Safe Work Australia has released a very important report called “Occupational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Australia “. The report confirms many of the challenges faced by OHS professionals. There is, among others, An over-reliance on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Noise is not taken seriously Effective noise control is undervalued Small and medium-sized companies pay less … Continue reading “Australian Noise report. Is anyone listening?”
For some time, several countries have had legislation that require Environment Impact Assessments. Why don’t we have Safety Impact Assessments? Often safety issues are applied retrospectively in project development. Often the application is impeded by actions or pathways that are already in place, although embryonic. There is evidence that safety performance can be greatly improved by having safety considerations … Continue reading “The potential of Safety Impact Assessments”
Now is the time for the OHS fraternity to lobby local politicians on the importance of workplace safety for the community and business. Australia is facing a hung Parliament following the 21 August 2010 federal election. OHS was mentioned early in the campaign but not since even though there were opportunities. Industrial relations was raised in the … Continue reading “Now is the time for all good OHS lobbyists to come to the aid of their country”
Why has the Australian government refused to release the investigation report into the Montara oil spill? SafetyAtWorkBlog’s interest in this report is principally over the identification of potential risk control measures that could reduce the chances of another deep-sea oil rig exploding or identify any design or safety features that could stop such a savage leak of … Continue reading “Politics overrides safety”
Occupational health and safety(OHS) is supposed to be a skill that anyone can obtain and apply but it is often complicated by experts. This is not to say that OHS is “common sense”. The notion of common sense is a nonsense. Several years ago, Laurie Anderson performed in Melbourne, Australia. Her show was “Homeland” and … Continue reading “Only an OHS expert can deal with the problem”
The Australian media is providing considerable coverage to the legal claim by two female workers against Airservices Australia over bullying and sexual discrimination. Airservices Australia is a government organisation that control aircraft movement over Australian airspace. The details of the harassment mentioned in the media are quite offensive and have no place in the modern … Continue reading “Confusion over bullying and sexual discrimination on display in air traffic controller media reports”
The Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (AFOEM) has uploaded to the internet an hour-long discussion of their Position Statement on “Realising the Health Benefits of Work“. Firstly AFOEM should be congratulated for sharing such a resource. Although the paper itself was launched in May 2010, to have access in July 2010 is a great achievement and an indication of the openness of the … Continue reading “A radicalised OHS profession may meet future social needs”