August Updates
Axento Safety: Providing you with expert health and safety management solutions to enhance your business success.
Axento Safety’s focus
Axento Safety’s focus is on safe, healthy, innovative AND PRODUCTIVE workplaces.
By working with Axento Safety, you can refocus on your productive activities and achieve them with greater peace of mind.
Safety Culture at your business
Do you really know and are you in control of ‘the way we do things around here’? If not then it’s time for you to find out and to ensure that ‘the way we do things around here’ is fully aligned with your organisational objectives. Axento Safety can help you to achieve this outcome.
Environmentally friendly fire suppressant foam
A rapidly biodegradable, fluorine-free fire suppression foam which fully complies with stringent new environmental regulations being proposed in Queensland and Western Australia has been developed Read more
Australian Workers’ Compensation Statistics 2011-12
Safe Work Australia. This new edition replaces the previous Compendium of Workers’ Compensation statistics series.
Key findings from the report include:
- there were 120 155 accepted workers’ compensation claims for serious injury or disease,
- males accounted for 64 per cent of serious claims in 2010-11
- the average age of an employee with a serious claim was 42 years old, and
- the highest incidence rate of serious claims by industry was recorded by the Agriculture, forestry & fishing industry (21.3 serious claims per 1000 employees)—nearly double the national rate of 11.4. To view the report visit www.swa.gov.au.
Jons Comment: This is great information but where is the information that will assist workplaces to prevent these injuries and diseases from occurring? SWA is only providing half the information needed and arguably it’s the less important half.
Video resources
Warning-A not to subtle construction trades video that applies to ‘do-it-yourself people’ and other occupations as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQahUXclfHs (WorkSafe British Columbia –Construction incidents) and a copy of WorkSafe Victoria’s ‘The Pain game’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cVmNwrNR7I . Both could be useful as reminders for your workers.
October –Safe Work Month – free events
This October Safe Work Australia is running the inaugural Virtual Seminar Series (VSS)—a free online event run throughout Safe Work Australia Month. This site also provides access to the free Safe Work Month activities being run by each of the state based regulators.
How do you compensate sexual harassment?
In mid July, the Full Court of the Federal Court significantly increased the damages which an employer was required to pay to an employee who was sexually harassed by a co-worker – from $18,000 up to $130,000.
This case suggests that, going forward, courts and tribunals may adopt a more generous approach than they have in the past, when assessing damages for employees who succeed in claims made under anti-discrimination laws. Read more
Are you encouraging better staff health?
The operators of a NSW coal mine say their healthy lifestyle program for workers has boosted mining output. Healthy output claims from better living miner
The healthy lifestyles scheme has been running for nearly two years, promoting healthy eating, stress and fatigue management, weight loss and general well-being for workers and their families.
Some outcomes of the program include “We’ve had constant production gains since late 2012, in small increments, but we have definitely had less accidents, less damage to equipment”. “the healthy-conscious measures have been beneficial all round”.“On this site everyone watches everyone else’s back”
Product recalls:
The following products have recently been recalled:
11 Watt Opti Beam Portable Work Light
PV Array Rotary DC Isolator
Safety Harness
OX Fibreglass Platform Ladder
Jons Comment: It is important to verify whether you have any of these products. If you do, then follow the recall information provided via the links above.
Occupational Disease Indicators report released
The fifth edition of the Occupational Disease Indicators report has been released by Safe Work Australia. The report examined eight priority disease groups: mental disorders, noise-induced hearing loss, occupational cancers, musculoskeletal disorders, infectious and parasitic diseases, respiratory diseases, contact dermatitis, and cardiovascular diseases. The report is available at www.swa.gov.au
How OHS can Mitigate Workplace Bullying Risks
Differential treatment in the workplace, particularly on the part of managers, presents a huge challenge in properly defining what is workplace bullying, according to an international law firm. Read more…
Keys to Strong Safety Leadership
Productivity over safety still exists in many industries, according to the national safety manager at Diona Civil Engineering Contractors, Paul Lyndon, who said the subsequent challenge for safety professionals is to understand productivity drivers, instill safety as the main priority and continue the productivity cycle. Read more…
Jons Comment: use this as source material for safety being a driver of productivity
Harnesses and safety belts –are you and your workers at risk?
Are your employees always wearing their seat belts and harnesses to prevent falls, protect them in incidents, rollovers etc? An online video shows how serious the ‘catapult effect’ can be when doing tasks like unloading a boom lift from a truck. WorkSafe reminds workers that appropriate harnessing must be worn in boom lifts as well as Forklifts etc. Boom lift catapault provides a spectacular example of how stupid actions can be very dangerous.
Jons Comment: If you ensure that the wearing of seatbelts and harnesses is mandatory and change over all harnesses and seatbelts to fluoro colours, they are more likely to be worn, serious incidents are less likely and your business should be more reliable and profitable. Its a win-win situation
Are you new to Axento Safety?
If you are looking for a highly skilled health and safety advisor that is: well qualified, experienced, pro-active and commercially astute – I invite you to connect with me.
I look forward to making your acquaintance and receiving your instructions over the phone, in person or by email. Jon Temby, 0439 441 264