The nature of news/media reporting is that any story must be topical, but the nature of occupational health and safety (OHS) is that topicality is stretched over years of investigation or it stutters over time when a new bit of information is available. This has been the case with the aftermath of the deaths of …
There seems to be an increasing trend for the principles of occupational health and safety (OHS) to be applied to matters outside the workplace. OHS principles were created to reflect the values of society in the 1970s and 80s and, although the laws have changed to reflect economic needs, the principles remain basically the same. … Continue reading “What if “reasonably practicable” was applied to a disease outbreak?”
Today the European Policy Centre in Brussels released the report Climate change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions. The findings of this report do not directly affect workplace safety but do indicate new ways in which businesses must manage the economic and social hazards that climate change produces. These new ways of management must be anticipated and … Continue reading “Integrating climate change impacts into OHS and business management”
Many OHS professionals and business gurus state that safety leadership must come from the top of the corporate tree. BHP Billiton received some rare positive press on 16 June 2009 concerning its OHS policies. According to Mark Hawthorne, BHP CEO Marius Kloppers has revealed he is battling “pig flu”, in his words. This seems to … Continue reading “BHP, swine flu and leave entitlements”
Recently SafetyAtWorkBlog wondered why the ACT OHS Commissioner referenced a commercial website instead of a government authority. The commercial website was www.fluthreat.com operated by HSA Group which since early April 2009 is part of Medibank Private. Fluthreat.com.au provides information on its Flu At Work page that is very flimsy and seems to be intended to … Continue reading “Corporate health adviser’s recommendations on swine flu”
Recently in 2009, the Health Services Australia company launched a new swine flu website. The HSA site is run by a private health services company and came to the attention of SafetyAtWorkBlog through a news item by the OHS Commissioner of the Australian Capital Territory. The ACT OHS Commissioner may not be endorsing … Continue reading “Not another Australian swine flu website!?”
Some time ago SafetyAtWorkBlog was critical of OHS regulators releasing swine flu information because the advice was not being easily translated in the workplace, and some of the advice was just silly. Much better advice is available from the New South Wales government however, curiously, the Workplace Guide to Managing Influenza Pandemic has been issued … Continue reading “The latest OHS advice on managing swine flu”