First aid is one of the most neglected areas of workplace health and safety but, when required , vital. The neglect comes from it rarely being integrated into the safety management system and on relying of the advice from first aid training and equipment suppliers. “Why shouldn’t it be relied on? They’re the experts.” In … Continue reading ““Best Practice…First Aid”? – not sure”
SafeWork South Australia has illustrated a situation that is common in Australian workplaces – no matter how hard one tries to ensure safety, things can still go wrong. In a court case on 20 November 2009, four farm operators were fined over a foreseeable incident that cost a 20-year-old the sight in one eye as well a … Continue reading “Serious injuries can occur regardless of good OHS intentions”
On 19 October 2009, SafeWorkSA released details of a court case against Macbar Nominees Pty Ltd trading as Southern Cross Trailers . The company has been fined over $A15,000 due to the incapacitating injury of a worker from a load falling off a forklift. The event, described below, occurred in July 2007. “A man aged 38 at the time … Continue reading “Two forklift cases in Australia – one death and one fine”
SafetyAtWorkBlog has written elsewhere of how the global financial crisis has caused OHS related programs to be revised. The latest bulletin from Standards Australia indicates the impact of the financial pressures on its plans and the reduction in the value of their investments has come at a time of other worrisome changes. (In this article … Continue reading “The future for Standards Australia will be hard”
SafetyAtWorkBlog has no expertise in the control of infectious diseases. Any enquiries received on the issue are directed to the official information on government websites such as Australia’s Dept for Health & Ageing or the US Centre for Disease Control, or international authorities such as WHO. But this creates a dilemma for OHS regulators. If the … Continue reading “Influenza – dilemma for OHS regulators”