The Conversation offers a brief history of the introduction of high-visibility workwear to Australian workplaces. The authors, Elizabeth Humphrys, Bettina Frankham and Jesse Adams Stein, offer four reasons why ” Hi-Viz” has become a “major cultural symbol of our time” and beyond its obvious safety benefits.
Jessie Singer published her book called “There Are No Accidents” last year. It is a pivotal book about safety and our understanding of the social and legal impacts of calling tragic events “accidents”. On June 13 2023, Singer spoke on Carnegie Council’s From Another Angle podcast about her book and the consequences of its publication.
“Accident” is less used in modern media descriptions of incidents involving serious injuries and fatalities than in the past. The term implies an unavoidable consequence or undeterminable cause of a tragic event. The traditional use absolves anyone of responsibility or accountability and, consequently, stymies the deep analysis of causes required if such incidents are to be prevented in the future. The term is the antithesis of occupational health and safety (OHS) approaches which should always start from the aim of harm prevention.
Every profession has safety practices that have existed for years and are integral to that profession’s character and operations. These have usually occurred because of correlation more than a cause, and occupational health and safety (OHS), in particular, advocates evidence-based decisions.
One longstanding example could be the mandatory wearing of lace-up ankle-high safety boots for working in the construction of railway infrastructure. Another could be the current debate over the effectiveness of face masks for protection from dust particles and airborne infections.
Helen Lingard and Ron Wakefield have published one of the few books to look at how occupational health and safety (OHS) is structured and managed in government-funded infrastructure projects in Australia. Their new book, “Integrating Health and Safety into Construction Project Management” is the culmination of over a decade’s research into this area. The book is both a summary of that research and a launching pad for designing OHS into future infrastructure projects.
Safety risks increased, or created, by distraction are a problem as relevant to occupational health and safety (OHS) as it is across society. There are analogue solutions – remove the distracting devices – and technological solutions that are often embedded in the distracting device. Sometimes there are other solutions and one is being trialled at a small intersection in Melbourne.
These illuminated tactile pavers have been embedded in the footpath applying the logic that as people are looking down at their phone screens, a bright contrasting floor level background should attract their attention. These footpath lights are synchronised with the pedestrian traffic lights, basically bringing the traffic signals within the peripheral vision of pedestrians.
Several variations on this concept have been trialled around the world for traffic and pedestrian control but they may be more usefully applied in some workplaces, especially where passive hazard signs have become normalised.
Continue reading “Pimp your administrative controls”Earlier this years SafetyAtWorkBlog wrote about accusations of a conspiracy between WorkSafe Victoria, Victoria Police, and construction company McConnell Dowell, made by a trade union radio program “The Concrete Gang“. The accusations have been mentioned in mainstream media. SafetyAtWorkBlog has obtained more details of the incident.
On March 17 2019, a community radio program and podcast “The Concrete Gang” broadcast some comments about occupational health and safety (OHS) on a rail construction site in Victoria, Australia, believed to be the Aviation Rd, Laverton site. SafetyAtWorkBlog attempted to factcheck the accusations.
Construction company McConnell Dowell is providing construction services on various sites for the Level Crossing Removal Project. According to The Concrete Gang:
“… McConnell Dowell level crossing removal have had a few dramas out there what we’ve got is we’ve a live train and they’re trying to put a level crossing in while there’s a live train going. They normally do what we call a shutdown which is an occupation where they shut down the line and they’re lifting concrete beams and build a bridge. Well McConnell Dowell in their wisdom are trying to do it between 10-minute stops…”
“….the workers on the job have got issues because they’re obviously lifting precast elements over trains and there’s obviously no safety…”
