On November 9 2017, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released statistical data on work-related injury. This data included statistics from workers compensation but also statistics about hospitalised injuries that were identified as work-related but funded by sources other than workers’ compensation. The report also provides a different perspective on mental health....
“Then I went, ‘Oh hang on, I’ve normalised so much of this as part of my industry…. This last three months has really made us all take a long hard look at what we have even let ourselves think is acceptable.” – Sacha Horler Such a statement is familiar to those working in the field … Continue reading “What do Weinstein, Spacey and others have to do with OHS?”
On 30 October 2017, the Safety Institute of Australia and RMIT University held their annual OHS Construction Forum. This year’s theme was flexible working arrangements – a brave choice that did not really work but was indicative of safety in the construction industry generally. Several speakers discussed well-being generally and how flexible working arrangements were …
The political debate about the dysfunctional culture of Australia’s banking sector has diminished to a discussion, and that discussion continues to bubble along, mostly, in the Australian Financial Review (AFR). The discussion is important for the occupational health and safety (OHS) profession to watch as any change in safety management systems will occur within the …
Recently David Caple gave his annual address to the Central Safety Group in Melbourne. Caple (pictured above) is a prominent ergonomist, an adjunct professor at the Centre for Ergonomics & Human Factors, La Trobe University, a representative on several government OHS-related committees and has an enviable information network. Fresh from the Singapore OHS conference, Caple …
Every safety conference needs a Dave Provan. Provan (pictured right) is researching the occupational health and safety (OHS) profession and discussed this research at a recent conference organised by the Safety Institute of Australia. One of his earliest comments was also the most confronting: “the safety profession is entirely discretionary”. Provan’s perspective, shared by thought …
In support of this year’s election of new Board members to the Safety Institute of Australia, the Safety on Tap podcast has granted each nominee ten minutes to introduce themselves. Some of these episodes raised the following points of interest: The need to change the demographics of the occupational health and safety (OHS) profession to … Continue reading “Configuring the safety profession for the future”