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Workplace Example Hazard
Office Super- market
Petrol station
Aged care
centre
Hair- dresser
Building site
Fast food
outlet
Cutting tools
Slippery floors
Obstacles
Chemicals
Standing/fatigue
Manual handling
Extreme temperatures
Cooking equipment
Hot oil/grease
Exposure to blood
Vehicles
Noise/vibration
Animals
Working at heights
Equipment
Electricity
Other
…..
…..
…..
When the column headings have been agreed upon, go through one of the columns together as an example
in order to clarify the meaning of the language and terminology used. The specific tools, obstacles, etc likely
to be present should be discussed as you decide where the ticks should be placed.
Encourage students to add further suggestions in the rows under the ‘Other’ heading, so that their final list
will be customised by their input.
Then put students into pairs to discuss the hazards which might apply in two or more of the sites named.
Students should be ready to explain to the class what they had in mind for each tick they put in.
Compare ideas as a whole class and see how much agreement there is.
Students should take this list on their workplace visits as a reminder of the hazards to look for.
Observation sheets for the visits: Distribute copies of Worksheet 2: Workplace OHS observations and using
the sample below as a guide, show students how to fill them in when they go on their visits. You might like
to use the previous exercise to look at a few imaginary workplaces/workspaces as a model for them. Ensure
that students take these worksheets on their workplace visit.
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Sample worksheet 2:
Workplace: Jay’s Petrol Station Group 3 Emily, Aaron, Hassan
Workplace/ workspace
Hazard& possible risk
No. of times observed
Risk control action
Sales area Wet floor – slippery Could slip
1 time Roped off area with ‘Careful wet floor’ signs
Ask the students to mark the hazards on their site plans during their visits. If there is no site plan for the
workplace ask students to create a rough sketch plan themselves.
Follow up - combining the data
During the follow-up session lead the class in creating a combined list of the hazards they identified and
make a table, as illustrated below.
Suggested discussion questions that could be used during this process:
What potential hazards did you observe?
Were some more dangerous than others?
How would you rank them (frequency, potential injury or damage, etc)?
Did some people see more hazards than others?
Which part of the workplace was the most hazardous? Why?
What were the most common hazards you observed? Why?
Were the results surprising? Why?
Hazard & possible risk No. of times observed
Risk control action
Wet floor - slippery, could slip
Group 1- 4 times Group 2- 3 times Group 3- 1 time Total=8
Signs, barricades etc
Noise Ear muffs, ear signs
Electrical shock Protective gear
Ask students to create a column graph of one or both of the following:
‘Hazards’ on the horizontal axis and ‘Number of times observed’ on the vertical axis.
‘Workplaces’ or ‘Workstations’ on the horizontal axis and ‘Number of hazards’ on the vertical axis.
Handout 1: Elements of a good column graph is provided for use with students who are not yet familiar with
creating column graphs.
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Report
Ask students to work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to compile a report on their visit, their findings,
interpretations and recommendations. The report should focus on how to avoid or reduce potential hazards
in a workplace.
The report may be in the form of:
a short visit report
an oral presentation of results
a poster/e-poster
a journal entry - “What I found out today”
a cartoon sequence (focus on the hazard to be avoided)
a video report (if this is an option then ensure that filming occurs throughout the excursion and that
permission is obtained beforehand by the workplace management).
Note: If you wish to encourage students to create a written report for this activity, refer to Handout 2: Guide
to writing a report on an activity.
Comparing results with industry-wide figures (optional extension)
Ask students to research the industry related to the workplace they visited (e.g. Injury Hot Spots -
www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/wsinternet/WorkSafe/Home/Safety+and+Prevention/Injury+H
otspots/) or hand out the Hazard Fact Sheets for their particular industry.
The following suggestions may be used to guide the students in making their comparisons:
the most serious hazard in that industry
other serious hazards found in that industry e.g. toxic chemicals or air, extreme temperatures or
noise
reasons why injuries occur, e.g. negligence, rush, loss of concentration, ignorance.
These observations could then be added as a final section to students’ reports.
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Potential workplace hazards
Workplaces
Example Hazard
Cutting tools Slippery floors Obstacles Chemicals Standing/fatigue Manual handling Extreme temperatures Cooking equipment Hot oil/grease Exposure to blood Vehicles Noise/vibration Animals Working at heights Equipment Electricity Other
Activity
sheet 1
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Workplace OHS observations
Workplace:____________________________________
Group: _______________________________________
Workplace/
Workspace
Hazard Detail
No. of times
observed
Risk Control Action
Activity
sheet 2
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5
15
0
10
0
0
Handout 1: Elements of a good column graph
A graph is a way of communicating your data or information so that other people
can see it quickly and clearly.
