IRIA

An independent review has concluded that the lack of a safety culture in the state may be the chief problem behind an overly high number of job fatalities. Wyoming averaged one workplace death every 10 days over the last 10 years. Thousands of employees have sought work in the state’s booming oil, gas, and mining industries.

Occupational epidemiologist Timothy Ryan was hired by the state Workplace Safety Task Force that is charged with developing recommendations to address the high rate of occupational deaths.

Ryan reviewed fatality data from 1992 through 2008, studied fatality case reports, and spoke with hundreds of employees working for companies of various sizes. Among his conclusions:

Although nonfatal injuries decreased from 2001 to 2008, Ryan notes that major injuries remain a problem, with the number of hospitalizations increasing. While emphasizing that no single solution will remedy the situation, Ryan issued recommendations, including:

• Encourage continuity of ongoing efforts.
• Develop a data monitoring system for the collection and timely analysis of occupational information.
• Promote OSHA courtesy inspections.
• Support efforts by industry to develop, monitor, and enforce safety standards and practices.

Safety.BLR.com Feb 14 2012

Continue Reading

RED tape connected with proposed national workplace safety laws will drive up the cost of a new home by tens of thousands of dollars, the construction industry has warned.

The sector has lined up behind volunteering groups, which claimed last week they could go to the wall because of the consultation and reporting requirements that accompany the proposed national occupational health and safety regime.

A report by consultants Hudson Howells, commissioned in South Australia by the Housing Industry Association, says the compliance cost associated with OHS laws could drive up the cost of a new single-storey home in that state by $20,690, and of a double-storey home by $29,335.

Extrapolating from SA data provided by the HIA, the report says compliance costs associated with the laws could wipe up to $16 billion a year off national productivity and cost as many as 120,000 jobs.

While the report concedes there are also benefits to a single national regime, it questions the federal Labor government’s claim of a net annual benefit to the economy of about $250 million, arguing there is no data to back this up.

But whatever the duelling economists say, Adelaide cladding sub-contractor Stuey Hampton is in little doubt about the impact the OHS laws will have.

“This will kill us,” he said yesterday. “It will wipe out independent contractors.”

Mr Hampton, 39, who employs three tradesmen, says workplace authorities should be chasing down and prosecuting unlicensed operators, not making life harder for the honest contractors.

An example he gives is a requirement in the new laws that, as a “high risk operator”, he must complete a “safe work method statement” whenever he sets up his equipment, then revise it whenever “relevant control measures are revised” — a situation he says will exist every time he moves his ladder.

“I can try and pass those compliance costs back on to the building firms,” said Mr Hampton.

“But are they going to be prepared to pay?”

Federal Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten yesterday acknowledged contractors such as Mr Hampton have real concerns about the laws, which have so far been implemented in Queensland and NSW.

“My intention is to reduce the amount of red tape,” he said.

“I’ve clearly got to reduce the amount of paperwork small business has to do in connection with OHS compliance. The states remain the regulators but we’ll be asking them to co-operate.”

Mr Shorten said he particularly wanted to reduce the paperwork associated with weekend work. “Like the rest of us, tradesmen and contractors deserve to spend a lot of time with their families at weekends.”

Peter Goode, managing director of mining and infrastructure giant Transfield Services, said uniform laws should be positive for the construction sector, but there was a danger states would import their pet regulations back into the system. “As with all these things, it’s about the implementation,” he said.

Imre Salusinszky, NSW political reporter

• From: The Australian
• January 23, 2012 12:00AM

Continue Reading

On December 11, 2009, a significant milestone was achieved.

On that day, ministers from federal and state governments agreed to the model Work Health and Safety Bill (WHS Bill) – one, singular national piece of occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation which would apply throughout Australia.

By December 31 2011, that agreement said, six different sets of OHS laws would be merged into one. The result would be simpler compliance for employers and consistency for workers in terms of rights to protection and compensation.

Alas, two years on, harmonised OHS remains a distant dream.

The latest report from the COAG Reform Council gives a damning assessment of progress to date, saying that the 2009 agreement has been effectively undone by the failure of some states to pursue the required legislative amendments for effective harmonisation to be put into practice.

“The milestone for the Workplace Relations Ministers‘ Council to agree the model OHS Bill was initially completed by all jurisdictions when the council agreed to the model Work Health and Safety Bill on 11 December 2009,” the report says.

“However, the council takes the view that this agreement has effectively been undone by NSW, Victoria and Western Australia because of actions taken or subsequent statements made by these jurisdictions”.

