workplace – Page 161 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

New OHS info on Working Alone and Occupational Violence

One of the most difficult safety management challenges is the control of hazards associated with working alone. The most effective control is to not work alone, but the difficulty comes because this option requires expenditure.

WorkSafe Victoria recently released an information sheet on this hazard and listed the following hazard control options:

Buddy system
Environmental design
Communication or location systems
Alarms
Movement records
Training
Knowledge sharing

WorkSafe wisely says that most workplaces will require a combination of these options to control the hazard of working alone.

Trying to reduce the hazards of working alone is a terrific indication of the economic health of a business, the level of safety commitment of a business owner or manager, and the state of safety knowledge in the company. Continue reading “New OHS info on Working Alone and Occupational Violence”

The Commercial Kitchens Campaign needs further examination

Why is a government workers’ compensation agency promoting first aid when a different agency has had that role for over twenty years? And why do the program’s first aid kits contain commercial products that are no more effective in the first aid treatment of burns than water from the tap?

On May 12 2011, WorkCover SA launched, in conjunction with the Julian Burton Burns Trust, the Commercial Kitchens Campaign. Burns are a major feature of this campaign with 500 Commercial Kitchens Burns Packs being distributed free to restaurants and cafes in South Australia.

SafetyAtWorkBlog has been told that these kits contain a Burns First Aid Kit developed by A/Prof John Greenwood, the Julian Burton Burns Trust and St John Ambulance Australia which includes the following items:

burnaid gel
burnaid dressing,
a plastic sheet,
sterile towel,
tape, and
step by step directions written by A/Prof John Greenwood.

The odd thing about this initiative is that medical research has shown that burnaid gels are less effective than cool running water for the first aid treatment of burns. In the journal Wound Practice and Research (Vol 18 Number 1 – Feb 2010) Australian researchers Leila Cuttle and Roy M Kimble wrote in “First Aid treatment of burn injuries” that

“The widespread use of such dressings [Burnaid is specifically referenced] (which have now even penetrated the first aid market) is alarming considering the lack of studies which support their use.” Continue reading “The Commercial Kitchens Campaign needs further examination”

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?”

Ergonomics advice does not always reflect the reality

It is common for companies to invest in expensive office furniture in the belief that the furniture will encourage the worker to undertake tasks more safely. In most circumstances, this is a waste of money and a major distraction from managing safety throughout workplaces.

The safety message is also being confused by some OHS regulators. It is well-established that injured backs and other musculoskeletal injuries improve with movement rather than the traditional bed-rest. However this encouragement to move is not reflected in most of the advice for configuring workstations. Continue reading “Ergonomics advice does not always reflect the reality”

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

CEOs go undercover over workplace safety

The new initiative of Worksafe Victoria, placing CEOs undercover in their own workplaces, is a major change of direction and should produce a considerable amount of attention.

The online campaign, called The Skeleton Project, ostensibly applies the “Undercover Boss” concept to musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) and workplace safety more generally. Elsewhere SafetyAtWorkBlog has mentioned that the “undercover Boss” concept is a realisation that CEOs and other senior executives have allowed themselves to become out of touch with the real world working environment of their companies or that the corporate management structure pushes executives into isolation however there are many positives in getting “out and about” as the CEOs in the new campaign do.

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

Category: workplace

New OHS info on Working Alone and Occupational Violence

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The Commercial Kitchens Campaign needs further examination

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Compliance or Confidence?

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Ergonomics advice does not always reflect the reality

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OHS news and content suggestions welcome

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CEOs go undercover over workplace safety

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State Coroner speaks at Workers’ Memorial

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