The Australian’s government’s report into the crash of a Blackhawk helicopter on the deck of the HMAS Kanimbla in November 2006, in which two defence personnel were killed, has been released by Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston. According to media statements “The principal and overarching finding of the Board of Inquiry was that the cause … Continue reading “The crash of Blackhawk 221 and safety culture”
An article in today’s Australian newspaper reports on the coroner’s inquest into the death of Larry Knight in the Beaconsfield mine in 2006. It provides the first insight into the OHS report for the Melick investigation. In October 2005, six months before Larry Knight’s death, the mine was closed after a minor rockfall. It is … Continue reading “Beaconsfield Mine Inquest”
Some years ago the CEO of an OHS certifying body came to Australia from the US. He spoke intriguingly about the benefits of having an independently-assessed safety practitioner registration. I could see the potential international career benefits but I am already a registered safety practitioner through my membership with an OHS professional association. I couldn’t …
In August 2007 the Australian equestrian industry was struck by its first-ever outbreak of Equine Influenza (EI). The Federal Government’s report on the incident has been released and has significant lessons for several reasons. Australia has been proud of its biosecurity and customs service for decades. As an island nation at the end of the … Continue reading “Another safety culture disaster in Australia”
The Queensland government has responded to the assessment reports on staff housing which includes the housing in remote locations. The initiatives are good for the most part but it has to be noted that the motivation for action came from foreseeable, unjustified attacks on workers in isolated locations. The safety status of the accommodation was …
This last week, the New Strait Times reported on an initiative by the Malaysian government to increase companies’ responsibility for workplace safety by making “professionals” “responsible for accidents in the workplace”.
It may be a terminological argument about whether safety professionals or risk managers or company directors are to be held personally responsible for safety infringements and incidents
Many of my OHS colleagues have responsibility for environmental safety, some to the extent of being rebadged HSE or OHSE. I have been an ardent advocate of managing business safety and risk issues in a coordinated and integrated manner. Historically, I would have applied the risk management standard as the umbrella framework, others do not.