Category: risk

Source data from within the quad bike safety stoush

SafetyAtWorkBlog was able to contact the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ Rhys Griffiths this afternoon seeking clarification of the FCAI’s withdrawal from quad bike safety discussions reported yesterday.  Prior to withdrawing, a document was read to the quad bike safety working group.  The document has not been released publicly but below is the gist.

Further down the page is an edited version of the letter that the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety (AgHealth) has reportedly sent to “290 rural motorcycle dealers”.  According to Rhys Griffiths being quoted in The Weekly Times, this letter

“”…basically says dealers could be looking at law suits for not fitting devices on ATVs…  This is in direct contradiction to the manufacturers’ recommendations, so the dealer is caught in the middle.” Continue reading “Source data from within the quad bike safety stoush”

Quad bike manufacturers walk out of safety working group

In early 2010, Australia’s Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities (HWSA) established a trans-Tasman working party to look at the safety issues of quad bikes, often called all-terrain vehicles.  The working group is in the final stages of its report and a major motorcycle industry representative has not liked the findings and has apparently withdrawn from the working group.  A report on the increasing tensions was published in  this week’s The Weekly Times.  SafetyAtWorkBlog has been told that the quad bike industry representative has walked out in protest.

Let’s look at what HWSA said about the working group in May 2010:

“HWSA Chair, John Watson, said every farming fatality leads to immeasurable suffering in close-knit rural communities and these figures are not acceptable.
“The working group is expected to deliver solutions to safety problems associated with use of quad bikes on farm properties and raise awareness of practical risk controls,…
“The group will look at issues that include design, safety equipment, training and instruction, aftermarket accessories, safe use and point of sale,….
“The joint program of work will be delivered through an Industry Solutions Program where industry and regulators work together to address high risk safety issues – an initiative that has successfully provided practical solutions to a number of issues across many industries.
“The working group is focused on producing tangible and sustainable safety outcomes across the farming and agricultural industry where quad bikes are commonly used….”
Of significance in that media release is that Chief Executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) Andrew McKellar said

“It is our objective that all quad bike users are well informed of the manufacturer’s recommendations in relation to the safe use of these vehicles…”

The sticking point in the working group was, according to The Weekly Times, that

“”…the committee was expected to back the recommendation to “consider fitting an anti-crush device”, the strongest position yet for roll-over protection.”

The committee did recommend this and apparently the FCAI walked.  Attempts have been made to contact the FCAI to confirm their action and their objections. Continue reading “Quad bike manufacturers walk out of safety working group”

Compliance or Confidence?

A reader has been inspired by recent articles discussing OHS compliance to contribute their own article on some of the issues raised:

“Compliance”, while being a way forward in OHS, misses the mark. We should ask the question: Why do regulators want compliance anyway?

Compliance, or conformance as is alternatively used, is a means to an end. Not an end in itself. In haste to improve the world via compliance we sometimes forget that.

Compliance presumes that rules laid down by regulators are a “good enough” way to achieve safety. Compliance’s foundation is the minimum-standard. Foundations cannot be anything like the maximum-standard because best practice regulation knowledge backs up our common sense that maximum standards would be bad and expensive. But wouldn’t it be comforting to be able to encourage and get more than just the minimum?

Some who have felt the stick end of compliance might think some regulators believe their rules and guides are the only path to safety. But the fact is that even the best codes & regulations have flaws; they do change. Furthermore, exemptions get provided, position papers and codes of practice get written to fill the gaps. And they get re-written. Sometimes the reasons for a rule are lost in time. Shamefully, sometimes valid reasons never existed. Sometimes rules are written to serve the purposes of some over others or to empower authority. We can know this because COAG and the OBPR have to warn against it. Continue reading “Compliance or Confidence?”

OHS compliance checklists

For several months some Australian OHS regulators have been providing “Compliance at a glance” checklists. These are not intended to establish compliance, particularly in the small business sector as listed on one regulator’s website , but are more brief indicators of areas for greater improvement.

Nevertheless the items listed in the “red zone” of the checklists establish a benchmark of NON-compliance. These items are listed below:

OHS news and content suggestions welcome

Recently, readers have been providing tip-offs to OHS issues that are not being covered by the traditional media.  SafetyAtWorkBlog has always inhabited this niche but is looking to expand its story source options.

I am encouraging readers to provide not only news tip-offs but to also suggest safety issues that could form the basis of a SafetyAtWorkBlog article.  For instance, do you know of an extraordinary safety person whose story requires a broader audience?  Is there a design fault with a safety product that the manufacturer is not attending to?  Is the application of a safety law having an unexpected effect at a workplace?

Tip-offs and suggestions can be anonymous but I reserve the right to reject any suggestions that I feel are not suitable for the SafetyAtWorkBlog.  The more specific and detailed your information for the article (contact details, photos, reference documents etc.), the higher the priority given.

But don’t forget that if you have the writing bug, you are welcome to send through articles for consideration.

Kevin Jones

State Coroner speaks at Workers’ Memorial

Victoria, Australia, had a State Coroner who trailblazed on the issue of workplace safety for well over a decade.  Graeme Johnstone saw the coroner’s role as improving the quality of life of the community by examining its failures.  Victoria’s current coroner, Jennifer Coate, seems to be continuing Johnstone’s work and addressed the crowd at Melbourne’s workers memorial on 28 April 2011.

Coroner Coate’s speech is unlikely to be publicly released but SafetyAtWorkBlog has been informed that the speech contained the following points

  • it is important to remember and honour those workers who have died at work so that potential deaths can be prevented;
  • since 2000 the Coroners’ Court has made over 100 recommendations or comments on industrial deaths and recent laws require the state government to respond to these recommendations;
  • the crowd at the Trades Hall memorial cairn were asked to assist in the uptake of the prevention recommendations from the Coroners’ Court;
  • we should not forget the impact that workplace deaths can have on those who knew and loved the victims, and those who worked with them.

That a coroner was willing to attend and speak at such an event is a major compliment to the trade union organisers and a good insight in Judge Coate’s personality and philosophy.

Kevin Jones

Memorial forest for people killed and injured at work

Rosemary McKenzie-Ferguson, a frequent commentator at SafetyAtWorkBlog and prominent advocate on behalf of injured workers, led the Workers’ Memorial Day walk in Adelaide, South Australia today.  She was instrumental in the establishment of a memorial garden in the state capital and explains the reasons for the garden and the significance of the garden in the video below.

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