Advocates of safety culture regularly profess that it must be lead from the top of the corporate structure down. This applies a false definition of leadership. Leadership is innovation, understanding and support regardless of one’s position on the corporate ladder. It is true that professing leadership and corporate goals should be supported by the appropriate … Continue reading “Leading from the top on impairment”
WorkSafe Victoria recently released a guideline, or clarification, on what it considers to be the issues surrounding “employing or engaging suitably qualified persons to provide health and safety advice“. SafetyAtWorkBlog remains to be convinced that such a process will lead to better safety outcomes in the small to medium-sized enterprises at which this program is … Continue reading “The insidiousness of “reasonably practicable””
According to the Australian Treasurer, Wayne Swan, has said, on 3 December 2008, that the Varanus Island explosion “is estimated to have subtracted around a quarter of a percentage point from [Gross Domestic Product] in the September quarter.” This follows earlier estimates from the Reserve Bank of Australia that the disruption from the explosion would … Continue reading “Economic cost of Varanus Island pipeline explosion”
The Western Australian government has released its latest statistics on workplace fatalities. The good thing, if there can be such a thing, is that the statistics are over ten years which is longer than most reporting and provide a promising trendline. As the report states “The data used to produce this report differs from reports … Continue reading “New Western Australian Workplace Fatality Data”
Earlier this year, SafetyAtWorkBlog reported on the attack on a nurse in the Torres Strait Islands north of Australia, the investigation of the issue by Queensland Health and the mechanisms introduced to get the working conditions and accommodation up to a safe level. In this case there was a clear link between occupational health and … Continue reading “Management failures and a rape of a five-month-old baby”
World COPD day was held on 17 November 2008. COPD Stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. As with many of these health-related days there is more hyperbole than substance and often the most relevant information appears after the hype has died down. This is the case with a report just released by the Occupational And Environmental Medicine. … Continue reading “Beware the OHS hype on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease”
Bernard Keane, political columnist with Crikey.com, wrote on 20 November 2008 about the unacceptable conduct of Australian politicians. He wrote: We’re not talking here about ordinary poor behaviour. There are boors and fools and thugs in workplaces across the country. It’s the sense of entitlement that seems to motivate many MPs to treat other people — … Continue reading “Sexual harassment and politicians”