New survey data on business attitudes to safety was revealed at the Safety In Action Conference on 20 April 2010. The data was released jointly by the Australian Institute of Management and the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA). In short there was not much that was new in the survey data but the survey was important for several reasons.
In December 2009, SafetyAtWorkBlog reported the comments by the English Conservative leader, David Cameron, on some concerns he had about the direction of occupational health and safety in England and how the newspapers were reporting OHS. On 15 March 2010, The Independent published an article by the CEO of the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH), Rob Strange. [IOSH says it is … Continue reading “The OHS profession in Australia needs a saviour. Has anyone got one spare?”
In 2004, I was asked to make an OHS-themed presentation to a group of paramedic students on ethics and from a small business perspective. Some of the information may have dated slightly but I post this to stimulate discussion. Below is an edited version of that 2004 oral presentation: Quite often, when we have an … Continue reading “A discussion on ethics and OHS decision making”
King Gee recently released a range of work clothing that is manufactured using a technique that reduces the wearer’s body odour. A sample was sent to SafetyAtWorkBlog unrequested. For those tradespeople with a body odour issue, the clothing may be a godsend, maybe more so for the people they have to work with. … Continue reading “Okay, I don’t smell but am I safe?”
In November 2009, the Safety Institute of Australia published its first edition of its peer-reviewed journal. At the time it was described as a good start. Also in 2009, another safety-related peer-reviewed journal was released and this one has avoided some of the SIA journal’s shortcomings…. in a way. For a small academic country this now makes three OHS journals. The … Continue reading “Another new Australian safety journal”
Sitting for longer than four hours while watching television is likely to increase one’s risk of suffering a cardio-vascular disease (CVD), according to a new study reported in “Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association” in January 2010. The research was headed by Dr David Dunstan, Head of the Physical Activity Laboratory in the Division … Continue reading “Sit down, get to work, get sick”
The e-Editor for the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health, Shaun Gibbons, has commented on the recent speech by David Cameron, the Opposition Leader of England’s Conservative Party. In this editorial Gibbons says “Instead of cosying up to the newspapers which perpetuate the myths that somehow health and safety is to blame for much of … Continue reading “OHS criticism needs to aim “at the source””