Central Safety Group Melbourne

Return to work in Covid times: managing psychosocial risk

Date & Time: Tuesday 9 November 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM Event:

Speaker: Dr Natasha Lazareski, Managing Director, PsyFlex.

Topic: Return to work in Covid times: managing psychosocial risk

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a drastic impact on workplace conditions and work arrangements. This has brought new psychosocial risks that can affect the health and wellbeing of workers. Occupational health expert Dr Natasha Lazareski will discuss this issue, along with strategies to manage it, in a Zoom presentation to Central Safety Group Inc. on Tuesday 9 November at noon.
She says that, if not appropriately assessed and managed, psychosocial risks increase stress levels and can lead to physical and mental health problems. Psychological responses may include low mood, low motivation, exhaustion, anxiety, depression and burnout. Read more...

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 8 November 2021.  When booking, please ensure you select the November Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

RSVP Here

The current job scene for OHS – what’s different now

Date & Time: Tuesday 12 October 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM MEETING:

Speaker: Helen O'Keefe, Founder & Principal Consultant, HOK Talent Solutions.

Topic: The current job scene for OHS – what’s different now

The current job scene for OHS – what’s different now
What’s the current job scene for OHS? The news is that at the moment there are more roles on offer than candidates, according to Helen O’Keefe, who runs a leading national health & safety executive search agency. This will be the subject of her zoom presentation for CSG at midday on Tuesday 12 October.
Helen will discuss the reasons for the current shortage of applicants happening across the board in a range of industries, as well as in different levels and roles in the OHS field.
She will be offering advice to recruiters, current job seekers and people trying to decide whether to move in the current job climate. “When you have a candidate-led market, the traditional recruitment methods may not work,” says Helen. “Candidates also need to consider certain things carefully before accepting a new role.”
Helen will talk about how workplace changes during the pandemic have led to some organisations creating different OHS roles or adding new requirements.
The session will conclude with discussion and questions from the audience..

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 11 October 2021.  When booking for this Event, please ensure you select the October Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

RSVP Here

Les Auld heads north

Early this year, long-time member Les Auld said farewell to Central Safety Group, as he has moved to Far North Queensland –lucky man!
Les has been a valued member since the early 1990s and also served as Vice President from 2012 to 2014.
I asked Les to share stories from his life in Health & Safety and I think many of us can identify with the path he followed.

During the mid-1960s, he was working in the Catering Branch accounting office of the Victorian Railways when they advertised for a safety officer. He decided to apply and was successful. From there he gained his first OHS qualification at South Melbourne Tech.

His main duty was dealing with PPE. Safety footwear was supplied free to employees, but a fair percentage was being returned as a bad fit. Therefore, Les and a colleague would roam the state in a van full of safety shoes & boots in all brands and sizes to assist employees obtain the best fit.

Les says: “On one occasion we were in a station office, fitting track men, and a shoe came flying across the room. We said, “What did you do that for?” The guy came back, “Well, if I can kick it off, it doesn’t fit.” That was a lesson well learnt.”

He was sent off to expand his knowledge, which included doing the ACTU Safety Rep course. This led to him being asked to conduct safety training for staff. While it put him well outside his comfort zone, he appreciated the experience.

The job entailed him visiting and liaising with management and staff at various locations, ranging from the cafés at Flinders St to canteens at rail workshops to the Mount Buffalo Chalet, which was run by the railways back then.

Les worked on the implementation of a catering module for country trains, which is still in use. At the same time he gained a qualification in food safety from William Angliss College. 

Eventually he became a Senior Safety Officer in the Transport Operations Division and remained there until he accepted redundancy in 1988.

A month later he began work as a medical orderly with Melbourne Health, his first “blue collar” job, which naturally involved a lot of manual work. This included stints in Emergency, X-Ray and the burns unit. After sustaining a back injury 5 years later, he was redeployed as an Assistant Safety Officer, due to his prior experience.

Later on he became Safety and Fire Officer at Northwest Hospital near the zoo. One day, while conducting fire extinguisher training, he turned his attention to the fire blanket. He says: “We had a square metal pan with water and a small splash of petrol. The fire blanket was a bit old in the tooth and had a hole in it. We placed it over the lighted pan and it also burst into flames. I saw the irony of this!”

