Safe Driving and OHS management impacts

SafetyAtWorkBlog has always been critical of those OHS professionals who try to explain OHS in comparison with driving.  They are different processes in different environments with different purposes and different rules. However, there is a section of overlap and this relates to those whose work environment is transport and driving. Worksafe Victoria has released a … Continue reading “Safe Driving and OHS management impacts”

When too many graphic ads is never enough

Coming to the end of Australia’s school year, the government is going overboard with confronting advertisements for young people, be they related to work safety or binge drinking. At least the OHS regulators watched other regulators information campaign and reduced their costs by resisting promoting the same message in the same way to the same … Continue reading “When too many graphic ads is never enough”

Competent safety professionals

Australian worksites have established a system of red, green or blue cards that are used to indicate a level of OHS competence on a range of worksites.  This type of system is reflected around the world in different industries and different forms, such as Safety Passports, or the green card in Canada and the United … Continue reading “Competent safety professionals”

The graphic workplace ads keep coming

On 29 October 2008, WorkSafe Alberta released a series of graphic workplace safety ads under the banner “BloodyLucky”.  They are as confronting as the recent WorkSafe Victoria ads and raise many of the same questions about appropriateness, applicability and effectiveness. The website www.bloodylucky.ca has a cheesy format that doesn’t fit with the explicit nature of … Continue reading “The graphic workplace ads keep coming”

Dangerous Forklift Behaviour

At the risk of increasing a young person’s infamy, SafetyAtWorkBlog draws your attention to a (former) YouTube video of a young forklift driver misusing a forklift. According to a WorkSafe media release: Dangerous forklift driving has cost a young worker his job, his forklift licence and earned him 50 hours of community work and an … Continue reading “Dangerous Forklift Behaviour”

Young Worker Safety – Part 3

Several colleagues have pointed to a young worker safety website that was established in Canada several years ago, http://www.notworthit.ca/ .   The site, part of the WCB’s Young Worker campaign, won an award from American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds in their annual Communications Awards in 2007. There are remarkable similarities to The Pain Factory, even … Continue reading “Young Worker Safety – Part 3”

Physical activity, mental health, alcohol consumption and productivity

The Victorian Government’s workplace health strategy may be “coughing up blood” but health promotion continues.  Last week, Australian health insurer, Medibank Private, released some statistics and cost estimates related to physical inactivity. According to the media release, physical inactivity costing the Australian economy $13.8 billion a year. The findings are based on research conducted in conjunction … Continue reading “Physical activity, mental health, alcohol consumption and productivity”