Workplace deaths lead to reforms but not of workplace safety

Australia’s Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, has provided a clear indication that, although Julia Gillard may understand OHS, his department does not.

In 2009, several installers of domestic insulation died.  One died from heat stress from working in the ceiling space, another was electrocuted as the metal staple he was using to install foil insulation pierced an electricity cable.  Now the political heat is on the Australian Government because it was their climate change policy that led to a boom in unregistered and inexperienced insulation installers. Continue reading “Workplace deaths lead to reforms but not of workplace safety”

Vehicle crane safety alert

The Queensland Government has issued a safety alert of the purchasing and use of vehicle-based loading cranes (VLC).  The alert has originated from two deaths where the operator of the cranes were struck by the booms.

The safety advice offered by the government is sound – follow manufacturer’s instructions, provide suitable training – but it focusses on the lower order of control methods without asking the hard question – whether the design of such a crane is unsafe?

From the information in the alert it seems peculiar that such a crane should be on sale at all.   Continue reading “Vehicle crane safety alert”

Social networking and OHS

Less than two days ago, someone established a Facebook page in order to seek justice for Brodie Panlock.  At the time of writing the page has over 2,800 supporters, mostly young.  The page is being moderated very closely so that any inflammatory comments are jumped on very quickly.  The site has a maturity that is showing the best elements of social networking sites.

The moderators are referring to the site as a petition but this is not the traditional petition where reams of paper are presented to a politician on the steps of Parliament, although it may come to that.  What the Facebook page is showing is the modern (perhaps young) take on generating support for a cause through the technologies with which the supporters are most familiar. Continue reading “Social networking and OHS”

OHS and the death of Brodie Panlock from bullying

On 8 February 2010, four workers at Café Vamp, a small restaurant in Melbourne Victoria, were fined a total of $A335,000 for repeatedly bullying, or allowing bullying to occur to, 19-year-old Brodie Panlock.  Brodie jumped from a building in September 2006.  Her family watched Brodie die from head injuries three days later.  They were unaware that Brodie was being bullied at work.

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“Respect Agenda” – seriously?

Recently the Victorian Premier, John Brumby reshuffled his Cabinet and created a new portfolio the “Respect Agenda”.  The Minister with responsibility for the portfolio is ex-footballer Justin Madden.  Very little has been revealed about the agenda, which has been launched after a major international kerfuffle over serious racist attacks against Indian students.  It is likely to be relevant that 2010 is an election year for Victoria.

It is useful to consider these political pledges in the light of the workplace-related suicide of Brodie Panlock in 2006. Continue reading ““Respect Agenda” – seriously?”

Biomarkers for musculoskeletal disorders

Slips, trips and falls are often the neglected “bastard son” of occupational health and safety but the can cripple and can, literally cost an arm or a leg.

The traditional approach to control these hazards have been to make  the working environment safer by mopping up spilled liquids, for instance, or be using a piece of equipment such as a stepladder, or in the long-term or in the beginning of a project, to design out hazards.

We also know that musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) make occur suddenly, and dramatically and painfully, but one’s body has accumulated weaknesses over time.  The UK’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has released a research report that indicates a new approach to MSDs or at least a start. Continue reading “Biomarkers for musculoskeletal disorders”

Don’t get sidetracked by depression marketing

Over the last couple of months, SafetyAtWorkBlog has written several articles on the psychosocial workplace hazard of depression, stress and anxiety.

Science Friday is a regular feature of the NPR  program, Talk of the Nation in the United States.  Last Friday, it focussed on depression.  Its speakers talked about how the diagnosis of depression has changed over the decades, sometimes to match the range of depression medications available.

Importantly there is a differentiation between depression and mental health. (Psychosocial disorders doesn’t seem to be a term used outside of OHS)  Depression is slowly becoming the collective term for sad, melancholy, unhappy, miserable, anxious……….  It is very important for workplace safety professionals to try to pierce the fug of depression marketing so that one is not distracted into the trap of treating workers for a personal problem rather than preventing the hazard through changing organisational attitudes. Continue reading “Don’t get sidetracked by depression marketing”