During this time Les was involved with presenting Safety Rep courses and laser safety courses, and he also formalised his own on-the-job training and initial education with a Diploma of OHS from RMIT.

Les worked on a number of projects, including contamination reduction in the Nuclear Medicine Dept and addressing manual handling issues in the Catheter Lab, where cumbersome monitors and heavy protective aprons posed risks.

When Les retired he did pro bono work for not-for-profit organisations during the period of OHS Act harmonisation. He maintained his membership of CSG, because he found the speakers informative and valuable, not to mention our great Christmas luncheons!

With amazing foresight, he left Melbourne in March 2020. We thank him most sincerely for his many years of loyalty to the group and wish him all the best for his new life up north.

Central Safety Group committee bulletin

The committee has begun to meet regularly under the direction of new President Nan Austin. Once a month we catch up in the days following the zoom presentation and discuss future speakers, our financials, membership, website resources and other topics to benefit and promote the organisation.

Financial members can access the minutes via Quicklinks in the footer on our Home page. Go to About Us - Meeting Minutes or click here (log in first). They are posted after they have been accepted at a subsequent meeting, so the first one there is for June 2021. It is your opportunity to see how we are working on your behalf. We welcome your feedback!

In other news, Adrian Glaubert has resigned from the committee as he has moved away from the sphere of health and safety and has secured a role as Head of Enterprise for a large retail operation. We wish him all the best and thank him for his valuable contributions over the last two years.

New research into manual handling injuries in healthcare.

Date & Time: Tuesday 14 September 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM MEETING:

Speaker: Professor David Caple AM.

Topic: New research into manual handling injuries in healthcare

Work-based musculoskeletal injuries remain a major issue, but research is telling us more about how and why these injuries occur, along with better prevention and management strategies.

Professor David Caple AM has recently been involved in a range of projects related to manual handling injury prevention in hospitals. These injuries account for around 70% of Workcover claims in hospitals for both clinical and non-clinical staff.
He discussed interesting results from a couple of studies in a zoom presentation for Central Safety Group on Tuesday, 14 September.

One of these is a study done with La Trobe University’s Biomechanics laboratory that focused on shoulder injuries in clinical staff. These account for 40% of their musculoskeletal injuries, while 60% are back injuries.

David also spoke about work being done to address the increase in injuries involving the handling of a range of patients, including those with co-morbidities such as dementia, those who present fall risks and bariatric patients.

.

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 9 August 2021.  When booking for this Event, please ensure you select the September Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

RSVP Here

Managing the healthcare challenge of COVID-19.

Date & Time: Tuesday 10 August 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM MEETING:

Speaker: Alison Hunt-Sturman, Group Manager, WHS, Mercy Health Australia

Topic: Living through COVID-19 in healthcare and aged care

When the Covid-19 crisis arrived, organisations everywhere were hit with a massive task without warning and precedent. The healthcare industry faced significant challenges in managing and implementing new and complex requirements.
Alison Hunt-Sturman, Group Manager, WHS, at Mercy Health Australia, presented a compelling account of what happened across the healthcare industry as well as within her organisation. Mercy Health manages four public hospitals, 30 aged care homes, in-patient and outpatient mental health services, and home care services around Australia.
“We are serving some of the most vulnerable members of the community. We couldn’t just shut down,” said Alison. In addition to the many thousands of clients in its care, Mercy Health has a workforce of 9,000 people.
There was a great deal for Alison's team and other sections to care about, learn, plan, organise and manage carefully to ensure everything was kept functioning safely, all the while dealing with the impact of the unknowns. Alison discussed the issues they faced, how it affected their operations and people, and how they responded.

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 9 August 2021.  When booking for this Event, please ensure you select the August Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

RSVP Here

Dr Kate Branford, Senior Human Factors Specialist, V/Line.

Date & Time: Tuesday 8 June 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM MEETING:

Topic: Safety risks and understanding human factors

Human Factors issues constitute a significant source of risk in many industries. Human error contributes to an estimated 60-80% of incidents, while other Human Factors issues also play a part in a large proportion of incidents.

Understanding human error, how it contributes to safety incidents and how it can be managed, was the subject of a zoom talk by Dr Kate Branford on 8 June, 2021.  Read more...

Note: Full video of this meeting now available from the 'View Presentation' button below. Available for a limited time to members only.

View presentation video package

Gavin Kenny, Manager SHEQ-Service Delivery, Melbourne Water.

