The May 2013 National Safety magazine has an article on safety leadership by Australia lawyer, Michael Tooma. It is a terrific article but it also highlights the lack of case studies of the practical reality of safety leadership in Australia and the great distance still required to improve safety. Tooma starts the article with “It … Continue reading “Is safety leadership the panacea for unsafe workplaces?”
Every year, around this time, the mainstream media reports on the findings of employee surveys of the Victorian public service. Each year the statistics on workplace bullying are featured. (The Age newspaper reported on the latest survey on 31 March 2013.) But the approach to an understanding of workplace bullying has changed over the last … Continue reading “OHS would benefit from a historical perspective on workplace bullying”
Occupational health and safety has many examples of addressing small or short-term issues rather than facing the difficult and hard, but more sustainable, control measures. I was reminded of this by a recent media statement from the United States Chemical Safety Board (CSB) in relation to fatigue management. In 2007 the CSB recommended that, following the Texas City refinery fire, “the … Continue reading “CSB pushes for a more effective discussion on fatigue management”
The October 2012 edition of The Synergist, the magazine of the American Industrial Hygiene Association, included a frank interview with Niru Davé of Avon. Dave says that many safety and health professionals have a low level of competence. He explains his statement through his belief that there are three competency elements in a safety professional: … Continue reading “Three competency elements of the safety professional”
The report, issued last week, from Australia’s Parliamentary Inquiry into Workplace Bullying, is a terrific discussion on workplace bullying but is a major missed opportunity to achieve necessary change, and change in this area equates to the reduction of, principally, psychological harm to workers and their families. The report starts off shakily by giving prominence … Continue reading “Australia’s workplace bullying report is a missed mental health opportunity”
David Yamada, in his blog Minding the Workplace, states that “the more we can get the concept of human dignity into our everyday discussions of work, the better.” SafetyAtWorkBlog is a supporter of dignity at work and it is heartening to see that the concept is being discussed globally. Dignity, as an activator for change, seems to … Continue reading “Increased productivity and dignity at work are achievable”
Any professional sees elements of their profession in other walks of life. Police notice infringements when they are off duty. Teachers often continue to instruct or educate when outside of school. Journalist’s conversations with friends often contain pointed questions. Safety professionals, commonly, extend safety principles to their own behaviours and lives. This can sometimes lead … Continue reading “Strengthening safety decision-making”