• Section 1 - Purpose and Scope
• Exclusions
• Additional Information
• Section 2 - Process and Key Controls
• Section 3 - Key Requirements
• Pre-acquisition Checks and Planning
• Risk Management
• Receiving Goods
• Section 4 - Roles, Responsibilities and Accountabilities
• Heads of Organisational Units
• Managers and Supervisors
• Budget Holders
• UQ Workers
• Health, Safety and Wellness Managers and Work Health and Safety Coordinators
• Property and Facilities Division (P&F)
• Section 5 - Monitoring, Review and Assurance
• Section 6 - Recording and Reporting
• Section 7 - Appendix
• Definitions

Section 1 - Purpose and Scope

(1) This Procedure outlines The University of Queensland’s (UQ) requirements for the safe procurement and acquisition of plant. For the purposes of this Procedure, plant includes any machinery, equipment, appliance, container, implement and tool, and includes any component or anything fitted or connected to any of those things. The definition of plant is provided in the appendix.

(2) The purpose of this Procedure is to ensure UQ, as far as reasonably practicable, eliminates or minimises health and safety risk associated with the procurement or acquisition and upkeep of plant across its lifecycle. The plant lifecycle includes acquisition, installation, commissioning, use, inspection, maintenance, alteration, repair, decommissioning, dismantling and disposal.

(3) The requirements of this Procedure apply to new and used plant utilised for UQ purposes that is procured or acquired by UQ, including plant that is:

1. purchased, hired, leased, borrowed or received as a gift;
2. acquired with funding obtained through research grant funding schemes, UQ internally-funded initiatives and other schemes. Further information is outlined in the Contract Research and Grants Financial Management Procedure; or
3. otherwise obtained by legal means.

(4) This Procedure applies to UQ workers on all UQ campuses and sites. For the purposes of this Procedure, the definition of UQ workers is broad to ensure UQ meets its responsibilities under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act). The definition of UQ workers is provided in the Appendix.

Exclusions

(5) The requirements of this Procedure do not apply to:

1. plant that relies exclusively on manual power for its operation and is designed to be primarily supported by hand (e.g. manual powered hand tools, utensils and trollies);
2. general office equipment (e.g. PCs, laptops, tablets and printers used primarily for administrative tasks); or
3. kitchen appliances and equipment (e.g. kettles and toasters).

Additional Information

(6) This Procedure should be read in conjunction with UQ’s Procurement Policy and Procurement Procedure, and the following plant procedures and guidelines:

1. Safe Use Of Plant and Equipment Procedure;
2. Safe Procurement and Acquisition of Plant and Equipment Guideline;
3. Decommissioning and Dismantling of High Risk Plant Guideline;
4. Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) Isolation Safety Guideline.

Section 2 - Process and Key Controls

(7) The following requirements apply to UQ workers when proposing to acquire or procure plant at UQ:

1. Comprehensive pre-acquisition checks and planning must be undertaken before acquiring or procuring plant (refer to clauses 8-9), including ensuring that the goods proposed for acquisition are to agreed specifications, and meet statutory requirements and Australian Standards.
2. Before acquiring plant, a risk assessment must be completed in UQSafe where it is reasonable to foresee the introduction of new risks and/or increase in existing risks.
3. UQ workers, Managers and Supervisors are responsible for checking goods received and promptly addressing any faults, damage in transit or inconsistencies.

Section 3 - Key Requirements

Pre-acquisition Checks and Planning

(8) UQ workers, Managers and Supervisors are responsible for conducting checks and planning before any plant and equipment is acquired by UQ. Pre-acquisition checks and planning include ensuring that:

1. relevant stakeholders are consulted (e.g. UQ workers that will be using the plant, HSW Managers, WHSCs);
2. consideration is given to sourcing the plant domestically before sourcing internationally (as an importer of plant, UQ is legally obliged to meet certain requirements of the WHS Act);
3. Property and Facilities Division (P&F) is consulted (e.g. on how the plant can be safely installed, commissioned, used, inspected, maintained, altered and repaired in the location);
4. all plant meets relevant Australian Standards and legislative requirements (for example, in relation to electrical installation, machinery, pressure equipment, laboratory safety);
5. information is requested from the supplier to demonstrate:
   1. calculations, analysis, testing or examination has been carried out;
   2. each purpose for which the plant was designed or manufactured; and
   3. any conditions necessary to ensure that the plant is without health and safety risks when used for a purpose for which it was designed or manufactured;
6. necessary resources and infrastructure are available to safely receive, install and use the plant; and
7. consideration has been given to:
   1. elimination or minimisation of risks referred to in the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (noise emission, hazardous manual tasks, and confined space), and any others outlined in their respective codes of practice,
   2. requirements for guarding, operation controls, emergency stop controls and warning devices,
   3. competency, licensing, accreditation, training and induction requirements.

(9) These pre-acquisition checks should be recorded as being undertaken by using a Procurement Brief. A Procurement Brief can be used to create this record, even in circumstances where a Procurement Brief is not strictly required by the Procurement Procedure.

Risk Management

(10) When acquiring plant and equipment, a risk assessment must be completed in UQSafe where it is reasonable to foresee the introduction of new risks and/or increase in existing risks (refer to the Health and Safety Risk Assessment Procedure).

(11) The requirement for completing a risk assessment prior to the use of plant and equipment is outlined in the Safe Use Of Plant and Equipment Procedure.

Receiving Goods

(12) When goods have been received, the UQ worker that requested acquisition of the plant must check:

1. the purchase order or design specifications and report any inconsistencies to their Manager or Supervisor; and
2. the plant’s supporting information, as requested from the supplier, has been received (as per clauses 8-9).

