Hot off the press for ChemCert is a brand new and completely rewritten AQF4 course, mapped to the units of competence AHCCHM401A – Minimise risks in the use of chemicals and AHCCHM402A – Plan and implement a chemical use program.
ChemCert AQF 4 Accreditation is for managers, supervisors and high level spray contractors who take responsibility for developing and implementing pest management programs and chemical use strategies in diverse workplaces and who wish to attain a higher level of Accreditation than the highly popular AQF3 program.
The AQF4 program focuses on five key and fundamental areas of managing risk when controlling pesticide application , including:

  • Integrated resistance and pest management – critical given the evolving resistance to glyphosate (and other pesticides) issues.
  • Chemical application management- Focusing on application equipment, pre-operational checklists, and key calibration settings for efficacy and control of risk in relation to worker exposure, environmental contamination and residues in food.
  • WHS considering risk assessments- for transport, handling, preparation, application and decontamination. Personal protective equipment specification, including training in use and maintenance and design of appropriate Safe Work Method Statements. Checking of chemical storage compliance, inventory records, procedural development and Re-entry signage and recording.
  • Environmental risk assessments- for off-target damage in terms of formulation, equipment, application site and weather, and risk controls for residues in the environment or food drift/leaching. Develop emergency spill response procedures.
  • Comprehensive Records management and review, involving incident reporting to cover both WHS and environment followed by records analysis to assess efficacy of control measures and continuous improvement.

The AQF4 Chemical Risk Management course can be completed either as a Distance based model or face to face with a trainer in an 8 hour workshop with 4 to 6 hours pre-course work depending on the individual. Face to face workshops can be delivered in-house where there are 6 or more staff involved.
The feedback for the course has been very positive, and varied from challenging and rewarding to taking chemical risk management to a new level. Whether you’re involved with council, government road and rail, energy provision, national parks, forestry or broad acre, give the Chemcert office a call to arrange a ChemCert AQF4 Chemical Risk Management course for your workplace today.