construction – Page 15 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

Political disregard for OHS…. again

In 2014 during an election campaign (now Premier of Victoria) Daniel Andrews stated:

“Labor will introduce random breath testing for all Members of Parliament during sitting weeks” and

“Labor will also legislate to give the Chief Justice, the Chief Judge and the Chief Magistrate the power to require these random tests of the judiciary.”

At the time potential drug and alcohol testing on Victorian construction sites was topical.

This week the first pledge was dropped and the second was obfuscated. Where was the safety justification for this pledge in the first place? What was Andrews thinking?

Continue reading “Political disregard for OHS…. again”

Trade Union Royal Commission shows exploitation of OHS

cover of V1-Introduction In January 2015, this blog said of Australia’s Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption (TURC):

“Workplace safety has not been the focus of this Royal Commission but it is one of its victims”.

The Royal Commission’s final report was released on 30 December 2015, and it is time to look at the mentions of occupational health and safety (OHS), at least in Volume 1, and see how processes, decisions and reporting in the safety sector may change.

EU provides clues for improving safety management

The European Union conducts research into occupational health and safety that, although there may be cultural and legislative differences, deserves attention from outside that geographical region. Recently EuroFound released its annual review for 2014. There are a couple of research projects that deserve consideration, particularly return-on-investment in construction safety, violence at work, psychosocial issues and precarious work risks. Continue reading “EU provides clues for improving safety management”

Green Building can generate OHS returns

Recently an article from an international real estate and investment company stated:

“Marrying health and wellness with design, the WELL Building Standard is catching on fast in the West, but the trend is just starting to take off in Asia.”

This statement is debatable but the recent concern over cheap, flammable cladding in high-rise buildings in Australia should speed up the attention on Safety in Design principles that underpin such initiatives. Continue reading “Green Building can generate OHS returns”

Scissor Lifts and safety

Caulfield lights2 edited — digitally altered

Workers in scissor lifts often step on railings or overreach placing themselves at risk of falling. These actions are contrary to the use of plant as usually recommended by manufacturers and to the usual requirements in an occupational health and safety (OHS) management plan for working in the rail environment.

The actions in these photographs occurred on a Melbourne railway station and in an industry that this author has worked in for the last six years. Photographs never show the entire facts of a situation and there are many assumptions and what-if scenarios about which these photos could, and should, start discussions. The following discussion of occupational health and safety management issues focuses on the facts presented by the photos*.

Safety learnings from construction

Kevin Jones 2015 — The author onsite earlier this year

I have recently finished some years of full-time work as a safety adviser on a range of construction projects in Australia and below is a list of some of what I have learnt (in no particular order).

Ask questions

People may initially think you are an idiot but, if you are genuinely interested, they will explain what they are doing (usually with some pride in their tone) and offer suggestions of how to do it better or safer.

Follow through

If you have said that you will look into an issue or provide additional information, do it. If you do not, your credibility with the worker you were talking with and, likely, their supervisor and workmates, is gone.

Drug and alcohol testing does not improve workplace safety, so why have it?

Testing for drug and alcohol effects in workplaces sounds sensible but what do you do when there is no evidence that it improves worker safety or reduces risk? Apparently ignore the evidence, create industrial tension and impose unnecessary costs on industry.

The Australian national government and the Victorian (State) government have both pledged to introduce drug and alcohol testing for the construction sector. The Victorian Government also promised to introduce drug and alcohol testing for parliamentarians but everyone expects a backdown on that election pledge.

Recently two researchers in Adelaide, Ken Pidd and Anne Roche published a research paper in Accident Analysis & Prevention asking “how effective is drug testing as a workplace safety strategy?“. The abstract states:

“…the evidence base for the effectiveness of testing in improving workplace safety is at best tenuous.”

Category: construction

Political disregard for OHS…. again

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Trade Union Royal Commission shows exploitation of OHS

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EU provides clues for improving safety management

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Green Building can generate OHS returns

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Scissor Lifts and safety

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Safety learnings from construction

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Drug and alcohol testing does not improve workplace safety, so why have it?

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