The latest podcast by the Health & Safety Executive includes an interesting interview with the chair of the HSE, Judith Hackitt. Hackitt admits that any review of occupational health and safety needed “someone who could look beyond the remit of the Health and Safety Executive and look at what the other factors are out there that create the problems … Continue reading “Lord Young OHS review welcomed by UK’s HSE”
The Safety Institute of Australia‘s OHS Professional magazine has been out for a couple of editions now and the good news is that it is improving. The sad part is that it remains well-behind other OHS magazines. The latest edition has contributions, finally, from a freelance writer, Liam Tung. Liam is not an OHS professional, … Continue reading “OHS Professional magazine is a mish-mash”
Reviews of OHS legislation by governments are usually keenly anticipated as they mostly occur once a system is broken. But there seems to be considerable trepidation with the plan announced on 14 June 2010, by the Prime Minister, David Cameron. Cameron has appointed Lord Young to undertake an extensive review of OHS. According to the Prime minister’s media statement: … Continue reading “Lord Young = old approach to OHS”
The Australian business newspapers and websites are all reporting on the “dud” contract that Downer EDI has been saddled with over the construction of 78 eight-car trains for New South Wales’ RailCorp. Market analysts say that company has lost $A1.7 billion in value this year. CEO Geoff Knox, a man in genuine risk of becoming unemployed, is … Continue reading “The contract for building safe trains is a “dud” according to CEO”
Guest contributor Jim Ward writes: Interested observers of past OHS failures would do well to pay close attention to the insights of former BP employee Ross Macfarlane in the SafetyAtWorkBlog – A personal insight into BP and the corporate approach to safety. His erudite observations of some of the underlying issues surrounding BP’s succession of … Continue reading “Leadership starts with the truth”
In 2003, emergency responders attended a major rail incident at Waterfall in New South Wales, in which multiple passengers were injured and seven died. According to a 14 April 2010 article in The Australian (page 7, not yet(?) available online): “The officers [David Wicks and Philip Sheehan] were among the first at the scene of the … Continue reading “Compensation denied because police officers only saw the aftermath of fatal incident”
In October 2009, Australian lawyer, Michael Tooma gained considerable media coverage by stating that under the model Work Health and Safety Act: “..if I call out a tradesperson to do some work at my home, my home is their workplace and I would be a person at their workplace. As such, I would have a duty to … Continue reading “Another go at homeowners being exposed to workplace prosecutions”