Prominent OHS unionist, Yossi Berger*, has attempted to place the issue of quad bike safety in the greater context of OHS In the latest issue of the Australian Workers’ Union’s Say Safety magazine (only available in hard copy). Berger says that the current debate between safety advocates and vehicle manufacturers over quad bikes is the … Continue reading “Quad bike safety remains a hot topic in Australia”
Ross Macfarlane is a regular reader of SafetyAtWorkBlog and an active safety professional in Australia. Below he provides his perspective on BP’s approach to safety as an ex-employee [links added]: As an ex-BP employee I am again feeling a strong sense of dismay at what is occurring in the Gulf of Mexico. The fact that … Continue reading “A personal insight into BP and the corporate approach to safety”
New Zealand’s Department of Labour (DoL) has released a statement that illustrates a classic scenario for forklift safety. According to the statement : “The employee was walking in a freezer when he was hit from behind by a forklift carrying a 10-carton-high pallet of packed meat. The Department’s investigation showed the height of the load … Continue reading “Forklift incident costs NZ company over $34,000”
Change is good. Change in occupational health and safety laws and regulatory strategies is usually good as well, but some action in Australia is curious. On 29 April 2010, the Government of the Australian Capital Territory(ACT) established” a new body called WorkSafe ACT, according to a media statement from the Attorney General, Simon Corbell: “The new WorkSafe ACT … Continue reading “ACT OHS gains more resources”
The continuing risks of asbestos are not nearly as noticeable on the radar of OHS professionals in the Western (or Minority) world as it used to be. In many people’s minds, a ban on asbestos has removed the risk. That is not the case, even if much of our attention is given to cleaning up … Continue reading “Small OHS issues may be controlled by big picture action”
Most of the workplace bullying attention in Australia in recent years has focussed on the white-collar industries and the relationship to stress, workload, harassment and policies for respect. A case reported in the The Age newspaper on 29 April 2010 about bullying in a door frame company is reflective of apprentice bullying cases of over … Continue reading “Inter-related issues of workplace bullying”
SafetyAtWorkBlog has been informed that Cath Bowtell has been appointed the new executive director of WorkSafe Victoria. Bowtell’s name may be familiar to some Australians due to her recent contest to be the next President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). Cath Bowtell is due to take on the position in the middle of 2010.