At the recent Safe Work Australia Awards, the Minister for Workplace Relations had a dig at “safety culture“, according to an article from the National Safety Council of Australia. Bill Shorten said : “It is not the systems or the fancy talk about culture that will save people’s lives.” This has been interpreted by … Continue reading “Safety leadership and culture require accountability”
There is increasing attention being given to the preparation of Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) in Australian OHS laws. Amongst many purposes, SWMS should provide a basic risk assessment of tasks being undertaken, usually, that day. Often SWMS are too generic by being prepared days or weeks earlier, often SWMS miss the big risks by … Continue reading “Inadequate risk assessment results in an injured worker and $99k fine”
Over many years OHS regulators in Australia have produced guidance notes and Codes of Practice to assist businesses in addressing the hazard of workers working alone. The new model Work Heath and Safety (WHS) Regulations due to be released with several Codes on 26 September 2011 brings the serious hazard of working alone to the front of … Continue reading “Working Alone gets regulatory boost”
Workplace safety hardly ever gets a mention in the daily newspapers unless there is a big corporate name involved or a record fine. Local newspapers often provide more coverage of workplace incidents because the local angle allows for the reporting of the social and familial impact of an incident within days of it occurring. … Continue reading “Local safety article reflects bigger issues”
In June 2010 WorkSafe WA began investigating the 2008 death from heat stroke of 46-year-old aboriginal elder Mr Ward. According to one media report : “A broken air conditioner forced Mr Ward to endure temperatures above 50 degrees during the non-stop, four-hour journey to face a drink-driving charge in court.” The same article noted that … Continue reading “WorkSafe prosecutes Dept of Corrective Services and G4S”
For years Australian OHS legislation has focused on establishing a “safe system of work”. This focus is inclusive and is an understandable approach to safety regulation but it has also generated a fair share of confusion. If a business does not have a documented safety management system, does it have a system of work? Yes … Continue reading “A safe (social) system of work”
In 2007, Pedro Balading fell off the back of a utility vehicle while working in remote outback Australia and died. On 16 March 2010, the owner of the Wollogorang cattle station, Panoy P/L, was fined $A60,000 over the death. According to one media report: “Pedro Balading, a 35-year-old father of three, was a Manila piggeries supervisor who arrived … Continue reading “The fatal consequences of riding in the tray of a pick-up or ute”