As at the start of this year – when harmonised laws were supposed to take effect, just three jurisdictions – New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT – had enacted harmonisation reforms. Several (see below) have so far done nothing at all.

Not surprisingly, building and construction firms are frustrated. Dr Eileen Doyle, director of Boral and property group GPT, says that given Australia’s small population, the current level of red tape that national economic reforms including OH&S were supposed to cut represent ‘an incredible cost that we shouldn’t have to bear’.

“That fundamentally affects our ability to be competitive in the world” Doyle says.

How the states stack up

As mentioned above, progress across states varies from some having fully implemented necessary reforms to others having done nothing.

Here’s how your state’s efforts stack up.

New South Wales, Queensland and ACT

All three of these states/territories have enacted legislation broadly consistent with the WHS Bill.

Queensland and ACT passed the legislation with only minor amendments to enable the laws to operate effectively within their jurisdictional framework. New South Wales enacted laws which support the Bill with the exception that unions retain the right to bring prosecutions against employers where WorkCover NSW and the Director of Public Prosecutions decide not to.

Western Australia and Victoria

Both Western Australia and Victoria say they support the basic concepts behind the WHS Bill but that they each need more time to conduct a cost-benefit analysis with regard to its effect in their respective states. Western Australia also says it has not had sufficient time to work through consultative and parliamentary processes or concerns about mining related issues associated with the Bill.

Furthermore, Western Australia says it is unlikely to implement four areas of the model WHS bill: penalty levels; union right of entry; health and safety representatives‘ capacity to direct the cessation of work  and reverse onus of proof in discrimination matters.

South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, the Commonwealth

Though neither any the above state/territories, nor the Commonwealth, have indicated any opposition to the WHS bill, the report says that none have introduced any laws to give effect to their harmonisation legislation in their state.

In short, these jurisdictions have done nothing. Whether or not any of them will enact legislation giving support to OH&S harmonisation remains to be seen.

Until the direction of harmonisation legislation becomes clearer in these states, the prospects for harmonised laws across the country remain unclear.

Dream Still Years Away

In short, as it stands, complete harmonisation of OHS laws – which was supposed to have been in place from last month – is many months and most likely years from being achieved.

For now, different laws in different states remains the reality confronted by business not just in building and construction but in every industry across Australia.

By Andrew Heaton

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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

Continue Reading

Safe Work Australia Chair Tom Phillips AM has announced the release of the Thirteenth Edition of the Comparative Performance Monitoring (CPM) report on Australia’s work health and safety and workers compensation outcomes for 2009-10. Phillips said the report indicates that the rate of compensated injury fatalities is at its lowest level since the start of the

National OHS Strategy 2002-2012 and it is expected that the target of a 20% reduction by 2012 will be achieved. “While this is a good result, there were still 194 compensated fatalities recorded in Australia for 2009-10 and each year 13 out of every 1000 workers continue to be injured seriously enough to require a week or more off work.
“To continue to see a decrease in injury and disease in the workplace, we must stay committed to work health and safety and set high targets to ensure safer workplaces for all Australians,” said Phillips. “Since the start of the National OHS Strategy 2002-2012 there has been a 25% improvement; however, this report shows that considerably more work is required if the target of a 40% reduction in the rate of injuries is to be achieved by 2012.

“While some areas are recording a reduction in incidents and deaths, we still need to make sure this is consistent in all areas. The report shows that return to work following an injury slightly improved from last year, with 75% of injured workers successfully returning to work within eight to 10 months of sustaining their injury,” said Phillips.

Phillips said the report found that injury and disease rates in the transport and storage, manufacturing and agriculture, forestry and fishing industries are still nearly twice the national average and employees and employers need to work together to improve work health and safety in these industries.
Other key findings in the report include:
• Australian workers compensation schemes expended more than $7bn of which around half (56%) was paid direct to injured workers in compensation for their injury or illness and 22% was spent on medical and other services.
• Body stressing continued to be the injury/disease that accounts for the greatest proportion of claims (41%).
• Work health and safety authorities undertook close to 200,000 workplace interventions and issued 63,000 notices during 2009-10, and employers are now paying 1.53% of payroll in workers compensation premiums compared to 2.01% in 2005-06.
The Thirteenth Edition of the CPM report and previous reports can be found at www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au.

Continue Reading

A confined spaces inspection robot, developed by a team of Sydney Harbour Bridge Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) employees, is designed to eliminate risks for workers and reduce the costs associated with bridge maintenance. “The Remote Control Inspector (RCI) was developed to eliminate the need for people to enter confined spaces on RMS’s network of bridges including hollow concrete and steel bridge support beams,” said an RMS spokesperson.

