The 28 December 2011 edition of the Australian Financial Review (AFR) (not available online) quotes Australian labour lawyer, Michael Tooma, talking about the harmonisation of workplace safety laws: “It’s descended into a farce, a shambles – only four jurisdictions are ready for the laws.” This seems supported by the words of the recently-appointed Workplace Relations [...]
All posts for the month December, 2011
Merry Christmas from SafetyAtWorkBlog
I want to personally thank all of the loyal readers of SafetyAtWorkBlog for your support in the last twelve months. The blog stats is kicking along nicely but its prominence in OHS discussions, particularly in Australia, is growing stronger. This year the blog has been blessed by perceptive and controversial articles by Col Finnie and [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 22, 2011
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2011/12/22/merry-christmas-from-safetyatworkblog/
Business silos extend to, and are supported by, the soft professions
Most managers complain about “silos” even though they often operate comfortably in one. Having an organisational structure that operates without narrow parameters of professional turf is very difficult and sustainable change takes time. Similarly many professions operate in silos and the safety profession is a good example. Rarely does it “play well with others”. A recent workplace relations survey report from [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 19, 2011
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2011/12/19/business-silos-extend-to-and-are-supported-by-the-soft-professions/
The “head scratcher” in due diligence
I’ve been having a “hmmm(?!)” moments with a wee bit of the due diligence stuff in clause 27 of the Work Health Safety Bill (WHS). I’m interested to hear what you people reckon about it. Here’s the rub: I don’t think it’s possible to get a clear idea of what it means to comply with [...]
Posted by colrf on December 17, 2011
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2011/12/17/the-head-scratcher-in-due-diligence/
Tread carefully when speaking with the media
One of the most important professional lessons is to only talk about what you know. I found this out personally after a disastrous pre-conference workshop many years ago where I did not understand what the workshop participants expected until I began seeing blank and quizzical expressions from the, thankfully, small audience. On Australian radio on 14 [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 14, 2011
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2011/12/14/tread-carefully-when-speaking-with-the-media/
New OHS laws could change the management of quad bikes
Dr Tony Lower has written an opinion piece in the December 2011 edition of the Medical Journal of Australia (not available without a subscription however a related media release is) about farm safety. One statistic he quotes says: “In tractors, rollover fatalities have decreased by 60% after the introduction of regulations requiring compulsory rollover protection structures.” The [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 13, 2011
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2011/12/13/new-ohs-laws-could-change-the-management-of-quad-bikes/
Inadequate risk assessment results in an injured worker and $99k fine
There is increasing attention being given to the preparation of Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) in Australian OHS laws. Amongst many purposes, SWMS should provide a basic risk assessment of tasks being undertaken, usually, that day. Often SWMS are too generic by being prepared days or weeks earlier, often SWMS miss the big risks by [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 10, 2011
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2011/12/10/inadequate-risk-assessment-results-in-an-injured-worker-and-99k-fine/
Business leader embarrasses himself over PPE
On 7 December 2011, the Adelaide Advertiser newspaper included an article entitled “Hotel chief attacks our nanny state” in which the President of the Australian Hotels Association in South Australia (AHA/SA), Peter Hurley, seems to have been inspired by the same lunacy and misunderstandings as Jeremy Clarkson on matters of occupational health and safety. The article reports [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 8, 2011
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2011/12/08/business-leader-embarrasses-himself-over-ppe/
Labor lawyer raises strong concerns over new Work Health and Safety laws
Yesterday morning, Mike Hammond of the Australian law firm, Norton Rose, conducted a seminar on the harmonisation of Australia’s work health and safety laws. This was the last in the current series of seminars on this topic but Hammond’s seminar differed considerably from previous sessions. Hammond is clearly less than enamoured with the model Work [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 7, 2011
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2011/12/07/labor-lawyer-raises-strong-concerns-over-new-work-health-and-safety-laws/
Opinion to HIA based on estimates, assumptions and unverified data
The SafetyAtWorkBlog inbox this afternoon received a document entitled “The Work Health Safety Bill – Review and Economic Impact Estimates” by consulting firm, Hudson Howells. SafetyAtWorkBlog has been advised that this report was recently prepared at short notice on behalf of the Housing Industry Association (HIA). It may be one of the documents seen by at least one South Australian [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 1, 2011
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2011/12/01/opinion-to-hia-based-on-estimates-assumptions-and-unverified-data/
http://au.loadedweb.com/