To be clear to the reader, every graph needs:
a title – a name that tells the reader what it is about
two labels, one for each axis (vertical and horizontal)
equally spaced scale markings on each axis
a clear explanation of the scales – either clear numbers beside the scale markings
or a key for each of the scales, e.g., 1 cm = 5 times
a clearly marked starting point on each of the axes.
Tips when drawing graphs:
usually zero is the beginning of the axis but sometimes this is not the case and the
symbol is used to show that axis does not go all the way to zero
each column or bar is always the same width
each scale must be the same all the way along the axis.
Horizontal axis label (e.g. Type of hazard)
Vert
ical axis label
(e.g
. Num
ber
of t
imes
obse
rved)
Vertical scale (1cm = 5 times)
This point is often 0 for both axes (in
maths that is called ‘the origin’)
Title of graph
(e.g. Most common workplace hazards)
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0
10
0
5
0
Example graph
Note: the statistics in the column graph are fictional and do not represent common
workplace hazards.
Workplace hazards
Num
ber
of t
imes
obse
rved
Type of hazard
Slippery floor Equipment Extreme
temperatures
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Handout 2: Guide to writing a report on an activity
Your ideas are important.
1. Use the headings to set up the report.
2. Use the questions under each heading to guide you to say what you mean clearly.
3. Use sentences/paragraphs and labeled diagrams to help make your report clear
and balanced.
Name
Partner’s name:
Date:
Report Headings Plan, ideas, main sentences etc
Title:
What is a good name for
this activity?
Aim/ Introduction
What did you want to find
out?
Materials/resources
What did we use for this
activity?
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Method
How could you have found
out what you wanted? What
did you choose to do?
Safety: What did you need
to be careful of in this
activity?
Results
How can you best represent
the observations,
measurements and notes
you have made?
E.g. a table, graph, model,
diagram(s), cartoons…etc.
Discussion
What have you learned from
this activity?
Can you use your results to
plan further activities? E.g.
OHS posters, signs,
pamphlets.
Were there things that
went wrong?
Conclusion: What
conclusion/recommendations
can you make from this
activity?
Appendix: Attach a copy of any documents you used for the project e.g.
questionnaire or list of questions you asked.
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Activity 2: Good signs, bad signs
This activity has two introductory parts:
An ‘OHS signs survey’ in which students collect information about OHS signs in the workplaces they visit
(this can be done in conjunction with Activity 1: Here be monsters).
A discussion and sorting exercise to introduce categories of OHS signs and their features.
The order for doing this depends on teacher preference (i.e. students having maximum information prior to their
visit, or alternatively, the visit as the source of preliminary information). A slight difference in emphasis will be
needed depending on that choice.
The final part of the activity involves students designing their own signs according to the conventions of OHS sign
categories.
Note: If access to a workplace is difficult, or if you want to visit more than one site, students could visit public
areas likely to have warning signs, including the school itself.
Before you begin
Preparing the ‘Signs and categories’ activity
Make copies of Activity Sheet 4: OHS signs and categories for each group of 3-4 students, preferably on stiff
paper or card. Cut out the pieces of Set 1 and place in a labelled envelope. Do the same for the pieces of Set 2.
You should now have two envelopes for each small group of students – Set 1 and Set 2.
What to do
OHS signs survey
For their visit, students will need a copy of Activity sheet 3: OHS signs survey, which they fill out during their
workplace visit. They should note any safety or warning signs or notices they see in both the inside and outside
areas of the site.
Students’ notes about the signs should include words, symbols and graphics on the signs as well as the colours,
e.g. ‘Yellow sign with black lettering and black triangle – graphic of falling person inside the triangle.’ To make
the task easier, they could be encouraged to draw the signs instead of writing descriptions.
Observing signs
As a class make a list of all the signs the students observed, discussing where they saw them, what they mean
and what colour and symbols were on them. Encourage students to use the language of shape as they describe
the signs, e.g. use the words ‘circle’, ‘rectangle’, ‘triangle’ and language of location such as ‘inside/outside the
circle’, ‘below/above the triangle’ etc.
Suggested questions for discussion:
Which workplace or workstation had the most signs? Why?
Did you understand all the signs? Why? / Why not?
Did some draw your attention more than others? Why?
Were some pictures/symbols misleading? Why? What would you have put on the sign instead?
