IRIA

Many employers are wondering how they can help people to enjoy a safer workplace with drug testing. Naturally this is a topic that is the subject of much debate, and there are a lot of companies out there today who will enforce this, whilst there are many more that don’t. There are benefits and downsides to it, naturally, and therefore people need to look at all the options before they decide to implement it within their own business. Many people might state that it is going to be a violation of one’s civil liberties, and it is easy to understand this.

There are certain jobs whereby drug testing is mandatory, and for a very good reason. Individuals need to remain clean and sober for specific jobs, particularly if they are important ones such as flying a plane or even just transporting people. The safety of passengers is going to be the main concern in this regard.

For the most part a prime concern of any business will be the safety of the people who are working there. They will feel that they need to enjoy a safer workplace with drug testing and therefore it can sometimes be considered to be a better way of dealing with things. Others will usually not be too impressed by it.

Making money is always going to be the main goal of a business. Making it become a reality is what the workers and the employees should all be striving towards, and within this particular field drug taking can sometimes seriously hinder performance. But there are of course many different drawbacks to this, due to the fact that certain chemicals will sometimes stay much longer within the person’s bloodstream.

Drug testing can happen in numerous different ways. Some places will have it regularly, and therefore individuals who might use specific substances will be given warnings. Others won’t, and therefore random drug testing can often lead to warnings being given to specific employees, and even terminations of employment can sometimes occur.

Naturally there is always going to be a few places around the world which will probably have rather high percentages of individuals who frequently abuse drugs. Businesses that are set up within these areas might feel a little concerned and therefore feel something like this is necessary.

Again, a lot of issues will arise if a place decides to implement this. Sometimes there will be certain chemicals in illegal substances that are also contained within the likes of prescription medicine, and if this happens, someone could be unfairly terminated.

Some people might take kindly to the idea of them being able to enjoy a safer workplace with drug testing but of course this is naturally going to depend on how large the business as a whole is. Therefore it might sometimes not even be financially feasible to implicate a measure like this. Employers who are sure of what they want might need to make sure they take a look at everything before they decide to go for it. There is a lot of information to read through before deciding to take up this particular approach to dealing with substance abuse.

Get details and information about how Massachusets drug testing can help you to create a more reputable and dependable business today. You can get learn about mobile drug testing and the methods and techniques used by the knowledgeable and experienced team now.

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Building contractors who fail to meet adequate standards need to be penalised.

The death of two workers at a construction site on the Dubai-Al Ain Road on Saturday underscores the need for the most stringent safety controls and regulations in the workplace. A scaffolding on the building collapsed, killing two while at least nine other workers were injured. The scaffolding collapse follows a similar incident the day before in Abu Dhabi.

The reality is that construction work comes with dangers. But building codes are meant to limit the dangers and ensure safe working practices for all at the building sites — making the construction environment as safe as possible. Scaffolding needs to be studied and it must be properly anchored to the main structures, providing a stable and safe platform for workers. But the workers must also wear safety harnesses to provide extra insurance should the scaffolding give way.

Construction sites need to be properly inspected, with officials making sure they comply with the relevant safety codes. Conversely, there need to be enough inspectors to ensure regular inspection of sites. And those building contractors who fail to meet safety standards must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, with penalties severe enough to deter bad practices that put workers at risk.

Gulf News.com. 23rd Jan

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Organisations which rely heavily on volunteers are warning they will have to have cut back on services because of changes to health and safety laws around the nation.

Under the law changes, volunteers are considered as workers and organisations say it will cost them more money.

Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show a staggering 6.4 million people do unpaid work.

Some volunteers deliver meals to the sick and the elderly. Others supervise scout camps or work as marshals at community events like Sydney’s Gay Mardi Gras.

But according to health and safety expert Ken Phillips, this is about to change.

“Everyone is now exposed in a way that they have not been exposed in the past and the expectations on them now are to have the full resources around occupational health and safety (OHS) that you would expect of a government department, BHP, Coles Myer et cetera, et cetera,” he said.

The new laws redefine volunteers as workers for health and safety purposes, which means they now have a duty to do what is reasonably practicable to prevent injury.

Breaches to those laws can attract large fines with volunteers facing penalties of up to $300,000.

Ken Phillips says the changes are a source of great anxiety. He obtained a memo from Scouts Australia warning its volunteers that if they do not follow their organisation’s new procedures, they may be fined.

