business – Page 64 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

The Brady Report busts myths and offers a new way

A bombshell occupational health and safety report was tabled in the Queensland Parliament on February 6, 2020. Dr Sean Brady of the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy undertook a forensic assessment of mining fatalities occurring over almost 20 years and has made recommendations that busts some mine safety myths and offers a, potentially very disruptive, way forward.

Brady issued 11 recommendations with many of them hitting the OHS regime of mining companies and safety regulators hard. As the report is over 300 pages, this article is based largely on the Executive Summary.

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HR needs to broaden its pool of risks

Human Resources (HR) professionals often have an enviable degree of influence over the decision making of company executives. In modern parlance, they are “influencers”; as such it is useful to keep an eye on the advice offered by the association that represents HR professionals, the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI).

Recently, freelance journalist, David Barbeler wrote “A comprehensive look at what lies ahead for workplaces in 2020” in AHRI’s HR Magazine. Given that the article is headlined as comprehensive, there are several peculiar occupational health and safety (OHS)-related omissions, especially workplace sexual harassment, Industrial Manslaughter, suicide and mental health.

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Industrial Manslaughter exemption for mining looks over

Many advocates see the introduction of Industrial Manslaughter laws as a glorious moment that will change the world for the better, in other words, a silver bullet. But if it is a silver bullet, it is being shot into the political murk. Queensland’s expansion of its Industrial Manslaughter laws to the mining and resources industries was presented to Parliament on February 4, 2020, and is likely to pass with the support of those industries.

Occupational health and safety (OHS) laws should apply to businesses and workers without exception. Queensland’s exemption of the mining and resources sector from Industrial Manslaughter laws was always a nonsense but that nonsense made good political sense in an election year.

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New air quality standards for outdoor work

On January 30 2020, the Victorian Trades Hall released a new “approved safety standard” on air quality risks for outdoor workers. It is the latest of a series of alerts and guidelines generated by the persistence of bushfire smoke in urban areas of, especially, New South Wales and Victoria. Bushfire smoke is only going to become more frequent in Australia, and its persistence over weeks, requires a coordinated discussion on how Australian workplaces and practices need to change to adapt to the new climate.

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On safety, the PM says it’s all about the economy

Source:istockphoto

Australia’s conservative Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, spoke at the National Press Club yesterday and his speech showed that if occupational health and safety (OHS) is to progress over his term of government, economic arguments will be the most persuasive.

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WorkSafe ACT shows its frustration in its latest Safety Alert

On January 23 2020, WorkSafe ACT released a curious safety alert. It was not about scaffolding, bushfire smoke, PPE, but about “safety systems on worksites”. It was not about things but about process.

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Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones with family in Paris 2012

I thought I might follow Wade Needham’s reflections and thoughts with my own. Indulgent? Maybe.

How did you get into Health & Safety?

My first contact with workplace health and safety was as an Administrative Officer in the Victorian Department of Labour in the late 1980s before moving to the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, the precursor to WorkSafe Victoria, in the early 1990s. I worked in the Major Hazards Branch and was involved in preparing options for the relocation of the Coode Island chemical storage facility before it exploded.

What drives you?

The Health and Safety profession has been notoriously shy in expressing opinions for many reasons including timidity, insecurity and laziness. This reluctance has contributed to the dominant perspective of H&S as a business nuisance rather than a profitable aid to business. My frustration with this caused me to write and speak about H&S as an unavoidable and legitimate element of business.

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