Category: construction

Australian unions are being distracted from OHS

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has illustrated several matters in a recent media release – the safety of migrant labourers and the unacceptable rate of fatalities in the Australian Construction industry.  Sadly these issues were mentioned in a media release protesting about the continuation of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

The media release was published on the eve of a new head of the ABCC and clearly wanted to piggy-back on media attention of the appointment.  The new head has been announced to be a lawyer, Leigh Johns, who has a political pedigree that should make him more palatable to the union movement.  (Johns is the author of several published legal articles including one in 1998 on “the obligation of mutual trust and confidence” and a 2002 article on “Bribery and Networking“) His appointment could be interpreted as part of the Labour Government’s plan to gently ease the ABCC into an inspectorate that is integrated within the government structure.  The trade union ideology seems to require a continued animosity to this strategy, particularly as there is no resolution yet on ABCC action against Ark Tribe. Continue reading “Australian unions are being distracted from OHS”

Multiple sources of OHS info are vital for safety lessons

Last week a 48-year-0ld glazier, Darin Johnson, died after he fell 18 metres from an aerial work platform (AWP) in Melbourne Australia.  Johnson’s death attracted more media attention than other workplace fatalities because of where he died.

The Australian newspaper has been running a political campaign against the Labour government over its stimulus package of school facilities construction.  Johnson died on a primary school construction site.

The Australian emphasised the location of the death and chose to emphasise union comments that builders in the school building program cut costs.   Continue reading “Multiple sources of OHS info are vital for safety lessons”

Death at work and work-related death

People die every day.  Some die in their sleep in bed, some collapse in the street, some suicide at a place of their choosing, others die at work.  But for those who die at work there is an important differentiation between dying at work and dying from work.

The differentiation can be fairly simple to determine but can be muddied by workplace politics.  For instance, the South Australian desalination project (video report available) has had one work-related fatality but there have been at least three deaths on-site.  Determining what is work-related is important for safety managers as this affects the way an incident is investigated, the resources allocated to the investigation and the level of emphasis placed on prevention. Continue reading “Death at work and work-related death”

Root Cause is always found in decisions not things

Australian unionists are justifiably angry at the death of a worker at the construction site of a desalination plant in South Australia last week.  The worker was crushed when a beam slipped from a sling on a crane and crushed him.  The soft sling was being used so that the beams would not be scratched according to one report in The Australian newspaper.

It is hard to understand the sacrificing of the safety provided by the standard practice of chains for the aesthetics of the beams.

The media attention on the death is increased due to the incident occurring on a desalination plant site as many oppose the use of desalination plants to ease Australia’s water shortages. Continue reading “Root Cause is always found in decisions not things”

What does the Ark Tribe case have to do with workplace safety?

Australian trade unions, particularly those in the construction sector, have strongly supported Ark Tribe in his battle with the Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC).  Outside of the world of Australian construction trade union politics, the Ark Tribe issue has been difficult to understand without over-simplifying the issue.

In 2008, Ark Tribe attended a union safety meeting conducted by union organiser Justin Feehan.  The meeting was unauthorised and led to Tribe being called on for an interview with the ABCC.  He refused to attend and legal action has been taken which is likely to be resolved in the Australian courts today.  Tribe faces six month’s jail.

Regularly the saga has been described as one concerning workplace safety.  An unauthorised safety meeting may have been the initial event but the issue passed being an OHS matter very quickly to become one of industrial relations and a cause celebre against the ABCC. Continue reading “What does the Ark Tribe case have to do with workplace safety?”

New OHS Codes and Regulations for Australia

On 20 May 2010, SafetyAtWorkBlog mentioned the “challenge” of harmonising OHS approaches to bullying and harassment.  This morning Safe Work Australia provided a list of the Code of Practice and Regulations that are being developed as part of the OHS harmonisation process:

Model Regulations

  • “Licences – general e.g. asbestos and high risk.
  • Workplaces –first aid, personal protection equipment and emergency management.
  • Plant – general.
  • Chemicals – inorganic lead, asbestos, labelling, safety data sheets and major hazard facilities.
  • Other hazards – manual tasks, Continue reading “New OHS Codes and Regulations for Australia”

The need to integrate worker safety in ‘green building’ design

The safety profession needs better integration with the environmental initiatives and requirements imposed on business.  In many industries compliance management across the quality, environment and safety disciplines has existed in an integrated fashion for years but many professionals in each discipline are unreceptive to change, some deny the need for change.

Australia, over the last few years, has seen an increase in attention to the safe design of workplaces and buildings.  This has paralleled the growth in sustainable and energy-efficient building designs.  In many circumstances,t the advocates and practitioners of these skills do not talk to one another.  One local example can be used to illustrate this inter-disciplinary blockage. Continue reading “The need to integrate worker safety in ‘green building’ design”

© Workplace Safety Services P/L (ABN: 68091088621) and SafetyAtWorkBlog, 2008-2024. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kevin Jones and SafetyAtWorkBlog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Concatenate Web Development
© Designed and developed by Concatenate Aust Pty Ltd