There is a lot of silence on the quadbike safety front. An Australian industry code of practice seems overdue, the findings of a New Zealand inquiry into farm safety are yet to be finalised and released…… But the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) has today announced its first survey into farm safety and it will include questions on quad bikes. Continue reading “Reputable Australian government body announces first farm safety survey”
Category: evidence
Heart disease risk findings in women
The May 2010 edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine includes an important report about the increase of heart disease risk in young women. There is often a lot of reports into the cardiovascular health of men so this report is very useful.
The basic findings of the report are:
“Nurses who indicated that their work pressures were a little too high were 25% more likely to have ischaemic heart disease as those who said their work pressures were manageable and appropriate.
But those who felt work pressures were much too high were almost 50% more likely to have ischaemic heart disease. After taking account of risk factors for heart disease, such as smoking and lifestyle, the risk fell to 35%, but still remained significant.” Continue reading “Heart disease risk findings in women”
BP oil rig explosion – lawyer video
The explosion of the BP oil rig raises a huge number of issues in a variety of safety and environmental disciplines. In much of the media reportage, the plight of the workers on the rig has been given much less attention.
One media report has described BP as
“a London-based multinational oil giant with the worst safety record of any major oil company operating refineries in the United States.”
The oil rig, Deepwater horizon, was leased by BP through Transocean.
On 3 May 2010 a maritime injury lawyer with Gordon, Ellias, and Seely, Jeff Seely, reportedly acting on behalf of the a family of one of the (presumed) dead workers from rig, Karl Kleppinger, released a Youtube video, produced by the World Socialist Web Site, in support of his legal action against BP and others claiming negligence.
Continue reading “BP oil rig explosion – lawyer video”
The struggle to achieve cultural change on OHS
In 2008, a New South Wales Parliamentary Committee reported to the Government on problems with that State’s Ambulance Services. The problems included bullying, harassment and a dysfunctional management. A review into the Ambulance Services progress on the recommendations two years later has found :
“…the general feedback received from ambulance officers is that despite the new initiatives, little has changed, and significant management and cultural problems remain within the Service. While awareness of the Service’s new policies and initiatives appears to be high, adherence to and application of the policies – particularly by Ambulance managers – appears to be low, or at best, varied.” Continue reading “The struggle to achieve cultural change on OHS”
Mining safety conference is shadowed by taxation debate
As there was in the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, there is a third member in the relationship at the New South Wales Mining Council (NSWMC) conference that is being held in the Hunter Valley this week – the Government’s response to the Henry review into Australia’s taxation scheme.
The CEO of NSWMC, Dr Nikki Williams has been interviewed repeatedly at the conference with workplace safety being the opening line from reporters before asking about Henry. Only 24 hours after the release of the Government’s response very little detail can be expected from an interview. By lunchtime Williams’ responses were polished as she outlined the potentials – mine closures, economic damage to regional towns…… The reality of the taxation changes to the mining sector is not really going to be understood for several more days. Any direct impact on safety is highly unlikely.
Sadly safety is not getting much consideration in the media discussions however there are potentials in this conference that could extend well beyond the mining industry. Continue reading “Mining safety conference is shadowed by taxation debate”
Professor Niki Ellis hits out at the state of OHS in Australia
“…OHS is not fit for the 21st century. It is isolated, has a limited academic base and remit, uneven provision, lack of good quality data, a poor image and is perceived by many as the servant of the employer.”
Professor Niki Ellis speaks frankly about the OHS discipline in Australia.
Professor Niki Ellis recently was appointed the CEO of the Institute of Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research (ISCRR) after some time in the United Kingdom and a short period as the acting chair of the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission. Prof Ellis provided a refreshing and confronting presentation to the 2009 Comcare Conference (pictured right) that SafetyAtWorkBlog attended. Continue reading “Professor Niki Ellis hits out at the state of OHS in Australia”
Exploding restaurant kettle risks
WorkSafeBC is a regular provider of useful safety videos. In mid-April 2010 the regulator released a latest video that reports on an exploding soup kettle in a restaurant that injured several workers with steel shrapnel and steam.
Safety prevention videos are costly to produce properly and WorkSafeBC has followed a process that is informative and simple but providing a slide show with an audio commentary. This is a technique that makes use of the many incident photos that OHS investigators take without compromising the investigation and still offering a much more attractive and appealing safety alert. It is a technique that other OHS regulators should consider.