Foxconn, a large technology manufacturer in China has a cluster of suicides. This issue is getting more attention than normal in Western media because the company manufactures products for Apple and the Apple iPad went on sale around the world at the same time news about the suicides broke.
The question that must be asked is “is this a Foxconn problem or an Apple problem?” Continue reading “Suicides in China – is this a Foxconn problem or an Apple problem?”
A new survey on CEO attitudes to safety has been released by Peter Wagner & Associates entitled “Safety – A Wicked Problem, Leading CEOs discuss their views on OHS transformation“.
There is some interesting information in report but Wagner is being generous in the report’s title. There are some CEOs who seem knowledgeable on safety management who may be “leading”, but there is at least one participant who would not know safety from clay. Continue reading “A wicked OHS problem in more ways than one”
The Victorian Ambulance Service reported a serious and curious workplace incident that occurred on 26 May 2010. According the Ambulance Service media statement workers found a the 25-year-old man was trapped “with his neck pinned between a door frame and the rails of a scissor lift machine..”.
The worker was not breathing and so workers moved him to a safe area and commenced CPR. Paramedics needed to place the man in an induced coma in order to insert a breathing tube. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition and no further details about the patient are publicly available.
WorkSafe advised SafetyAtWorkBlog that it is investigating and believes the incident occurred when the man was manoeuvring a scissor lift through a doorway, and was pinned between the bottom of the door frame and the scissor lift.
There are scant details available at the moment but the incident serves to remind companies about allowing some tasks to be undertaken without supervision and to take additional care with motorised plant.
On 7 May 2010 Judge Lacava of the County Court of Victoria increased the $A25,000 fine applied to A Bending Company to $A75,000.
WorkSafe’s Acting Director for Health and Safety, Stan Krpan, said in a media release:
“The fact that the Director of Public Prosecutions [DPP] found the original penalty inadequate, and the increase in the fine on appeal, demonstrates the courts’ attitude towards health and safety offences.”
The DPP made the appeal to the County Court after a request for review of the original fine was made by WorkSafe Victoria. According to the judge’s decision (not yet available online):
“The appeal by the Director is made pursuant to section 84 of the Magistrates’ Court Act 1989. The section gives the Director the power to appeal to this Court “if satisfied that an appeal should be brought in the public interest“.” [emphasis added]
So how was the public interest served by increasing the fine by $A50,000? Continue reading “What is the OHS “public interest”?”
Ben Merens of Wisconsin Public Radio interviewed Gary Namie of the Bullying Institute on 26 May 2010 for 45 minutes on his At Issue radio program. The interview is very timely as new “Healthy Workplace” legislation is being considered in the United States.
What was useful in this interview was that the discussion centred on workplace bullying and Namie summarised how this is substantially different from schoolyard bullying – a significant difference which requires different methods of control. Namie says that although bullying in childhood is significant, the impact on an adult of similar treatment may have longer lasting effects.
The broadcast, of course, applies to the US context principally but Namie has a long and strong international reputation in workplace bullying advice and deserves an audience. Tellingly, Namie says that the comparison for workplace bullying is not schoolyard bullying but domestic violence.
In 2001, Namie provided me with a review copy the 2000 edition of The Bully At Work for the SafetyATWORK magazine. The review is available HERE.
There has been a lot of media attention on the potential impact of an ageing population on all aspects of our society, workplaces included. In terms of OHS, there may be an increased risk of injury as people are encouraged to work longer and past the compulsory retirement age of around 60 to 65. But it is worth looking beyond the newspaper reports to get a better understanding 0f the level of risk presented by current population trends.
A report by Professor Diane Gibson for the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia is a terrific way to begin to comprehend the reality of the risk. The report, Beyond life expectancy, was released in May 2010 and provides an interpretation of the 2006 Australian Census data. From a cursory scan of the contents there are important facts that challenge us, particularly if we manage, in any way, people in the workplace. Continue reading “Planning for an ageing workforce – statistical clues”
A short time after a traumatic death of a family member will cause the family to feel they are in a mental spin. Not only are the usual funeral arrangements required but there can seem to be involvement in a personal loss from a mess of government departments and legal bodies.
It is not expected that all families have a manual to life and death but there is information for families who may have to face a workplace death. Perhaps, more importantly, this information should be read by safety professionals so that they understand the social and familial complexities of workplace incidents. Companies may call in the lawyers but there is also an obligation to their employees and families and guides, like the Kit for Families produced by the Workplace Tragedy Family Support Group, may help put all the processes into perspective.
Other online guidance material is available from
The Victorian Trades Hall Council
One regulator’s perspective can be found at Health & Safety Executive
SafetyAtWorkBlog readers are welcome to suggest other similar online guidelines.