education – Page 15 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

Grandad’s safety rules remain relevant over 50 years later

A safety colleague showed me an old book about workplace safety that his father had found in a book sale. It’s called “Safety on the Job” and was produced by the Master Builders Association of Victoria “for free distribution to the Building Trade” around 1959. The cover mirrors the iconic Australian cartoon from 1933 by Stan Cross.

On the cover is a stamp saying “J Division”. J Division was part of Melbourne’s Pentridge Jail, the section for:

“Young Offenders Group – Later for long-term with record of good behavior”

The publication is not specifically designed for young workers but there is some excellent information, for the time, included on “standard crane whistles”, explosive power tools regulations and trenching.

Most intriguing is the chapter “Common Sense Suggestions for Managers, Supervisors, Foremen and Safety Officers, etc.” It is surprising how many of the suggestions remain relevant today. Perhaps the booklet was trying to generate common sense rather than reflecting it. Below are the first ten suggestions.

“When you make your daily rounds it is your job to make them a hazard-hunting inspection as well. Continue reading “Grandad’s safety rules remain relevant over 50 years later”

The need for safety stories

Many companies and organisations take in OHS graduates, often as part of a program of internships, but sometimes because they are “cheap” new starters. Whatever the process, graduates are hungry to learn but often they believe their profession started when they did. Increasingly there is an ignorance of history and this puts the graduates at a distinct disadvantage.

Graduates often are strong on theory and poor on the practical. This is understandable in some ways but graduates can be handicapped by not knowing what their older and more experienced work colleagues know. On the job training and instruction is often passed down but the stories are not and the history of safety seems passed over. Continue reading “The need for safety stories”

More barriers appear to safety education reform

The latest edition of National Safety magazine reports on the voluntary accreditation of OHS university courses. The article is generally supportive of the initiative administered by the Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board (AOHSEAB), but hints at some of the problems and should have clarified some of the organisational linkages.

There is no mention in the article of the professional, administrative and financial links between AOHSEAB and the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA). There is no mention of Pam Pryor’s membership with the SIA even though she is the AOHSEAB’s registrar, a Fellow of the SIA and secretary of the SIA’s Education Chapter, although the Fellow status of Professor Dino Pisaniello is noted later in the article.

The strong linkages between the AOHSEAB and the SIA provide an important context to the comments of Greg Stagbouer, an SIA Director, Continue reading “More barriers appear to safety education reform”

OHS Honour missed but well-deserved

Following the SafetyAtWorkBlog article about the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours, a reader has brought a well-deserved OHS recipient to our attention that we, and many others, missed.

Ian Ewart received the medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his services to his local community in Traralgon however I knew Ian through his involvement with the Gippsland OHS Network, a safety group in a regional part of Victoria renown for its electricity generation. His creation of that network was an important part of his nomination.

Very little more information has appeared in the official Honours websites and notifications but a colleague of Ian’s has provided the extract from his nomination:

“Ian’s employment in the safety industry began in 1979 when he was appointed as a training officer by the National Safety Council of Australia. Various safety roles followed until his retirement from full-time employment in June 2009. Not content to retire, Ian then established an OH&S consultancy business to continue to service those who wished to retain his expertise. Continue reading “OHS Honour missed but well-deserved”

Australia’s safety education arrangements need clarity

On 18 June 2012, the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA) distributed two media announcements on behalf of the Australian OH&S Education Accreditation Board (AOHSEAB). One announcement states that RMIT University

“…was first cab off the rank as part of a pilot program for the accreditation of OHS professional education programs”.

That announcement continues to say that

“As universities progress through the accreditation process employers and recruiters will have confidence that OHS professional education programs adequately prepare graduates to enter the workplace as an entry-level OHS professional and potential students will have a point of reference when selecting a program of study.”

This sounds very positive but who is this accreditation board? The Board’s website lists the Board’s Members and states its purpose as

“accredit[ing] OHS professional education programs that meet the accreditation criteria and holders of accredited qualifications are then deemed to meet the knowledge requirement for certification as generalist OHS professionals.”

So the Board provides some additional credibility to OHS professional education programs through accreditation. Can OHS courses exist without this accreditation? Certainly. The media release says that universities are “lining up” but only Latrobe University is in the accreditation process at the moment.

The state of tertiary OHS education in Australia is confusing. Some universities are promoting OHS courses while academics at other universities (and the SIA) are bemoaning the closure of OHS courses.* Continue reading “Australia’s safety education arrangements need clarity”

Inductions, technology and effectiveness

In relation to the new harmonised laws in Australia Amy Towers recently stated in a media release that

“Many employers still haven’t got it quite right. While most have an understanding of their new health and safety responsibilities, we’re finding the practices they do have in place don’t sufficiently meet the new compliance requirements – particularly for managing temporary or contracting staff…”

This is no great surprise. While reviewing the compliance with incoming legislation, many law firms have similarly found that clients were not compliant with existing OHS laws.

Towers goes on to say that “businesses are most at risk of non-compliance in these areas:

Lack of evidence regarding plans to consult, coordinate and communicate with multiple parties
Failing to meet new due diligence requirements as an ‘Officer’
Flawed inductions” Continue reading “Inductions, technology and effectiveness”

Construction induction certification could move online

E-learning has become an acceptable option for many industry training sectors. In Australia, this industry is still in its early stages. One of those reasons is that the internet resources are not as extensive as in other countries but the Federal Government began to establish a National Broadband Network (NBN) that should allow better e-learning servicing.

Last week, occupational health and safety inductions were provided with the NBN and e-learning approach. According to a media statement issued in early February 2012:

“With Australia moving to adopt a national qualification to enable workers to enter a construction site, a project is currently underway to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an immersive 3D computer game to deliver occupational health and safety (‘White Card’) certification training for the construction industry.

This would enable workers to use a training computer game to learn and be assessed for the unit of competency required by the National Code of Practice for Induction for Construction Work, without being compromised by time and place. Importantly, it also allows trainees to gain real world experience ‘on site’ or ‘using’ industrial equipment without exposing them to potential risk.” [links added]

SafetyAtWorkBlog posed some questions to one of the participants of the program, Skills Tasmania, and received the following responses from one of the program partners, Mark O’Rourke, the Educational Advisor of the Curriculum Innovation Unit of the Victoria University Continue reading “Construction induction certification could move online”

Category: education

Grandad’s safety rules remain relevant over 50 years later

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The need for safety stories

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More barriers appear to safety education reform

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OHS Honour missed but well-deserved

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Australia’s safety education arrangements need clarity

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Inductions, technology and effectiveness

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Construction induction certification could move online

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