Important OHS court decisions go unreported

On 20 May 2010 a Victorian magistrate fined an employer over $A500,000 following a workplace prosecution.  Almost all of it went to charity, according to WorkSafe Victoria.

There are several issues raised by Magistrate Vandersteen’s decision:

  • Why to charity?
  • Why the particular charities?
  • Why not allocate the funds to OHS-related organisations or initiatives?
  • Why does the Magistrates’ Court not make court decisions publicly available?

The workplace incident that started this case was that in August 2008, a 40-year-old man had his arm ripped out of the socket when it became tangled in an unguarded post peeler.   He was taken to hospital by an emergency ambulance helicopter where his life was saved. Continue reading “Important OHS court decisions go unreported”

Australian roundtable podcast on workplace bullying

On 21 May 2010, Boardroom Radio (BRR) released a podcast on workplace bullying that includes opinions from some worthy speakers.

Andrew Douglas, Managing Director at Douglas LPT;

Wayne Blair, Fair Work Australia Commissioner;

Gail Hubble, Barrister; and

Anna Palmer, HR Consultant, at Provenio Consulting

Some of the questions are a little peculiar such as whether current generations are more “vulnerable” to bullying.  Speakers responded that there are more opportunities for bullying now due to new technologies Continue reading “Australian roundtable podcast on workplace bullying”

Looking for the causes of workplace harm can change one’s world view

The New York Times reported on 17 May 2010 that psychologists have started considering the causes of workplace stress.  About time!

The report says that

“Employees are unhappy about the design of their jobs, the health of their organizations and the quality of their managers..”

and that unhappy workers have a high risk of heart attacks and depression.

The article is principally an interview with the author of a new personnel management book that identifies that performance reviews are a generator of unhappiness and stress.  This concept has been circulating for some time and goes part way to making workplaces safer.

Job design, mentioned above, can be broadened to include how people are managed.  Personnel management and human resources (HR) are a crucial element of any business but the NYT article indicates a growing realisation that the foundations of this management, how jobs are designed, have generated some of the hazards that HR is now tasked to control. Continue reading “Looking for the causes of workplace harm can change one’s world view”

Artificial intelligence in safety

For safety management and the profession to progress, the information horizons must broaden.  Particularly in Australia, safety research runs the risk of developing upper-class chinless inbreds as, in many cases, it is divorced from reality and often does not look beyond the horizon both in distance or time.  But research work in other disciplines may have applications in the safety profession.

The work of a doctoral student at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Xun Wang, may provide some indication of new tools that safety & HR managers could be using in the future. Continue reading “Artificial intelligence in safety”

New OHS Codes and Regulations for Australia

On 20 May 2010, SafetyAtWorkBlog mentioned the “challenge” of harmonising OHS approaches to bullying and harassment.  This morning Safe Work Australia provided a list of the Code of Practice and Regulations that are being developed as part of the OHS harmonisation process:

Model Regulations

  • “Licences – general e.g. asbestos and high risk.
  • Workplaces –first aid, personal protection equipment and emergency management.
  • Plant – general.
  • Chemicals – inorganic lead, asbestos, labelling, safety data sheets and major hazard facilities.
  • Other hazards – manual tasks, Continue reading “New OHS Codes and Regulations for Australia”

Gods and Leaders – the fantasy distraction of the safety profession

For years, safety professionals have whinged about their profession and their skills not receiving the attention of Chief Executive Officers and board members.  They take some solace in the occasional missive that executives understand leadership and, by extension, safety leadership but the reality is that OHS professionals do not understand CEOs.

CEOs are Olympian Gods and OHS professionals live amongst the crowd of citizens in the valleys.  Occasionally a God will go slumming and have sex with one of us but it does not mean that they respect us or, even that they will remember our name.  If we are lucky, they may remember that we were welcoming.

CEO attitudes were discussed in the Australian Financial Review on 21 May 2010, in an article about corporate governance Continue reading “Gods and Leaders – the fantasy distraction of the safety profession”

Harmonising bullying terminology extends well beyond OHS

In May 2010, Workplace Health & Safety Queensland uploaded a Workplace Harassment Assessment Tool.  The curious element to the information is that Queensland does not mention the word “bullying” even though the assessment criteria cover this hazard.

As Australia moves to harmonised legislation on workplace safety issues, the harmonisation of terminology is going to be important and probably subject to lively discussion.   Continue reading “Harmonising bullying terminology extends well beyond OHS”