Central Safety Group Melbourne

Staff safety and difficult customer interactions

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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Date & Time: Tuesday 9 April at 12:00pm

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE:
Venue: Xchanging, Level 10, 390 La Trobe Street, Melbourne (near Queen Street).

Managing Inappropriate Customer Behaviour

Kristen Richardson, Wellbeing and Safety Business Partner Team Leader, ANZ.

Staff safety and difficult customer interactions
Many businesses have seen an upsurge in staff impacted by difficult customer interactions that may place them at risk of a physical or psychosocial illness.

This has particularly been the case in the banking industry and is varied across customer contact, whether it is face-to-face or telephone interactions.

ANZ Bank has a strategy in place to keep their staff safe from this risk and this will be presented by Kristen Richardson, Wellbeing and Safety Business Partner Team Leader at ANZ, at a lunchtime presentation on 9 April.

The strategy looks at all aspects of staff safety – physical, psychosocial and most importantly the leadership culture shift required to enable this strategy to be successful. This strategy has been developed using external consultancy expertise and research across other industries. Read more...

Note: When booking for the Event, please ensure you select the April Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

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An explosive hazard hidden in plain sight

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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Date & Time: Tuesday 12 February at 12:00pm

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE:
Venue: DXC Technology Level 19 (Board Room 1), 360 Collins Street, Melbourne.

An Explosive Hazard Hidden in Plain Sight

Richard Greenwood, RG Chemical Safety.

Combustible dust can be a hidden chemical hazard in workshops, factories, storage facilities and many other places. Because it’s not classified as a hazardous substance or as dangerous goods, it is often ignored in workplace procedures and risk control. The significance of this will be discussed by chemical hazards expert Richard Greenwood in a lunchtime presentation to Central Safety Group on 12 March.
The consequences of not recognising the presence of combustible dust were dramatically demonstrated recently when two workers doing routine maintenance were seriously injured in a workplace explosion in Victoria. The result was an Enforceable Undertaking for the company involved, including preparation of basic workplace training materials and a video for awareness of the hazard. Richard will talk about this case as part of its compliance with WorkSafe’s Enforceable Undertaking.
He will explain how fine combustible dusts are likely to form and potentially explode when disturbed in an enclosed space. He will also discuss how to detect and manage risks associated with this... Read More

.The presentation will be followed by a brief Annual General Meeting of CSG, to which all Financial Members are invited to attend.

Note: When booking for the Event, please ensure you select the March Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

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OHS careers and recruitment - what’s hot and what’s not

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:

• stress & the safety professional
• qualifications versus practical experience
• types of contract positions & their average length
• age group issues
• advice about CVs

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Networking at Parliament House

Members & 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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Date & Time: Tuesday 12 February at 12:00pm

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE:
Venue: Level 19, 360 Collins Street, Melbourne (Xchanging).

OHS Careers - what’s hot and what’s not

Rachel McGregor and Ebonie Martello, Safety People

Key job market trends in safety in Australia will be the subject of a presentation at the Central Safety Group’s first meeting for 2019 on 12 February. OHS recruitment specialists Rachel McGregor and Ebonie Martello of Safety People will give a presentation followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

They will talk about:

• industry trends
• salary trends
• the world of safety consulting... Read More

.The presentation will be followed by a brief Annual General Meeting of CSG, to which all Financial Members are invited to attend.

Note: When booking for the Event, please ensure you select the February Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

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A fresh look at safety inspections

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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Construction safety during the boom

CSG committee member Greg Splatt finished off our year of meetings with a very engaging presentation on the 13th November. 

He spoke about some of the challenges with the influx of new workers into the construction industry during the current boom. These include shortfalls with the ticketing/licensing regime where there is little verification of real skills. It is also hard for workers, who are essentially involved in a creative industry, to be engaged in a classroom situation to learn OHS. Greg outlined ways to improve SWMS to address this particular challenge.

Greg also spoke extensively about his experience with an insurance builder in the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie in Queensland. There are many lessons to be drawn from these experiences that can be applied to general construction such as: how to respond to the unplanned?...Plan! During debrief, the KISS principal is applied, but in this case it refers to talking about what to Keep, Improve, Start and Stop.

There was plenty of lively discussion around the table at the end of the presentation as we delved into the parallels between post-disaster management and construction generally.

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Date & Time: Tuesday 13 November 2018 at 12:00pm

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE:
Venue: Masters Builders Association, Training Room 1, 332 Albert Street, East Melbourne

Parking can be a problem in that area, but it’s easily accessible by public transport. Trams 11, 12 or 109 in Collins Street will take you to the Albert Street stop (Stop 11) which is a couple of minutes’ walk away. And it’s about 10 minutes’ walk from Parliament Station.

Construction Safety During the Boom

Greg Splatt.

Throughout Australia there is unprecedented growth in all areas of construction – commercial, civil and residential. This boom has created issues relating to knowledge, skills and competencies needed at all levels of the construction workforce.
The issue of safety in this climate will be discussed by Greg Splatt, a construction safety manager and trainer, in a lunchtime presentation for Central safety Group on 13 November.

Greg says many people are coming into the industry with the promise of long-term work, long hours and good pay packets. But without the necessary industry experiences and know-how, what risk do they present on job sites? Challenges with safety understanding and experience can also exist at supervisor and manager level.

Greg will also speak about his experiences with the unique OHS challenges during extensive construction rebuilds after major events such as cyclones and bushfires.

Note: When booking for the Event, please ensure you select the November Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

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