media – Page 38 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

Communicating safety through new technologies

On 3 May 2010, I was privileged to be invited to be a plenary speaker at the 2010 conference of the New South Wales Minerals Council. My presentation was entitled “Some new ways of talking about safety online”. I discussed the use of some of the new online communication methods but ultimately came to the point that safety is most successfully communicated when the information is valid, relevant and delivered by someone trustworthy.

An extract of my presentation is below and an audio recording is available at the end. Please note that there are some swear words in the presentation.

“These new technologies are basically about communication and I am here to discuss how these technologies can be used to communicate safety information.

Two important elements are in that sentence – information and communication. Let me take information first because this is sometimes the overlooked element. Continue reading “Communicating safety through new technologies”

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”

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.

Kevin Jones

2010 International Day of Mourning

Tomorrow, 28 April 2010, is the International Day of Mourning, a remembrance day for those who have died at work. In Australia most of the focus will be on the memorial event in Sydney as the majority of trade union leaders are in the city for the ACTU Organising Conference. This has the potential to leave events in other capital cities muted as second string trade union leaders are likely to host events.

Tasmania’s trade union movement has chosen to replace a fixed geographic event with a mini-event in workplaces. Its poster is on the right. Workers are encouraged to

“Wear a wristband as a sign of respect to those who have died at work
Hold a minute’s silence in remembrance”

A list of Workers’ Memorial Day events in Australia is available through the ACTU website. Continue reading “2010 International Day of Mourning”

If safety culture begins at the top, what message is the Australian Government sending on insulation installer deaths?

If safety culture is set and developed by leaders, what does it mean when a Prime Minister launches a scheme that places the creation of jobs over the need for worker safety?

Two days before International Workers’ Memorial Day, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Four Corners program analyses the failed insulation scheme initiated by the Australian Government in 2009.

According to the Four Corners website:

“Four Corners takes a forensic look at a chain of events that began with so many good intentions but ended in death and political humiliation. What exactly were the warnings given to the Department of Environment and the Minister Peter Garrett? Why did senior officials inside the Department reject safety concerns, preferring to play up the job creation aspects of the program?”

An audio preview of the Four Corners is available online. In that interview a whistleblower from the Department of the Environment states that

“..we were told that safety was of less importance than job creation.” Continue reading “If safety culture begins at the top, what message is the Australian Government sending on insulation installer deaths?”

New business safety survey released at safety conference

New survey data on business attitudes to safety was revealed at the Safety In Action Conference on 20 April 2010. The data was released jointly by the Australian Institute of Management and the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA).

In short there was not much that was new in the survey data but the survey was important for several reasons. Continue reading “New business safety survey released at safety conference”

Phenomenology and the safety professional

In Australia, safety management is being progressed most obviously through sociology and the work of Andrew Hopkins. But perhaps it is possible to cut through some of the commercial “safety culture” twaddle by looking at the work of philosophers and the concept of phenomenology. As any modern student seems to do instead of reading the original, look to the movie.

On 20 April 2010, Australian lawyer, Andrew Douglas, channeled The Matrix in trying to challenge the thinking of the audience of OHS professionals at the Safety In Action conference.

In his conference paper, Douglas compared the positive and negative safety cultures to the blue and red pill choice that Morpheus offers Neo. Continue reading “Phenomenology and the safety professional”

Category: media

Communicating safety through new technologies

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Mining safety conference is shadowed by taxation debate

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Exploding restaurant kettle risks

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2010 International Day of Mourning

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If safety culture begins at the top, what message is the Australian Government sending on insulation installer deaths?

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New business safety survey released at safety conference

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Phenomenology and the safety professional

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