February Updates
Axento Safety: Providing you with expert risk management solutions to enhance your business success.
Axento Safety’s focus is to help create safe, healthy, innovative AND PRODUCTIVE workplaces.
By working with Axento Safety, you can refocus on your productive activities, achieve them more safely and with greater peace of mind.
Safe Work Australia Urges Safe Start to Year
Safe Work Australia Chief Executive Officer Michelle Baxter recently encouraged employers to make work health and safety a priority for the coming year. Read more..
Jons Comment: some excellent tips are included in this short message from SWA.
Tasmania
WorkCover Tasmania’s draft Workplace Bullying Prevention Strategy, was released for public comment. It aims to help the WorkCover board reduce the prevalence of bullying in Tasmanian workplaces. On 24 December 2014, the following changes to Tasmania’s work health and safety WHS) laws came into effect.
Victoria – CCCU abolition
Building Code and Construction Code Compliance Unit. The Victorian Government has decided to abolish the Construction Code Compliance Unit.
Jons Comment: No industry tears will be shed over this good decision, it removes expensive bureaucratic layers that were never going to assist safer outcomes.
South Australia
The SA Government has made numerous changes to its safety regulations including two new regulations and the expiry of five transitional provisions.
The regulations that commenced on 1 January 2015 are:
- Regulation 488 – Recognition of asbestos removal licences in other jurisdictions
- Regulation 675W – Quarterly reports
The transitional provisions that expired on 1 January 2015 are
- Regulation 724(7) and (8) – Licence to carry out high risk work
- Regulation 727 – Asbestos assessors licence
- Regulation 728 – Asbestos removal supervisors and asbestos removal workers
- Regulation 729 – Applications for asbestos removal licences or asbestos assessor licences
- Regulation 731 – Duties of designers
More details on the transitional provisions are available here. Further changes to health and safety legislation in SA are in the pipeline.
Hotwork Explosion – Drums
WORKCOVER NSW inspectors are urging workers to be cautious when working with storage drums after a worker, 41, at a plumbing business suffered serious injuries when the 44 gallon drum he was cutting exploded – worker was cutting the lid off a 44 gallon drum with a plasma cutter at the business when the drum exploded – it caused serious fractures to his head and upper body Warning on drums after man injured in explosion
Jons comment: There are many examples where welding, grinding or cutting a container that may have held flammables at some stage, has led to explosions, deaths and serious injuries. All organisations are advised to implement full safety precautions if this activity is envisaged.
Hotwork Fire – 30 minute fire-watch rule
Morning fire destroys Unionville business A business was destroyed following a ‘hot-work’ fire – the owner was welding, then took a break – when he came back a short time later, the wall was on fire and the building was completely destroyed. Jons Comment: Variations on this incident are very common. Establishing and following robust Hot Work procedures is a good investment in business continuity.
Common law – Free Webinars
Qld WorkCover managed 3729 common law claims in the 2013‒2014 financial year. On average, a common law claim in Queensland costs almost $150,000 and takes more than a year to finalise. This includes settlement, legal costs and other outlays for the claimant and defendant. Common law claims impact all industries with higher incidence in the manufacturing, construction and health care and social assistance sectors. To explain how to mitigate the impact of claims escalating to common law, QLD WorkCover will hold four webinars between January and April 2015. Common law webinars
Jons Comment: The first webinar has been held but the three others might help to save a lot of hassles and costs.
Innovation for Success
I have spoken many times about using health and safety as the tools to generate innovation and growth in organisations. The following short paper provides some generic suggestions for generating greater innovation: Improving-business-innovation . If you are looking for greater innovation in your organisation and need simplified and more effective health and safety practices and outcomes, give Axento Safety a call.
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Behaviour Based Safety
Improved relationships in the workplace will also lead to an improved safety culture, and better safety performance as a result, according to an OHS leader. Read more…
Jons Comment: This article presents an important clarification and one that I have been working on without seeing the theoretical basis to it: Real success is based on trusting relationships within the workforce and many compliance-based health and safety actions undermine trust and therefore undermine the safety improvements we seek to achieve. Valuable food for thought.
Milling Company Fined $78 000 Over Incident
The Industrial Court of SA has convicted and fined Blue Lake Milling $78,000 plus costs after a young worker suffered severe injuries caused by the rotating arms of a large steaming valve at its Bordertown premises. Read more…
Jons Comment: Here is a good example of the need to provide adequate inductions and job training for your employees, especially when changed duties are involved.
Excessive Sitting is Not Good for You
Sedentary working conditions are likely to contribute substantially to increasing rates of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers, according to Curtin University researchers. Read more…
Jons Comment: Are you asking your sedentary workers (primarily those people who sit for most of the time) to alternate their static jobs with more active ones? Is the printer out of reach?
How to Reduce Stress in the Workplace
Work related stress is the most common workplace issue in Australian workplaces, and OHS professionals should work to raise awareness about this issue and gain support from managers to address concerns, according to corporate psychology firm AccessEAP. Read more…
Jons Comment: Having just assisted as an Expert Witness on a related topic, it is important that you treat the risk of psychological injuries very seriously and take appropriate action to manage it
Safety Warning for Australian Tradespeople
One in five of all serious workplace injuries involve a tradesman, according to an Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) report, which found that tradespeople have some of the highest injury rates, musculoskeletal conditions and other health and safety risks of any profession. Read more…
Jons Comment: How long is it since you reviewed your trades staff incident histories and workplace practices? There will be a good business case for verifying that your current practices are not putting your workers or your business at risk.
BHP Billiton in $2.2 million asbestos payout
Steven Dunning, a 54 year old Cessnock man with terminal mesothelioma who was exposed to asbestos while working on blast furnaces at the Newcastle Steelworks, recently won a landmark battle against his former employer BHP Billiton Limited and received $2.2 million in damages. Read more…
Jons Comment: Do you know the impact of dusts or chemicals in your workplace and are they adequately controlled? Seek assistance if unsure. We can overlook these sorts of hazards.
Are you new to Axento Safety?
If you are looking for a recognised expert health and safety advisor who is well qualified, experienced, pro-active and commercially astute – I invite you to contact me.
Jon Temby, 0439 441 264