Author: Kevin Jones

Unsuitable PPE

Information is trickling out about Paul Quinlivan’s decision to repeatedly not wear PPE.  A common reason for workers to not wear personal protective equipment is that it does not suit the individual.  Quinlivan says he kept removing his goggles because they kept fogging up.

Goggles must retain their visibility for them to function.  Fogging up may indicate that the goggles are the wrong type for the work being undertaken or for that work environment.  Frequently business want one type of PPE to be applicable to a range of circumstances and this may not be a reasonable expectation. Continue reading “Unsuitable PPE”

Public relations, OHS and a workplace death

In October 2009, Matthew Fuller was electrocuted while installing metal foil insulation in the roof of a house in Queensland.  He was a subcontractor for a registered insulation installation company called Countrywide Insulation.

Countrywide and its owner have been heavily criticised in the Australian media.  But Countrywide has “hit back” at critics with a media release on 16 February 2010, the only content on its webpage.  The release has a contact number for a representative of the Phillips Group public relations company.  The text of the release is below and is an interesting study in what is omitted and timing. Continue reading “Public relations, OHS and a workplace death”

New OHS resources on workplace bullying

The Australian Capital Territory has released a package of new OHS material on workplace bullying.  The package includes

  • “advice on responsibilities under the Work Safety Act 2008 with regard to bullying
  • a Checklist for Employers
  • Guidance on how to take a risk management approach to workplace bullying, as is required by the Work Safety Act 2008
  • Guidance on how to implement a complete Complaint Resolution process in respect of workplace bullying
  • two new training programs available from the Office of the Work Safety Commissioner – Workplace Bullying Awareness for workers and Prevention and Management of Workplace Bullying for more senior staff Continue reading “New OHS resources on workplace bullying”

Unsafe worker gets his job back

The front page story in the The Australian newspaper has generated many emails and phone calls to SafetyAtWorkBlog from irate safety professionals.

The nub of the story is that Fair Work Australia has reinstated a worker who was sacked because of consistently unsafe work practices.

It is important to remember that the decision by Fair Work Australia is undertaken under the Fair Work Act 2009 and not occupational health and safety regulations.  In the case of Norske Skog Paper Mills (Australia) Ltd the relevant OHS legislation would have been New South Wales.

The story revolves around the dismissal of an employee not the unsafe actions of that worker. Continue reading “Unsafe worker gets his job back”

Small business OHS shortcomings

The home insulation debate in Australia is fragmenting.  Workplace safety is one of the chunks of debate heading in an unknown direction (political safety goggles anyone?)  The Australian newspaper included an article on 19 February 2010 that, although coming from the insulation sector, illustrates a dominant misunderstanding by small businesses.

The proprietor has run many businesses in a range of industries but he clearly has little understanding of his OHS obligations as he denies any responsibility for the death Matthew Fuller, an employee of the firm he contracted to undertake insulation installations, QHI Installations.  The proprietor states the reason is that “we did not employ him.”   Continue reading “Small business OHS shortcomings”

Forklift incident leads to amputated foot and $60,000 fine

All workplace incidents result from a combination of actions and circumstances that come together at a specific point in time that can result in injury or damage.  WorkSafe Victoria reported on 17 February 2010 about a company that was successfully prosecuted, and fined $A60,000, after a worker had his foot crushed under a forklift.  The worker’s foot was later amputated.

Below is a summary of the incident taken from a WorkSafe media release (not yet available online):

“A Kilsyth company was convicted and fined $60,000 on Monday after a forklift driven by a 22-year-old man tipped over, crushing his foot which was later amputated.

The worker was not licensed to drive a forklift – nor was he wearing a seatbelt when the forklift tipped in December 2008. Continue reading “Forklift incident leads to amputated foot and $60,000 fine”

Reviewing Today Tonight’s insulation exclusive

As an example of “tabloid TV” the Today Tonight (TT) report broadcast on 17 February 2010 concerning children assisting workers to install insulation, was very good.  It probably benefited from my own appearances remaining brief.

The topicality of a story on the home insulation industry could not have been higher yesterday as a Senate inquiry into the Australian Government’s environment and job creation scheme held hearings in Melbourne.  TT led its show with the scandalous report.

The video of a young boy handling large bags of insulation on a roof is disturbing; the unprotected handling of the insulation material by the young boy is similar.  That the children were allowed to be on the roof by the homeowner and parents is a parental supervision issue and outside the scope of this blog.  That the workers allowed them to be present and did not tell the children to get down is more disturbing and a clear breach of the workers’ OHS obligations. Continue reading “Reviewing Today Tonight’s insulation exclusive”

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