Don’t kill anyone. Don’t seriously injure anyone.

Michael Tooma (pictured right) has been a leading writer on occupational health and safety (OHS) law in Australia for some time.  He is one of the few labour lawyers who is not afraid to express an opinion although he has always spoken within the legal context. Recently Tooma participated in a roadshow with John Green for a …

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Prescient research on OHS, values and sustainability

It has become fashionable to place occupational health and safety (OHS) in the organisational context of business sustainability.  But this is not a new phenomenon in Australia.  In 2001 the Ecos Corporation published a discussion paper called “Safety + Value: Entry Points for Operationalizing Sustainability.”* It states “A dual focus on safety and value creation …

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OHS is not broken but does need attention

Recently an article was posted on SHPOnline called “Health and safety needs a re-brand“.  The article by Anna Keen ties in with the Safety Differently or Safety 1-Safety 2 movements but needs to be considered carefully. The street interviews were conducted in England where occupational health and safety (OHS) has undergone such a slagging off …

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Ernst Young’s latest safety discussion paper

Ernst Young (EY) Australia has released a discussion paper about its “Plus One” strategy for occupational health and safety (OHS) and safety culture change.  Perhaps the curious and significant issue raised in the document is the way it considers that the “zero harm” era is over. The document urges people to “build on the lessons of … Continue reading “Ernst Young’s latest safety discussion paper”

Victoria announces a new OHS review

On 11 February 2016, the Victorian Government announced a review into occupational health and safety (OHS) but you would hardly have noticed. The media release gained little attention in any of the mainstream press and yet its terms of reference are quite broad.  It will be interesting to see how the review panel sets its …

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Just Culture and Restorative Justice

Sometimes it is better to read Sidney Dekker than listen to him.  His presentation style is lively but his research and thoughts deserve more measured analysis than a conference or seminar presentation allows.  A recent research paper, “‘Just culture:’ Improving safety by achieving substantive, procedural and restorative justice“, shows the advantage of reading over watching....

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Extracting good from maps of death

Ever since I read the London Encyclopaedia during my honeymoon in England, I have waited for a similar encyclopaedia based on workplace safety. However, the world has changed since then and such an encyclopaedia would most likely to be created as an app. The London Encyclopaedia is indexed by places, streets and addresses, and so …

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