King Gee recently released a range of work clothing that is manufactured using a technique that reduces the wearer’s body odour. A sample was sent to SafetyAtWorkBlog unrequested. For those tradespeople with a body odour issue, the clothing may be a godsend, maybe more so for the people they have to work with. … Continue reading “Okay, I don’t smell but am I safe?”
On 1 February 2010 a zookeeper at the Werribee Zoo was pinned for several minutes under a gate weighing around 200 kilograms. The Metropolitan Ambulance Service reported that “…the woman in her 20s was pinned under a gate weighing more than three hundred kilograms, for approximately three minutes.” According to Paramedic Brett Parker, “Thankfully a number of staff were nearby and … Continue reading “Two workplace incidents – zookeeper and jockey”
Australia’s Productivity Commission released its draft report into Performance Benchmarking of Australian Business Regulation: Occupational Health and Safety on 27 January 2010. The 432-page report will take some time to read and digest but below are the general key points of the report “This study compares inter-jurisdictional differences in occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation in … Continue reading “Business assessment of OHS”
Regularly Australian OHS authorities announce campaigns in certain regions or for certain industries. To some extent these campaigns are about raising awareness of OHS issues but the fieldwork by inspectors does have some real benefit for some employers and workers. Often these campaigns result in scores of improvement notices being issued. Safety improvements are a major part of this inspectorate … Continue reading “Compliance campaigns not toothless”
Newspapers regularly report of home mechanics being trapped or killed while working under their cars and the jack slips. This type of event is less likely in workplaces because workshops have hoists or pits where work can be undertaken under a fairly stable vehicle. However not all vehicle repair happens in a workshop. On 26 January 2010 a judge in … Continue reading “Inadequate support under a vehicle costs one life and £90,000”
On 25 January 2010, Jalor Tools P/L was convicted of two breaches of the 1985 version of Victoria’s OHS Act following the death of Ekaterini Peripetsakis in the week before Christmas in 2006. Ekaterini was hit in the chest by a piece of the router tool that broke off at very high speed striking killing her. She … Continue reading “Prosecution of manufacturer of plant”
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has come in for a lot of “stick” over the last few years by seemingly over-reacting to OHS hazards. In many cases, these reports have come from a misinterpretation of OHS rules and guidelines or a misunderstanding of the basic principles of safety. In some cases it is simply … Continue reading “Getting safety promotion right”