There is an increasing call for the mandatory wearing of high-visibility clothing for motorcycle riders around the world. The reason is to make motorcyclist more visible to car drivers and other road users. This sounds logical and sensible and is, in some way, based on the prominence of high-visibility clothing in the industrial sectors of manufacturing, construction and others. … Continue reading “Reliance on PPE impedes safety progress”
On 7 August 2012, the Victorian Premier, Ted Baillieu, verbally attacked the Federal Government over its COAG program and lack of support for productivity initiatives. The criticism of productivity sounded odd as the Victorian Government has dropped out of the reform program for occupational health and safety laws yet OHS is understood to have a positive effect on … Continue reading “OHS – the missing element in productivity debate”
On 19 May 2012, South Australia’s Parliamentary Committee on Occupational Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (OSRC) announced in the Adelaide Advertiser and inquiry into the operations of SafeWorkSA. SafetyAtWorkBlog has been told that the inquiry was self-initiated by the committee as a result of no one particular reason. The Minister for Industrial Relations was apparently unaware of the … Continue reading “South Australia’s politicians prepare to grill the OHS regulator, SafeWorkSA”
In relation to the new harmonised laws in Australia Amy Towers recently stated in a media release that “Many employers still haven’t got it quite right. While most have an understanding of their new health and safety responsibilities, we’re finding the practices they do have in place don’t sufficiently meet the new compliance requirements – … Continue reading “Inductions, technology and effectiveness”
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) advocates for workers’ rights and entitlements with occupational safety being one of those entitlements but sometimes the safety message from ACTU is a little narrow. On 14 March 2012, the ACTU issued a media release responding to the release of important workplace safety data by Safe Work Australia. … Continue reading “Innovative thinking needed if Australia is to save lives and improve the economy”
In December 2011 the Victorian Liberal Government announced the removal of almost $A500 million from WorkCover funds to be placed in general revenue over the next four years. Some unions were outraged and began a protest petition. Labor politicians were similarly outraged. The removal of the funds sounds odd as it is understood that these … Continue reading “Questions raised about the Victorian Government’s transparency on WorkCover”
“I have a really bad feeling about this“ In Star Wars, Han Solo and other major characters express their gut feeling about various situations. In traditional risk management parlance, that “gut feeling” would equate to subjectivity, an element of decision-making that needs to be minimised in risk management if not eliminated. This has been sought through various … Continue reading “Han Solo – Risk Manager”