Most of the discussion about the safety of nanoparticles is split in to the consumer end use of the products or the occupational hazards of their manufacture. Safety managers, however, need to look at the potential risks of nanoparticles from consumer products that are used in the workplace. New Australian research again focuses on sunscreens. Continue reading “UV sunscreens and nanoparticle risks”
Category: risk
Gas, lungs, ladders, fruit picking and concrete pumping – latest workplace incidents
The media on 11 March 2010 was reporting the discovery of a the body of a hotel worker in a beer cellar of a Victorian hotel. WorkSafe Victoria is investigating the possibility of carbon dioxide.
As with so many cases of confined spaces, a second man was lucky to be alive after venturing into the cellar to check on the hotel worker. The police report suggested that the second man was making a delivery to the hotel.
At such an early stage in the investigation and with so little detail,it is hard to say more than what WorkSafe’s Stan Krpan said in a media release this afternoon:
“With or without a gas leak or chemical exposure, limited means of entry and exit, poor air circulation, and working in confined spaces, is risky. Continue reading “Gas, lungs, ladders, fruit picking and concrete pumping – latest workplace incidents”
The cost of doing nothing
It is always an option to do nothing. The status quo can be very attractive but if one chooses to not control a workplace hazard that one is aware of then the penalty must be accepted and the responsibility accepted.
WorkSafe Victoria has provided details (not yet online) of a case where a director of a food manufacturing company did not act on a workplace hazard and that hazard resulted in
“…the worker’s middle three fingers …removed to the knuckle; and he suffered damaged nerves, constant pain, and restricted movement of his thumb.”
The sole director of the company, Dino Fabbris, was fined $A25,000 for
“…his failure to arrange for the shredder to be guarded – despite working on the factory floor on a daily basis and taking managerial responsibility for the company’s two factories.” Continue reading “The cost of doing nothing”
Another go at homeowners being exposed to workplace prosecutions
In October 2009, Australian lawyer, Michael Tooma gained considerable media coverage by stating that under the model Work Health and Safety Act:
“..if I call out a tradesperson to do some work at my home, my home is their workplace and I would be a person at their workplace. As such, I would have a duty to take reasonable care for my own safety and the safety of others and to cooperate with their reasonable instructions in my own home. If I breach that duty I could be liable for a criminal offence.”
At that time SafetyAtWorkBlog was skeptical as it was hard to believe that this likelihood, or regulatory loophole, would be allowed to continue. It seems that a decision in the New South Wales District Court on 4 March 2010 has provided Tooma with a case that supports his decision. Continue reading “Another go at homeowners being exposed to workplace prosecutions”
OHS due diligence and safety management
In the February 2010 newsletter for Australian law firm, DLAPhillips Fox, Andrew Ball and Donna Trembath wrote about one of the important elements of the model Work, Health & Safety Act – due diligence. We look at how SafetyAtWorkBlog and other OHS information services can support due diligence on OHS matters.
Ball and Trembath list 6 elements in the definition of due diligence (in bold):
Acquire and have up to date knowledge of work OHS matters.
This first element is where business and OHS information sources are going to be crucial supporters. OHS law in Australia has always supported the need for companies and safety professionals to maintain a current state of knowledge. There have always been newsletters on OHS issues but it is very easy to fall into a habit of reading only the information that will assist one in their job rather than getting information that relates to safety throughout a workplace. The use of Health & Safety representatives or OHS Committees can be important in maintaining a “corporate” state of knowledge. Delegation of reading information can be very useful and HSRs and OHS Committees are probably the most neglected preventative tools in the safety professionals toolbox. Continue reading “OHS due diligence and safety management”
Aussie politician risks head injury in photo op
The issue of quad-bike safety continues to be controversial in Australia. This debate is not helped by inconsistent safety messages on television. Many of the news bulletins in Australia on 2 March 2010 showed the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, riding, seemingly for the first time, a quad bike on his trip to central Australia. Sometimes he is wearing a helmet and at other times, not.
Video available on the ABC website shows parts of an apparent induction on how to operate the quad bike. Continue reading “Aussie politician risks head injury in photo op”
A discussion on ethics and OHS decision making
In 2004, I was asked to make an OHS-themed presentation to a group of paramedic students on ethics and from a small business perspective. Some of the information may have dated slightly but I post this to stimulate discussion. Below is an edited version of that 2004 oral presentation:
Quite often, when we have an ethical dilemma, “should I do this or should I do that?” we often go away somewhere to think. In the short term, you “sleep on it” and when you wake you may have a solution or, at least, a different perspective on the problem. Often we try to clarify our perspective. I don’t know many people whose job it is to develop ethical statements or programs who sit at a table and talk about ethics. More often, we go away and think about the issue and then come back and discuss, compare and refine our problem. We frequently do this with our colleagues and by using our social network.
For an example, recently a colleague asked for me to sign off on a safety manual for some Australian contractors who are installing equipment for an American company in Australia. It is one thing to deal with companies in your native country but dealing with overseas companies is very different. With local companies you can solve problems by meeting with the Manager or CEO but when it is an American company, from such a litigious society, how should a small business proceed? Should I accept the contract? Is the risk worth the money? I am not sure. Continue reading “A discussion on ethics and OHS decision making”