CSG Posts
CSG is thrilled to welcome back long-time member Nan Austin, who recently returned from a three-year stint as Health & Safety Manager at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. Judging by her presentation to the group in November, Nan gained a great depth of knowledge from her time across the Tasman.
One of the things that stood out for me is the fact that New Zealand has only had OHS legislation since 2015. This came about after the Pike River Mine disaster of 2010; sadly the bodies of the 28 men who died have still not been recovered. While the legislation is based very much on what we have in Australia, Nan pointed out a number of shortcomings with it. In particular, the way that the accident compensation scheme is set up means that there are many gaps in useful data.
However, Nan did note that the situation has begun to turn around since a major review was commenced in 2018. Of particular interest to CSG members is the fact that there is a big demand for capable health & safety practitioners, many of whom are coming from Australia. As Nan said, Aussies can practically step off the plane and start working!
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Every now & then we have a speaker who challenges our traditional ways of thinking and how refreshing that is! Dr David Provan was just such a speaker at our October meeting.
He described safety clutter as processes and activities organisations undertake that do not actually add value to safety, but they are loath to let go of them. He asked for a show of hands to see if anyone could identfy any such activities in their own workplaces and, clearly, people were reluctant to admit such a thing. However, by the end of the presentaton, we understood exactly what he meant and could relate much of what he said to our own workplaces. David gave many examples to illustrate his thesis and to help us "suspend disbelief" in the efficacy of certain practices. He even presented the controversial notion, obtained from research he conducted with Griffith University, that a risk assessment is mostly a social exercise that merely re-confirms people's beliefs.
He outlined a number of negative consequences that can arise from such safety clutter, but also suggested ways of dealing with it. He also posited the interesting concept that more uncertainity can lead to more caution, which in turn leads to more safety.
David also alerted us to a new weekly podcast by him and his fellow researcher from the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University, Dr Drew Rae. Called The Safety of Work, each week they will look at a different item of the latest safety research and provide practical management tips. To learn more, go to safetyofwork.com
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It was a packed room as we all listened with interest at the findings from a range of research that covered the health effects of shift work, factors that contribute to impairment as well as the effects of sleep inertia.
We could relate to the findings as they do not apply just to shift workers, but to many people who share some of the same characteristics in their daily life. How many of us stay up late on our computers or participate in other activities that affect our sleep? The Turner Institute's and CRC's research -via controlled laboratory tests as well as analysing real-life data -shows us the risks we are exposing ouselves to by doing this. While the natural biological rhythm varies amongst individuals, it can never truly adjust to working through the night when we really should be asleep.
It is not all "doom and gloom", though, as Tracey also presented a range of strategies for alleviating the harmful effects of shift work and fatigue.
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The group is lucky to have an annual presentation from renowned ergonomist Professor David Caple, who is always such an engaging speaker as he shares the latest developments in his field of study.
This month he focussed on 2 Australian Standards that deal with workstations and chairs, both of which bear little relevance to today's ways of working in offices. One is 22 years old, so it is easy to see how workplace changes have moved so far ahead of its recommendations. The other, however, was revised in 2018 and yet it contains recommendations that do not relate to any data that David is aware of. It is also silent on the issue of dual and multiple screens, which has become very common. In fact, David asked for a show of hands in the room to see how many people work with dual monitors and the majority of attendants put up their hands.
David also mentioned an initiative of La Trobe University’s Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors, the APHIRM toolkit (A Participative Hazard Identification and Risk Management toolkit). There will be a workshop on it for Health & Safety Professionals at the university’s city campus on November 14th. For details & bookings, visit www.aphirm.org.au
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In July we were lucky once again to have a speaker who is so obviously passionate about the work they do to make a real difference in health and safety. Michael Carley has been working with Villa Maria Catholic Homes (VMCH) for just over a year, so he freely admits that there is still a long way to go to improve their safe systems of work -many of us can identify with that! However, the progress made so far inspires him to continue in what he described as a very fufilling sector in which to work.
Aged care is a growth industry, but it also presents many challenges. The most common risks that he outlined have also come to light during the current Royal Commission into the sector, so it was a very timely presentation.
Michael noted that residents are coming in at later stages of life when they need a higher level of care. Another challenge is that the average age of the workforce is 55 and comes from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The greatest risks arise from inadequate training and competency, but Michael's main message was to "be courageous in addressing risks", which includes thinking laterally about how to address them. He outlined a number of innovative solutions he and VMCH have made to date and he looks forward to continue making improvements.
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We have had many speakers with a wealth of knowledge derived from their work as OHS managers, consultants and practitioners, but in June we had the rare opportunity to hear about the first-hand experience of someone who has been seriosly injured in an industrial accident.
Rohan Sykes gave a graphic and harrowing presentation on an industrial accident that left him with burns to 35% of his body and was the result of his protective clothing catching fire from close proximity to molten glass.
As a result of his injuries, he had to learn to walk and talk again and the impact on his wife, children and family was immense. Apart from the physical injuries, the mental impacts were just as great for all involved.
After his recovery Rohan founded Phoenix Workplace Safety with a mission to encourage industrial workplaces and individuals to completely re-think the way they approach safety.
Unfortunately we are unable to provide the presentation from this meeting. If you want to make sure you don't miss out on any of our great speakers, put the second Tuesday of the month in your calendar and come along to our meetings.