 “What’s always happened with OHS in terms of volunteers, it’s the full application of common sense and that’s really what drives the current situation,” he said.

“What we’re now talking of is bureaucratic requirements in terms of red tape, form filling and so forth that just are endless.

“So the Scout Association have, in their memo, have said that all scout games are going to have to be reviewed.

“They’re going to have to have safety procedures around those games, they’re going to have to have documented them and have all the procedures in place.

“I’ve seen some stuff sent through to me today where people are saying, you know, the volunteer committee that manages [the] local scout hall, they’re not going to let people use the scout hall for parties anymore because the volunteers could be held liable if there’s an incident at the party.”

Mr Phillips says the new harmonised laws are creating an environment of complete confusion, not providing better protection mechanisms.

“Under OHS law, normal OHS law, people are held responsible for what they reasonably and practicably control,” he said.

“These laws, these new laws for some strange reason have said, well you’ll be held responsible for what is reasonable and practicable. They’ve dropped the word “control”.

“The big debate occurring in the legal profession is whether or not now people can be held liable for things over which they didn’t have control.”

But according to the head of Meals on Wheels in NSW, Leslie MacDonald, it is the charity organisations, not the volunteers, that will be exposed.

“The real concern that I have is that there have been no discussions with government at all at this stage, or no suggestion from government that they’re going to cover the substantial additional cost that that’s going to require,” he said.

“In terms of worker’s compensation premiums but also in terms of the additional workload that’s going to impose on the paid staff in terms of making sure that the legislative requirements are being met.”

Mr MacDonald says it is difficult to know yet what the extra costs will be.

“We haven’t had a chance to analyse in detail the additional administrative requirements, but our guess is that we’re talking in terms of the workers comp premium, a very substantial increase,” he said.

He says with no extra support from the Federal Government, Meals on Wheels will be forced to reduce their services.

“I think it’s going to mean a substantial reduction in the number of meals that we can provide. I mean that seems fairly logical,” Mr MacDonald said.

The Minister of Employment and Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten, released a statement saying safe workplaces will not be adversely affected by the changes and that his department wants to avoid any unnecessary administrative burdens on volunteering organisations.

By Hagar Cohen – ABC News Newcastle

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BUSINESSES in Dandenong are being urged to make workplace safety a priority this year.

The warning from WorkSafe Victoria comes after 25 people died on the job in Victoria in 2011, including the death of a 52-year-old Melbourne Water lab technician in Bangholme last month.

The Endeavour Hills man died after he fell from a walkway into a sewage tank at the Eastern Treatment Plant while taking routine samples.

Melbourne Water general manager of operations Tony Antoniou said the company was assisting a WorkSafe investigation, as well as conducting a safety risk assessment of walkways at its sites.

“We remain absolutely committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure a safe working environment for everyone we work with,” he said.

WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Ian Forsyth said the workers who were injured were often doing routine jobs.

“WorkSafe inspectors and investigators are often told, ‘He was experienced and always careful’ or that ‘We’ve been doing it that way for years and never had any problems before’,” Mr Forsyth said.

“Safety is about understanding what can happen and doing all you can to ensure people are trained, supervised and have what is needed to work safely, even if they’ve done a job a thousand times before.”

Mr Forsyth said employers and workers needed to share the responsibility for a safe workplace.

“For some, challenging the practices and habits of your working life can be hard, but if something goes wrong, the consequences are often immediate, horrific, long-lasting or fatal.

“The fact that so many people died in the last few weeks of last year shows that while you can be doing well, constant vigilance is needed as the situation can change quickly.”

 Greater Dandnong Weekly 16 Jan by Daniel Tran

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Australian unions have launched a campaign to inform workers about new harmonised occupational health and safety laws.

A system of standardised OHS laws came into effect on Sunday in most states and territories.

The Victorian and West Australian governments have resisted the move towards uniform system, although the federal government has given them 12 months to implement the laws.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions said workers needed to understand they had enhanced rights to elect their own health and safety representatives.

“Workers need to know that when they are confronted by a health or safety issue in their workplace, they don’t have to deal with it alone,” ACTU assistant secretary Michael Borowick said.

“They have rights to stop work and demand improvements when there are health or safety concerns.

“They have an iron-clad right, under law, to elect their own health and safety representatives.”