Section 4 - Roles, Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Heads of Organisational Units

(13) Heads of Organisational Units are responsible for overseeing the safe procurement and acquisition of plant in their area of responsibility, including ensuring that relevant UQ workers are aware of and comply with the requirements of this Procedure. Heads of Organisational Units are responsible for ensuring:

1. allocation of adequate resources;
2. delegation of responsibilities to suitably trained and experienced staff;
3. local operational plans, procedures and practices have been developed and are in place;
4. plant procurement and acquisition are considered at relevant staff and committee meetings;
5. information is available to relevant UQ workers about plant procurement and acquisition procedures and practices;
6. all requirements of section 24 of the WHS Act are satisfied prior to the importation of plant;
7. risk management of plant procurement and acquisition is continuously monitored and improved; and
8. requests from UQ workers to procure or acquire plant comply with this Procedure.

Managers and Supervisors

(14) Managers and Supervisors are responsible for:

1. ensuring an appropriate selection of plant is made, before it is acquired or procured, consistent with the hierarchy of risk controls;
2. ensuring stakeholders that may be affected by the proposed acquisition of plant have been consulted and resolving concerns (e.g. stakeholders may include Health and Safety Representatives, local area Work Health and Safety Coordinators (WHSCs), Infrastructure Managers and UQ staff);
3. ensuring the P&F Client Facilities Manager has been consulted if the plant is to be connected to building services, or safety devices or sensors are to be added to P&F's preventative maintenance schedule;
4. checking that UQ workers proposing to acquire or procure plant have:
   1. referred to the Safe Procurement and Acquisition of Plant and Equipment Guideline;
   2. followed the pre-acquisition and planning requirements of this Procedure (clauses 8-9); and
   3. completed the Safe Procurement of Plant and Equipment form if required;
5. ensuring all required approvals and authorisations have been obtained to acquire or procure the plant;
6. ensuring that any reported faults, damage in transit or inconsistencies are investigated and resolved before the plant is commissioned and used; and
7. ensuring that prior to the use of plant:
   1. a risk assessment that adequately addresses identified risks has been submitted and approved in UQSafe, and
   2. any control measures identified in the risk assessment are implemented.

Budget Holders

(15) Before approving the acquisition of plant, Budget Holders are responsible for ensuring:

1. a Procurement Brief, with all relevant acknowledgements from the Procurement Coordinator, has been completed;
2. health and safety risks of the plant proposed to be acquired will be adequately controlled and managed, and a risk assessment in UQSafe has been submitted and approved;
3. stakeholders including local area WHSCs, Infrastructure Managers, P&F Client Facilities Manager, or other relevant staff have been consulted to resolve concerns before the acquisition is authorised;
4. UQ’s Procurement Policy and associated procedures have been followed; and
5. proposed expenditure and associated agreement with suppliers complies with UQ’s Schedules of Financial and Contract Delegations and Sub-delegations.

UQ Workers

(16) UQ workers must comply with this Procedure and follow the directions and instructions of Managers and Supervisors when proposing to acquire plant. UQ workers are responsible for:

1. undertaking pre-acquisition checks and planning in collaboration with Managers and Supervisors (refer to clauses 8-9) to ensure an appropriate selection of plant is made, consistent with the hierarchy of risk controls and risk assessment;
2. complying with relevant policies, procedures, standard operating procedures, manuals and other documents associated with the plant;
3. checking the purchase order, design specifications and other supporting information when plant is received (clause 12) and escalating any faults, damage in transit or inconsistencies to their Manager or Supervisor before the plant is commissioned and used; and
4. developing a risk assessment in UQSafe that adequately addresses identified risks, and implementing any control measures identified, prior to the use of plant.

Health, Safety and Wellness Managers and Work Health and Safety Coordinators

(17) Health, Safety and Wellness Managers (HSW Managers) and Work Health and Safety Coordinators (WHSCs) are responsible for:

1. providing advice to Heads of Organisational Units, Managers and Supervisors, Budget Holders and UQ workers on the safe procurement and acquisition of plant;
2. assisting with the development of risk assessments for the safe procurement and acquisition of plant; and
3. seeking specialist advice from the Health, Safety and Wellness Division as required.

Property and Facilities Division (P&F)

(18) Property and Facilities Division is responsible for:

1. advising UQ workers on the connection of the plant to UQ building services and infrastructure;
2. engaging lead contractors for the installation and commissioning of plant requiring connection to UQ building services or infrastructure; and
3. arranging preventative maintenance, servicing and inspection of plant within P&F Division’s responsibility (refer to Safe Use of Plant and Equipment Procedure for more information).

Section 5 - Monitoring, Review and Assurance

(19) The P&F Division and HSW Division will collaboratively review this Procedure as required to ensure its accuracy, relevance and effectiveness. Review of the Procedure will also be informed by feedback from EP Heads of Organisational Units, Supervisors and Managers.

(20) The P&F Division and HSW Division will conduct periodic audits in conjunction with Organisational Units for compliance with this Procedure, which may include: 

1. the existence, adequacy and review of plant risk assessments; 
2. UQ worker compliance with this Procedure; and 
3. UQ worker training and competency documentation.

(21) Local HSW Managers and WHSCs will ensure regular inspections (at least annually) are conducted to review appropriate risk controls, including the review of the risk assessments within their areas of responsibility.

Section 6 - Recording and Reporting

(22) HSW Managers, WHSCs, Managers and Supervisors will report non-compliance with this Procedure to the Heads of Organisational Unit, who will notify the HSW Division.

Section 7 - Appendix

Definitions