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Dignity At Work, different UK and Australian approaches

On 26 January 2010, a fascinating document was released from England concerning  workplace harassment and violence.  This builds on earlier work in Europe and has led to the joint guidance on “Preventing Workplace Harassment and Violence“. The guidance has the demonstrated support of employer, employee and government representatives who have committed to “…ensuring that the risks of encountering harassment and violence … Continue reading “Dignity At Work, different UK and Australian approaches”

The relevance of the international Risk Management Standard

It is impossible to review the new international risk management standard as such a standard is a curious beast. The ISO31000 Risk Management Standard sets down the principles that can apply in a range of industries including, from SafetyAtWorkBlog’s perspective, occupational health and safety. Australia recently released a draft of a model OHS Act that the government wants to use as a template for uniform OHS laws.  That … Continue reading “The relevance of the international Risk Management Standard”

ROPS and Quad Bikes – the failure of ATV manufacturers and OHS regulators

The Hierarchy of Controls has some questionable OHS applications to psychosocial hazards but it applies very well to “traditional” hazards, those involving plant.  The Hierarchy also emphasizes that the first step in any hazard control is to consider whether the hazard can be eliminated.  But what happens when the designers of equipment and plant know that a design can be made … Continue reading “ROPS and Quad Bikes – the failure of ATV manufacturers and OHS regulators”

Greens keep fighting ANSTO on nuclear safety

The Australian Greens Senator Ludlam is not resting on his “wins” against the Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation.  On 22 October 2009, Ludlam issued a media statement.  Some quotes are below: “If ANSTO believes its record is clean, it should make public the incident reports rather than waiting for the issues to be raised … Continue reading “Greens keep fighting ANSTO on nuclear safety”

Safe Work Bill, suitably qualified and professional plans

Dr Geoff Dell of Protocol Safety Management and a prominent member of the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA), believes that the most crucial issue facing the safety profession in Australia is the lack of the requirement to use a “suitably qualified” safety adviser. The Australian Government was recommended to include such a requirement in its draft OHS model … Continue reading “Safe Work Bill, suitably qualified and professional plans”

Finger injury causes hefty new safety agenda for John Holland Rail

Comcare has instigated a hefty list of enforceable undertakings (EU) against John Holland Rail (JHR) after a contractor, Jack Wilmot, needed a finger amputated after a workplace injury. According to the report on the Comcare website “…an apprentice boilermaker was involved in an incident which resulted in crush injuries to his left index finger at … Continue reading “Finger injury causes hefty new safety agenda for John Holland Rail”

Working alone – a poorly understood work hazard

Working alone is an established workplace hazard in many industries.  The control measure most applied is “don’t work alone” that is, undertake as many work tasks in isolated location with someone supervising or in close contact. Modern technology has often been applied as a possible control measure – “deadman switch”, GPS tracking, mobile phone use. … Continue reading “Working alone – a poorly understood work hazard”