March Updates
Axento Safety provides you with health and safety expert witness and risk management solutions to enhance your business success.
In addition to incident investigations and expert witness services, Axento Safety’s focus is to help create safe, healthy, innovative AND PRODUCTIVE workplaces. Axento Safety partner with you to take the pain out of health and safety, provide safety management systems, reduce the paperwork, achieve certifications, enable increased compliance, enable productivity improvement and achieve this cost effectively. Contact Jon Temby to grow your business and make your life easier.
New Standard: ISO 45001 – Occupational health and safety
Over 6300 people die each day from work-related accidents or diseases – that’s nearly 2.3million every year. The burden of occupational injuries and diseases is significant, both for employers and the wider economy, resulting in losses from early retirements, staff absence and rising insurance premiums.
To combat the problem, ISO is developing a new standard, ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements, that will help organizations reduce this burden by providing a framework to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions, all over the world.
Over 60 countries are participating in the standard’s development and each will approve, disapprove or abstain on the content of the document in April. You can provide input via one of the nominating organisations that are represented on this committee. See the SF-001 committee page for details.
Jons Comment: This will be a significant contributor to health and safety worldwide and will impact us here in Australia, the briefing note on ISO 45001, which provides requirements for an effective OH&S management system is available here… Also: In addition to those listed above, the burden of occupational injuries and diseases is significant to those who are killed, injured or get diseased as a result of their employment, plus their families, friends and communities. The toll affects many people and is usually avoidable if given a little forethought and action.
Wall collapse sentences and fines: a reminder to keep the public safe
In November, 2014, Grocon (Victoria Street) was convicted and fined $250,000 in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to one charge of breaching Section 26 of the OHS Act, in that it failed to ensure that a workplace it managed or controlled was, so far as was reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health.
WorkSafe has now issued a further media release following the County Court convicting and fining a Melbourne sign writing company $250,000 over its role in the collapse of the wall surrounding Grocons building site in Swanston Street in 2013 that killed three pedestrians. Read more…
Jons Comments: I am occasionally surprised when providing health and safety training or briefings that there is still inadequate awareness of the legal obligation to prevent risks to the health and safety of non employees who may be affected by your activities (acts and omissions). These nationally consistent obligations apply both to the organisation as well as to individual workers. The wall collapse above is a clear example of this obligation and how serious breaches can be. The principal contractor Grocon was fined as well as Aussie Signs and their subcontractor who installed the sign. Their criminal convictions under the Health and Safety Act will remain on the public record. The three deaths are permanent reminders for their families, friends and loved ones of avoidable health and safety failures.
Risks to the public can come from lots of sources: e.g. you create slips, trips and falls hazards that can affect visiting or passing members of the public; you don’t prevent the local kids from entering your premises after hours and they get hurt; you make and/or sell and/or install products that cause injury or illness; or you have a chemical spill affecting people downwind and/or downstream (which would also bring in the EPA).
Are the public safe from your activities? Is it time for a review of the potential impacts that your operations may have on members of the public? If the outcome of the review is that there is a very low risk to the public, great. This will tick off one of your Due Diligence obligations. If however the risk is more serious then action needs to be taken to reduce the risk. Call me for assistance if required.
Minimising risks when using herbicides
WorkSafe Victoria has released information on reducing the risks when using herbicides such as glyphosate. If you use herbicides to control vegetation you should read this Information sheet and get a copy of the Checklist for spraying pesticides – Risk assessment tool for employers
Jons comments: Herbicides are important for the control of unwanted vegetation however most herbicides present significant risks to the user and others who can be exposed to the herbicide, to the environment and to non-target species. For many years the Roundup MSDS’s informed us that Roundup was relatively safe. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup and related herbicides. In March 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced that it had reclassified the herbicide glyphosate, from ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’ (Group 2B) to ‘probably carcinogenic to humans'(Group 2A). Does this sound like the other wonderful materials (at the time) that had nasty long term effects? Things like DDT and Asbestos? I am far more careful and limited in my use of Glyphosate. I do not use it if there is a practicable safer alternative such as weeding by hand or digging etc. Glyphosate is frequently used in agriculture, parks and gardens applications as well as domestic use, it is time to review our usage of it.
FYI – Fatalities and Fraud
It is an interesting point of comparison that the average fine for a fatality is only $217,000 to an organisation whilst a conviction for fraud is almost double that. (Gary Rowe, colleague, 2016). What does this say about community values and priorities?
Working in extreme temperatures
WorkSafe WA has issued a warning on guarding against the effects of extreme temperatures in work environments during the current heatwave and for the remainder of summer. Read more…
Jons Comments: This is an ongoing and significant issue across Australia for all people working outdoors as well for people working near hot processes. There are some good resources via the link.
Falls from heights
SafeWork NSW is urging businesses and workers across the state to take extreme care after two workers were killed and eight others were seriously injured in falls from heights since the beginning of the year. Read more…
Jons Comments: This article states “During 2013/14 there were 4,170 workers compensation claims for falls from heights at a cost of more than $49 million.” To reduce the likelihood of falls occurring, look at the resources via the link and implement them.
Safety film targeting young workers
A new safety film targeting young workers and their employers was recently released in a bid to focus attention on preventing young worker deaths and injuries on construction sites. Read more and access the film… Media statement
Jons Comments: The film is well worth watching on the basis that it applies to any new worker in any industry sector: they are unfamiliar with the site, its hazards, the tools and equipment and in addition they usually are trying to demonstrate that they are very skilled an competent. This understandable cocktail of low familiarity and attempts at high performance frequently lead to injuries and damage occurring.
Having good site safety practices and a well staged induction process including a robust Buddy System and supervision significantly reduces the risk to the new recruit and to the organisation.
Standing desks may lead to more sitting at home
Using a standing desk at work may unwittingly influence the amount of time people spend sitting at home, according to a study of sedentary behaviour. Read more…
Jons Comment: Several of my clients have asked about standing desks and or sit/stand desks recently. The additional information on the link above may assist in discussions, decision making and management should you have employees using them or wanting to use them.
Product safety recalls – Bosch Australia, Orbital Sander PSS Series
What are the defects? A defect of the ventilation wheel could cause a break of the device housing.
What are the hazards? If the housing is broken then smaller parts of the ventilation wheel could be ejected, and the risk of injury cannot be excluded. There is the possibility of electric shock if live components were exposed from broken housing, although there have been no reported incidents of this. Read more…