“On the Sydney Harbour Bridge there are 7.2 kilometres of hollow steel chambers within the arches of the bridge which crews would have to enter.” The RCI is built on the chassis of a remote control rock-scaling buggy which is designed to drive up very steep and rough terrain. It has a four-wheel drive, independent suspension and is driven via a live video feed across a long-range digital signal.

Attached to the chassis is an adventure sport wide-angle video camera to record inspection footage and guide the driving of the RCI, as well as lights, a gas monitor to alarm the operator if driven into a poisonous gas zone, a roll cage to protect the electronics and a safety line to retrieve the RCI if broken down or rolled. “The concept is similar to remote control devices used by the US military such as bomb disposal robots and drones. However, the RCI is small, light and inexpensive and can be assembled from parts available in local electronic shops,” the spokesperson said.

“While RMS has always ensured maximum safety for these inspections and only sends properly trained and accredited inspectors, the project team wanted to remove the risks altogether. Entering a typical bridge confined space, even with best practices in place, carries a risk due to falling from heights and asphyxiation. These risks led to the development of the Remote Control Inspector as users no longer need to enter the confined spaces and can operate remotely from outside the support beams and arches of bridges.

“The invention has improved the safety of the work environment for bridge inspectors. The fact there have been no RMS injuries to date in confined spaces is no reason to become complacent.

“It is also being used as a training device to encourage all RMS employees to look for ways to eliminate risk in all aspects of their work.”

The project team consulted on the prototype development with PhD students and professors from the School of Mechatronic Engineering at the University of Technology,  Sydney. The academics have been attending site visits at Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of a research grant with the target of building on the work done by the RCI project team to further develop world-leading bridge inspection robots. The invention is a finalist for the NSW WorkCover Safe Work award, the winner of the RTA Occupational Health and Safety Staff Award and was highly commended in the RTA Staff Awards for Excellence in Innovation.
Posted: Nov 21, 2011
www.safetysolutions.com.au

Continue Reading

WORKFORCE management software company ComOps says its survey has found 87 percent of managers believe the harmonisation of Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation will be a positive impact to their organisation’s overall operational sustainability in 2012.

ComOps conducted the survey at the Safety Show Sydney 2011 event. It also found 68 percent of respondents believe that the harmonisation model will achieve a true harmonisation of WHS laws in Australia for the first time while 60 percent of organisations believe that the law’s personal liability provisions will be positive to their business. The harmonisation of Australia’s WHS legislation is intended to minimise areas of risk, and implement greater accountability and visibility into workplace safety practices within organisations. A key focus of the legislation is to improve communication and implement more comprehensive reporting. Accountability is a major focus of WHS harmonisation with the new laws demanding greater visibility into WHS practices, better communication and more comprehensive reporting.
Business owners, directors and other management will find their duty of care far more tightly defined.

In light of the upcoming harmonisations laws, when asked about the three most critical factors for driving a successful WHS program today, 74 percent said that creating the right culture in the company was the most important factor while 52% indicated that having management support and participation was the second most important factor. Almost half of all respondents (48 percent) said that deploying tools throughout the entire organisation to report on hazards and incidents was the third most important factor in their current planning.

The survey found that 68 percent of participants have already prepared their processes and systems in time for the new legislation, while 18 percent believe it will take their organisation at least another six to 12 months to achieve the task. Daniel Sheahan, General Manager, ComOps, said, “During the remaining months, businesses would be well advised to audit their risk management strategy as well as revisit their existing WHS plans, and confirm that they are still appropriate and will meet the requirements of the new legislation. Harmonisation provides an excellent opportunity for organisations to strengthen their management and employees’ awareness of risk.” The ComOps survey was completed by 218 professionals, 27 percent of which represented organisations with more than 1,000 employees.
By Isaac Leung 24th November 2011 www.safetowork.com.au

Continue Reading

As the world continues to analyze energy availability and the long-term effects of climate change, businesses too are turning their attention to an area of opportunity—reduction of carbon emissions, energy conservation and supply chain sustainability.

6 tactics to promote CSR

Continue Reading

An ever-increasing number of companies today—manufacturers, distributors, retailers and others—have implemented warehouse management systems (WMS) to drive immediate, measurable cost reduction and improve operational efficiency. These companies leverage powerful functionality to maintain efficient operations and satisfied customers

Five sure-fire strategies for WMS Approval

Continue Reading