The June 2012 edition of the Harvard Business Review includes a fascinating article (extract online ) on safety by the controversial CEO of Anglo American, Cynthia Carroll. The whole article is well worth reading but there was one element that I found particularly interesting, Carroll’s mention of zero harm. Carroll visited operations in South Africa … Continue reading “Where can I get my own Cynthia Carroll?”
Recently SafeWorkSA released its “Regulatory Impact Statement: Model Work Health and Safety Regulations in South Australia“. This report presents radical different economic data compared to the (increasingly discredited) OHS business cost analysis undertaken by PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) for the Victorian government. The South Australian report, conducted by Deloitte, found the following economic and social impacts of new work health … Continue reading “Robust analysis of Work Health Safety laws shows considerable economic benefits”
For some time, restricted posture at workstations has been identified as being unhealthy. The Australian Financial Review on 15 May 2012 takes up the story but the author, Dierdre Macken, points to squatting as an option until “they wait for the occupational health and safety review of chairs to come in”. She misses the point. Chairs are not the problem. … Continue reading “Australian financial newspaper discusses workstation ergonomics”
Articles and reports about decent work, dignity at work and mental health issues are increasingly appearing on my desktop. Perhaps this indicates a convergence of perspectives to a better understanding of the human imperative in the modern workplace. It may be a realisation of where and how work fits the human condition. On May 1 … Continue reading “Workplace safety and the human condition”
Last week Professor Rod McClure of the Monash Injury Research Institute urged Australian safety professionals to look at the ecology of safety and injury prevention. By using the term “ecology” outside of the colloquial, he was advocating that we search for a universal theory of injury prevention. In short, he urged us to broaden our … Continue reading “Evidence of the need to change how and why we work”
The Victorian Government has released the PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) assessment of the potential economic impacts of the introduction of the national Work Health and safety laws. The government media statement accompanying the report states that “The proposed laws do not deliver on the intent of the COAG reform agreed to in 2008 which aimed to reduce the … Continue reading “Victoria’s analysis of OHS law costs is unhelpful politics”
Australia’s safety profession has a considerable challenge over the next few years, one for which it seems to be poorly prepared. The challenge comes not from new occupational health and safety (OHS) laws or new hazards but from entrenched ideologies. As the country moves to an increasing political conservatism, safety needs to prove it is … Continue reading “Safety profession needs to counter the influence of the red tape ideologues”
