Guest contributor Jim Ward writes: Interested observers of past OHS failures would do well to pay close attention to the insights of former BP employee Ross Macfarlane in the SafetyAtWorkBlog – A personal insight into BP and the corporate approach to safety. His erudite observations of some of the underlying issues surrounding BP’s succession of … Continue reading “Leadership starts with the truth”
This evening in Canberra, Safe Work Australia announced the winners of the 5th Annual Safe Work Australia Awards. The profiles below are provided by Safe Work Australia. The winners are: Best Workplace Health and Safety Management System – Private Sector GHD, South Australia “GHD South Australia uses an electronic workplace health and safety management system accessible … Continue reading “Australia’s national safety award winners”
Peter Arthur, a Partner with Australian law firm, Allens Arthur Robinson, spoke on Boardroom Radio on 1 April 2010 about new duties that national OHS laws will place on Directors. Although there are six elements in the new general duty, Arthur says that they all can come under the category of “information flow”.
“Certain occupational exposures appear to increase the risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer”, is a conclusion reached by Canadian researchers and released in April 2010 edition of the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. The researchers acknowledged that “some findings might be due to chance or to undetected bias some findings might be due to chance or to undetected … Continue reading “Canadian research shows occupational link to breast cancer”
Continuing SafetyAtWorkBlog’s belief that the best advice on workplace safety often comes from people outside the OHS discipline, Professor Barry Schwartz of Swarthmore College was interviewed in the Australian Financial Review on 30 March 2010 (only available by subscription). Schwartz was talking about the social and regulatory impact of the global financial crisis but his … Continue reading “Can OHS achieve “practical wisdom”?”
The Hierarchy of Controls has some questionable OHS applications to psychosocial hazards but it applies very well to “traditional” hazards, those involving plant. The Hierarchy also emphasizes that the first step in any hazard control is to consider whether the hazard can be eliminated. But what happens when the designers of equipment and plant know that a design can be made … Continue reading “ROPS and Quad Bikes – the failure of ATV manufacturers and OHS regulators”
Expect quite a few OHS statements coming from Australian politicians as the country approaches Safe Work Australia Week in late October 2009. On 16 September 2009, the Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations, Cameron Dick, sought support for a “…groundbreaking new program to reduce workplace deaths and injuries.” Groundbreaking? Not sure. Perhaps for Queensland. According to his media statement the … Continue reading “Safety Leadership push in Queensland”