Unions will be distributing material about the new laws under their Speak Up campaign around the country.

They have also launched a new website at www.safeatwork.org.au as a hub of information about common health and safety issues and worker and employer rights and obligations.

nine.msn 08:44 AEDT Mon Jan 2 2012

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THERE WAS A significant rise in the number of people killed by accidents in the workplace last year,  with by far the largest number of accidents happening on farms.

New statistics from the Health and Safety Authority show a 15 per cent increase in deaths from workplace injuries, with 55 people killed in 2011 against 48 the previous year.

More than one-third of those were fatally injured while working on farms. Twenty-two of the deaths happened among people working in crop and animal production.

The HSA has recently launched a high-profile advertising campaign, urging farmers not to take risks while working and to be careful around high-powered machinery.

Martin O’Halloran, CEO of the safety body, said: “This is the second year in a row that the total number of workplace fatalities has increased. The fact is that behind these statistics there are human tragedies, lives lost and families ruined.”

The trucking and warehousing industries accounted for the next largest number of deaths, with eight people killed in Irish workplaces.

Six people were fatally injured on construction sites, and five in the fishing industry.

Among the safest sectors were financial, administration, education and IT services, in which there were no deaths.

Despite this increase, the rate of deaths in the workplace has fallen gradually since 2002, when it was roughly three in every 100,000 workers.

The Journal.ie

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The supply chain industry practitioners do not yet have the depth for creating a war for the supply chain talent. A supply chain industry leader will need flexibility and aggressiveness to respond to changing needs of the supply chain industry. The industry leaders are predicting ‘technology’ to play a vital role in the supply chain industry in 2012. People associated with the supply chain industry, like manufacturers, will need to be innovative and efficient when we look at the availability of fresh solutions to fix old problems.

Industry leaders believe that supply chain industry might persist to drive cost out as the pursuit of being a bower will take over the strategies. And what would that do? Well, it would hamper the unplanned events of all shapes and sizes with an increased risk exposure.

For surviving in the supply chain industry and achieving success in the over burdening competition of 2012, the industry leaders will have to take care of a few things. Here are a few predictions for 2012 predicted by the supply chain industry leaders.

Supply Chain Industry Prediction # 1: Planning will be long lived

There are ample advanced planning tools available today, yet the supply chain industry plans do not yield more than 50 percent accuracy. It is very important for the industry leaders to plan exercises, businesses and determine the end goal that needs to be executed, to have an organized structure in the supply chain industry. Planning will not be dead, it will now be used for the purpose it should serve – setting the end goals and determining the direction in which to head.

Supply Chain Industry Prediction # 2: Two-way flexibility would play a vital role

The supply chain industry has been ‘flat’ for several years and materials are outsourced from every corner of the world. The reason is that organizations are chasing low cost manufacturing. But, quite a few industry leaders have sacrificed lower costs in order to be connected to the customers and diminish time to market. So what could be done? The supply chain industry will be required to exhibit a level of two-way flexibility, so that it can address the wide reach of production, as well as the rising mix of customers.

Supply Chain Industry Prediction # 3: Centralized supply chain command and control

The supply chain industry’s warehousing sector is under pressure after a series of investigative reporting has uncovered the fragile situation. It is the ability to hold a flawless view of the happenings across the entire supply chain network that will determine how successful the organization is, and in 2012 supply chain industry might feel the need to have a centralized system of supply chain command and control. Even though technology is sprouting to make a single view of the supply chain possible, the challenge of contrasting parts still remains. Companies like DHL are now working on the standardization of its warehouse management system globally.

Supply Chain Industry Prediction # 4: Industry leaders might adopt social media tools

Many supply chain industry leaders are still in a crawling phase, referring to the use of social media tools to stay connected with the customers, colleagues and partners. But there are several prospective factors that will continue to drive greater adoption of the use of social media tool among industry leaders. This is expected to improve the organization’s external as well as internal communication.

Industry leaders will have to make sure that the supply chains gain real time visibility, understand the impact of the unplanned events and have fresh solutions ready so as to react to the prospective problems within a short period of time. Well, it looks like those supply chain industry leaders who take care and recognize the changes in the supply chain industry and immediately implement the POA to solve the issue, might turn out to be the real winners of the supply chain industry in 2012.

By Jason Miller Industry Leaders Magazine Jan 4 2012

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