SafetyAtWorkBlog was able to contact the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ Rhys Griffiths this afternoon seeking clarification of the FCAI’s withdrawal from quad bike safety discussions reported yesterday. Prior to withdrawing, a document was read to the quad bike safety working group. The document has not been released publicly but below is the gist. Further … Continue reading “Source data from within the quad bike safety stoush”
I return to the observation Ken made in his article, the obs about the most successful safety places where “…safety is driven at the shop floor level and led by a committed team of senior executives who can be relied upon to show it by their actions and not just words.” Of course, at first … Continue reading “The How, How likely and How much of workplace safety”
The treatment of burns in a workplace setting has always been a contentious matter between first aid trainers and equipment suppliers. First aid says that initial treatment of burns should be the application of cold running water but equipment suppliers often include burn treatment creams. What’s the evidence for burn creams? In December 2010, the Cochrane Library produced a … Continue reading “The evidence on first aid treatment of burns”
Since the early 1970’s OHS law has been “de-lawyer-fied”. The intention of the law is to empower workers and employers to manage safety in the workplace to meet basic human rights – the right not to be injured at work, the obligation not to hurt others. Good law allows for the basic legislative tenets to … Continue reading “OHS law reform should not rely on Courts for clarification”
The chairman of the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), John Bresland, has formally announced his organisation’s investigation into the BP/Deepwater oil rig disaster. The experience and professionalism of the CSB is evident in correspondence to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce where the scope is defined and additional resources anticipated. The letter identifies those current investigations that may need wrapping … Continue reading “CSB agrees to investigate the root cause of the BP Deepwater disaster”
For years Australian OHS legislation has focused on establishing a “safe system of work”. This focus is inclusive and is an understandable approach to safety regulation but it has also generated a fair share of confusion. If a business does not have a documented safety management system, does it have a system of work? Yes … Continue reading “A safe (social) system of work”
A new survey on CEO attitudes to safety has been released by Peter Wagner & Associates entitled “Safety – A Wicked Problem, Leading CEOs discuss their views on OHS transformation“. There is some interesting information in report but Wagner is being generous in the report’s title. There are some CEOs who seem knowledgeable on safety management who … Continue reading “A wicked OHS problem in more ways than one”