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”
OnlineMBA.com recently uploaded a video about “The True Cost of a Bad Boss“. It is a good summary of the spread of negative organisational and employee effects that can result from poor management poor understanding and poor communication. It is well worth remembering this spread when determining the best way to manage workplace safety and increase … Continue reading “Australia’s psychosocial barometer provides strong evidence for policy and corporate change”
Vaughan Bowie is an Australian academic who has chosen workplace violence as his major area of interest. Bowie came to general prominence earlier this century with several books and his contribution to the WorkcoverNSW guidance on workplace violence. His research has taken him to look at “organisational violence” and in October 2012, he addressed the 3rd International … Continue reading “Considering organisational violence may provide a more effective path to controlling psychosocial issues at work”
In Australia, Parliamentary inquiries are usually required to provide the Parliament with a copy of their findings. In the last week of November 2012, the Chair of the Australia’s Parliamentary Inquiry into Workplace Bullying, Amanda Rishworth, presented its report which included a dissenting report from the Conservative (Liberal Party) committee members. On 28 November both … Continue reading “Political ideologies on show over workplace bullying”
They both nodded in agreement when she said, “I’m half bored to death in this job, nearly had it”. Both women were freezing, sitting outside in the covered area. Their fingers blue. The short morning break. You hurry, you panic, get a quick hot drink, a cigarette, quickly back into it. Hour after hour after … Continue reading “Half bored and tired to death”
Australian business associations have different perspectives on the need to harmonise occupational health and safety laws across Australia but BusinessSA has performed an enormous backflip in only a month on new Work Health and Safety Laws. In a letter (now a media release) to the industry association’s members, BusinessSA has called on the South Australian Government to … Continue reading “BusinessSA’s backflip on OHS laws carries short-term gain but long-term risk”
Workplace safety apps are a fairly new addition to smart technologies and they are of variable quality and application. Below is a quick review of some. Glossary One of the earliest OHS-related apps and most basic was Derek Viner‘s Safety101. This is essentially nothing more than a glossary of risk and safety terminology. It has not been … Continue reading “Workplace safety apps reviewed”