A recent prosecution by SafeWorkSA illustrates an odd situation but one of considerable importance. The media release of 15 December 2010 reports on the the penalties given to Hermes Precisa Pty Ltd (A$24,600) and Salmat Document Management Solutions Pty Ltd (A$22,400) for breaches of OHS law in May 2008. The circumstances of the offence are: ” A … Continue reading “Make buying a business a safe choice”
On 3 May 2010, I was privileged to be invited to be a plenary speaker at the 2010 conference of the New South Wales Minerals Council. My presentation was entitled “Some new ways of talking about safety online”. I discussed the use of some of the new online communication methods but ultimately came to the point that safety is most successfully communicated … Continue reading “Communicating safety through new technologies”
Australia’s corporations are busy releasing their annual reports in October 2009. The outgoing managing director and CEO of Boral Limited, Rod Pearse, provided his comments on the company’s safety performance to shareholders on 28 October 2009. “Since demerger [January 2000], Boral’s safety outcomes have delivered steady year-on-year improvements and compare well with both ASX100 and industry benchmarks. Employee … Continue reading “Australian AGMs mention workplace deaths”
Every industry has jargon. A common language and common terms can build companionship and solidarity. But when used outside a “discipline” it reduces the effectiveness of communication. The mis-application of jargon can generate confusion and is, in many areas, being purposely used to hide meanings. Sadly in the safety profession, jargon is used to mask … Continue reading “Safety industry jargon”
Just because Victoria’s WorkHealth program is not functioning anywhere near its initial intention, it does not mean that the issue of workers’ poor health is being ignored. In mid-June 2009, Australia’s federal government announced a targeted program called the Tradies Tune-Up. The funding for this program is very modest in comparison with WorkHealth’s proposed riches. … Continue reading “Worker health continues to get government support”
(Particularly) since the fall of Lehman Brothers, the returns on investments throughout the world have dived. Australia has been relatively unaffected but the signs are starting to look bad and if it wasn’t for China and India buying the country’s resources, Australia’s economy would more closely resemble Europe and the United States. This turmoil … Continue reading “Worker’s Compensation Funds and global financial problems”