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At our May meeting, Life Member Kevin Jones alerted us to 5 new publications. One title is quite timely, considering the topic for the May meeting: The Happiness Industry. Other books include the story of the Esso Longford disaster aftermath and a look at the controversy surrounding the health implications of using a very popular weed killer. The other two titles refer to laws and regulations.
Links to all of the books are in the Further Reading section of The Vault
Thanks to Life Member Kevin Jones (https://safetyatworkblog.com/) for bringing these to our attention.
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Presentations from 2010-2017:
Gaps in these years have been filled and, where presentations were unavailable, detailed summaries are provided.
Minutes from meetings 2010-2017: These are now up-to-date, including all AGMs. The exception is the second half of 2014 arsing from the sudden departure due to ill health of our esteemed Secretary John Knowles, (who sadly passed away in January 2015).
Newsletters from 2000-2006: You will find these in The Vault. They were written by Kevin Jones when he was Secretary of the group during that period and they make excellent reading.
Thanks to Life Member Kevin Jones (https://safetyatworkblog.com/) for providing some of the archival material, in particular Safety Central Newsletters. A special thanks to Marina Milankovic for her tireless efforts in sourcing and compiling all the archival material, now available to members.
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It was a packed event in May including many first-time attendees, all of us eager to hear Claire Nivarovich. We were rewarded with a very interesting and practical presentation.
WorkSafe statistics show that only 54% of workers have returned to work 6 months after mental injury; by 2 years, 38% still have not returned to work. They also show that mental injury claims have been increasing steadily across all workplaces over the last 4 years.
As a result WorkSafe has been targeting initiatives to assist vulnerable workers and employers. These range from reducing the time to asses claims and creating videos and guidance notes to developing an online toolkit: Workwell Toolkit
Claire guided us through the toolkit, showing us how a dashboard can be tailored to the user and how to access a wealth of information. There are resources to deal with a wide range of situations; these include ways to implement prevention practices in your workplace. Claire's unit did a road test of the kit to ensure it offers practical and easily accessible advice.
Claire ended her talk with a call to action to those present: they are keen to receive feedback from employers, so give the toolkit a go!
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A large audience was fascinated by Kristen Richardson's presentation that contained very useful information about dealing with difficult customers. Ineterestingly, the majority of difficult customer interactions arises from the trauma of delivering hard messages that have life changing impacts on customers. However, the issue of customer aggression was the primary focus of Kristen's presentation and the most relevant to the CSG audience.
In the past the bank’s safety strategy was focussed on the risk of robberies, which informed both the design of branches and the staff's actions. Nowadays incidents of robberies have decreased dramatically and so the focus has needed to shift accordingly. The bank’s strategy has developed to become multi-faceted and flexible to deal with a range of scenarios.
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Through his presentation, Richard Greenwood opened our eyes about the hazards associated with combustible dust. Such hazards can slip under the radar, because these dusts are not classified as dangerous goods and therefore are not covered by any current chemical legislation. Examples include flour, coal dust, milk powder, sugar and plastics, which are potentially present in a huge number of workplaces, and yet there is poor workplace recognition of the hazard.
There is a complex set of circumstances that can lead to an incident, as Richard explained through his Explosion Pentagon that goes beyond the standard Fire Triangle. He demonstrated this via a video about an aluminium factory in the USA before then discussing an incident in Campbellfield, Victoria, where two workers were injured while undertaking routine maintenance.
Richard concluded by providing a number of takeaway messages, including how to address deficiencies in hot work permits, methods of housekeeping and design solutions.
As always, the presentation stimulated quite a bit of discussion; member Paul Burggraaf shared his knowledge and experience in working with plastic dust.
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A new year of presentations got off to a great start with a very informative talk from Rachel McGregor and Ebonie Martello of Safety People on the 12th February.
Their experience as OHS recruitment specialists meant they were able to give detailed insights into current trends, including salary trends for various OHS roles, including Safety Advisors, HSE Managers and consultants.
Of particular interest was their discussion about the move away from specialists and the increase in the demand for consultants. They also provided tips for supporting your OHS career.
Their presentation was followed by an extensive Q&A session, which covered such topics as:
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Networking at Parliament HouseMembers & guests of Central Safety Group enjoyed a wonderful Christmas networking lunch in the elegant surrounds of the dining room at Parliament House Victoria on Monday 10 December 2018.
For the second year in a row, this venue proved a great success. Everyone enjoyed the excellent service and delicious food featuring seasonal Victorian produce. Plus the special pleasure of having our own private area in the dining room so we could enjoy great conversations without competing with the usual clatter of a restaurant setting.
We hope to repeat the experience for our next Christmas lunch.
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Central Safety Group members present at the meeting on 9 October were amongst the first to hear about research conducted by Dr Ross Donohue of Monash University.
Ross shared some useful recommendations on improving safety inspections, including making them more standardised and measurable. To that end he has developed a 7-item generic checklist which could be applied widely.
The work Ross has done on this so far relates to inspecting for physical risk, and he is now planning research and recommendations on assessing psychosocial risk.
While we are unable to provide the presentation from this meeting, we do have a report on the presentation.
If you want to make sure you don't miss out on any of our great speakers, put the second Tuesday of the month in your calendar and come along to our meetings.
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