Engineering and design Standards have existed globally for a long time. They have considerable authority, often provided through legislation, and underpin many of the safety devices and equipment used in workplaces. But does compliance with Standards mean that something is safe? The easy answer is no. A recent presentation to the Central Safety Group (CSG) …
Twelve months ago, some Australia media, including this blog, began reporting on safety concerns raised by the Working At Heights Association (WAHA) about the reliability and suitability of anchor points. Australia is currently in the middle of Safe Work Australia Month and there seems to have been little progress on the issue. A reader of …
Twice in early April 2014, 7.30, a current affairs program of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ran two lead stories about occupational health and safety – home insulation-related fatalities and the risks of working at heights. The latter of these provided only a glimpse of a complex OHS issue and only touched on the matter of … Continue reading “Anchor points could meet the Australian Standard but still be unsafe”
In early September 2013 I was invited to participate in a panel discussion on the issue of working at heights. The “crisis summit” was reported on recently by Marian Macdonald. The videos of this panel are now available through the WAHA YouTube channel and all the separate videos are worth viewing. The video in which … Continue reading “Working at Heights seminar video available”
The article below has been written by Marian Macdonald and is about an event that I recently attended in Sydney about fall protection. When a plumber perched on the rooftop of a skyscraper clips a safety harness onto the point that anchors him to the building, there’s a one-in-three chance the anchor itself is unsafe. … Continue reading “Hundreds plead with government to save lives while those to blame beg for scrutiny”
On September 3 2013 I will be on a panel in Sydney discussing issues associated with working at heights. Below is a media release (not yet available online) about the panel and some recent data on working at heights risks. The quotes are mine. Inaction by policy makers is putting lives at risk and now, … Continue reading “One in three safety devices unfit to save lives”