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Raising awareness of categories of OHS signs
This discussion can be done either before students go on their workplace observation collection visit or
afterwards. If it is done afterwards make sure you tell students to record a lot of detail on their OHS sign survey
(Activity sheet 3), including the wording, colours and shapes on the signs they see on their visit.
If it is done before the visit, you could begin by asking students to do a quick walk around the school, taking
notes of the signs they see. Alternatively you could display photos of some nearby signs.
Introduce the idea of categories of OHS signs by asking students if they have noticed anything that some of the
OHS signs have in common, for instance, colours, shapes and graphics. Collect ideas on the board for later
reference. Tell students that you are looking at four common categories of OHS signs in the following exercise.
A small group sorting exercise using Activity sheet 1: Signs and categories
Have the students work in small groups. Explain that each category of signs has a particular colour and symbol
that is normally used with it.
Distribute Set 1 of the prepared cut out pieces and ask students to sort them into four groups that should go
together. Students should have the category descriptions in front of them (‘Protective equipment’, ‘Stop &
Prohibition’, ‘Warning/Caution’, ‘Emergency Related’), and 12 sample signs – 3 for each category (see Activity
sheet 4).
Check that the groups have sorted correctly by getting them to compare with each other.
For each grouping of signs ask students to describe what they have in common, for example:
all of the ‘Protective equipment’ signs are white with a blue circle – usually with a white graphic inside
the circle
all of the ‘Warning or caution’ signs are yellow with a black border, they also have a black triangle with a
black graphic or words inside it.
Encourage students to name the geometric shapes correctly (rectangle, triangle, circle) and use the language of
position, such as inside/outside, under/above.
Now distribute Set 2 of pieces and ask the students to see if they can decide which group each piece should go
into.
Finally, compare where groups have placed each of the captions and ask for suggestions of graphics that might
be used with them, and where the graphic would be placed on the sign.
Designing their own signs
Ask students to move into pairs or small groups (preferably with students they were not working with
previously). Then ask them to design a sign of your choosing e.g. a ‘no swearing’ sign for the teacher’s use or a
sign to encourage ear protection. This is likely to work best if you can choose something relevant to the class or
the school.
Whilst students are designing their signs, make sure that they discuss the correct category of the sign and can
explain to you why they are using the shapes and colours they have chosen.
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Sizing the signs
If appropriate to the students’ level, encourage them to create the sign in proportion to the actual size it would
be, e.g. ½ or ¼ of actual lengths. Students should decide on an appropriate actual size by measuring some
existing signs at the school or reading the measurements from websites with safety signs.
Using ratio notation (optional)
For more advanced students you could introduce the idea of ratios, in this case 1:2 or 1:4. This ratio notation is a
common method used in plans and diagrams to be clear about the actual size of the object in the drawing. For
instance 1:2 means that for every 1 cm of length on their picture of the sign, the actual sign would be 2 cm long.
So if the rectangle in their drawing was 20 cm wide then the real rectangle would be 40cm wide. A commonly
used ratio for house plans is 1:100 – meaning that every 1 cm on the page represents 100 cm or 1 m on the real
house.
Designing signs for home or school
To extend students’ imagination and inject a little fun, ask them to design an original sign of their own that they
would like to use at school or at home. (This has the potential to be extended into computer graphics also.)
When the signs have been drawn, ask students to display or present the sign to the rest of the class. Other
students could be asked to interpret the sign’s meaning and decide whether or not the correct shapes and
colours have been used. Alternatively, the students’ presentation could explain why they chose the size, colour
and shape that they did for the sign.
Ensure that the discussion encourages students to use the correct language of shape and measurement. For
example, ‘I used a black triangle on a yellow background because it was a warning sign. I made it ... mm wide
because the sign I measured was ....mm wide and this is exactly ½ ... etc’.
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OHS signs survey
Name/group: ______________________________________________________ Date: ________________
Description
Colour, shape, graphic What it says Where found
Activity
sheet 3
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OHS signs and categories
SET 1
Protective equipment
Stop / Prohibition
Warning/Caution
Emergency related
Activity
sheet 4
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OHS signs and categories
SET 2
Face mask must be worn in this
area
Smoking prohibited
Hot Emergency
shower
Hands must be washed before
returning to work
Authorised personnel only
Flammable material
Eye wash Station
Foot wash must be used
No pedestrian access
Radiation area – Authorised entry
only
Emergency Breathing Apparatus
Aisle must be kept clear
No thoroughfare
High voltage
First Aid
High visibility vest must be worn in
this area
Do not put feet on seats
Step down Safety shower
Activity
sheet 4