According to an article in the Australian Financial Review on 16 February 2010 (only available online through subscription): “The isolation of working at home or in a small shop or factory by themselves can wear down many in the small and medium enterprise sector. In the most severe cases, it can lead to depression and cause major … Continue reading “Small business can equal depression, stress and mental health problems”
Australia’s Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, has provided a clear indication that, although Julia Gillard may understand OHS, his department does not. In 2009, several installers of domestic insulation died. One died from heat stress from working in the ceiling space, another was electrocuted as the metal staple he was using to install foil insulation pierced an electricity cable. Now the political heat is … Continue reading “Workplace deaths lead to reforms but not of workplace safety”
Machine guarding is one of the most effective and longstanding control measures for occupational hazards. Sometimes safety people even get excited about them. Equally safety people, regulators and magistrates, get angry when the guards are left off. One company in South Australia on 1 February 2010 received two penalties for similar hand injuries that occurred … Continue reading “No guard = hand injuries + $50k penalty”
Newspapers regularly report of home mechanics being trapped or killed while working under their cars and the jack slips. This type of event is less likely in workplaces because workshops have hoists or pits where work can be undertaken under a fairly stable vehicle. However not all vehicle repair happens in a workshop. On 26 January 2010 a judge in … Continue reading “Inadequate support under a vehicle costs one life and £90,000”
On 22 January 2010 Comcare issued a safety alert concerning the use of quad bikes (available on the Comcare website from 25 January 2010): “Employers who own and operate quad bikes should be aware of the hazards and potential safety risks. Following some recent accidents while operating quad bikes, a draft Code of Practice is currently being developed … Continue reading “Australia’s Comcare issues safety alert on quad bikes”
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has come in for a lot of “stick” over the last few years by seemingly over-reacting to OHS hazards. In many cases, these reports have come from a misinterpretation of OHS rules and guidelines or a misunderstanding of the basic principles of safety. In some cases it is simply … Continue reading “Getting safety promotion right”
Occupational health and safety used to be above political argy-bargy. It was accepted that the safety of workers was a core importance to the management of any business. Often it operated as a subset of industrial relations and popped its head up occasionally, usually when new of revised legislation was due. Rarely has workplace safety … Continue reading “Changing political support of workplace safety in the US”