Date & Time: Tuesday 11 May 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM MEETING:

Topic: Using technology to make work safer

Melbourne Water shared how technology has improved its safety systems and performance in a zoom presentation to Central Safety Group on Tuesday, 11 May. Gavin Kenny, Manager SHEQ - Service Delivery at Melbourne Water, has introduced a number of digital technology improvements to safety processes there.
Melbourne Water is a statutory body which supplies high-quality water, provides reliable sewerage services, integrates drainage systems to prevent flooding and enhances waterways and land for Melbourne and its surrounds. Gavin spoke about the changes involved, how they were introduced and the resulting efficiency gains. Read more...

Note: Full video of this meeting now available from the 'View Presentation' button below. Available to members only.

View presentation video package

COVID-19 response in Victoria: A union perspective

Date & Time: Tuesday 13 July 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM MEETING:

Speaker: Dominic Melling, Lead Organiser, OHS Team, Victorian Trades Hall Council

Topic: COVID-19 response in Victoria: A union perspective

The COVID-19 crisis brought some major challenges to unions affiliated with the Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC), their members and workers. These challenges, along with lessons learned and solutions, will be discussed by Dominic Melling, Lead Organiser of the OHS Team at the VTHC in a zoom presentation at midday on Tuesday, 13 July.

Dominic’s talk will cover essential workers who reported to their usual workplaces throughout the lockdowns as well as people working from home. He will review the structural problems that facilitated the spread of COVID-19 and the Union’s role in advising Health and Safety Representatives and members. Using case studies from high risk industries, he will discuss what happened when OHS structures and procedures failed and what lessons can be learned from these failures.

The presentation will outline VTHC initiatives to support HSRs and workers, and Unions’ lobbying efforts that led to changes in Government policy designed to protect workers and the community and to eliminate the spread of COVID-19.

About the speaker:
Dominic Melling has been the Lead Organiser of the OHS Team at the Victorian Trades Hall Council since January 2020. In this role he works with affiliated unions in their collective efforts to campaign for safer workplaces and better conditions for workers. Recent examples of campaigns include the introduction of industrial manslaughter as an offence; exposure standards to crystalline silica and the introduction of psychological health regulation.

Dominic also assists WorkSafe Victoria by liaising with relevant VTHC affiliates in relation to health and safety and workers’ compensation matters.

.

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 12 July 2021.  When booking for this Event, please ensure you select the July Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

RSVP Here

Celebrating Ollie Matthews

At Central Safety Group's AGM on the 9th February 2021, our President Alan Matthews (universally and affectionately known as Ollie) formally resigned from the position after being at the helm for an impressive 18 years. Ollie's career in OHS and association with CSG is extensive, making him one of the group's living treasures!

He commenced with Fairfield Plumbing in 1966, which became Pratt Safety Systems in 1974, where he was their sole technical adviser. The company specialised in safety eyewash units; safety showers; safe storing and dispensing of chemicals and flammable liquids, as well as manufacture of safety signs, including working with the authorities to develop HAZCHEM signage for vehicles and buildings. It was at this time that Ollie first started attending CSG meetings.

In 1986 Ollie commenced as the first OHS Manager with the now John Fawkner Private Hospital in Coburg. By 1991 he was OHS Manager for five hospitals and eventually became National OHS Auditor for Healthscope hospitals across Australia, a position he held until March 2015. After a brief break of 6 months, he joined the Ramsay Healthcare group looking after two hospitals part-time before retiring from work in July last year.

Ollie has many memories of CSG since he first attended meetings in 1974 and he offers an insight into the evolution of the group. Originally  there were a number of safety groups that all had a connection with the Department of Labour and Industry (DLI), now Worksafe.  Meetings were in a similar format to how they were conducted prior to the coronavirus pandemic, but the venues were many and varied. He recalls that meetings in 1974 were held at the Richmond football ground; later they took place in various hotels, including the Celtic Club, and the group even experimented having breakfast meetings at the North Melbourne football ground. Other venues were the Bryant and May match factory in Richmond, the Australian Ballet in Southbank and a number of meeting rooms in offices in the CBD. He also recalls that there was a period when CSG conducted annual Apprentice Seminars with guest speakers on safety-related topics.

In 2003 Ollie was elected President of CSG and in 2013 he was awarded Life Membership. He has overseen many changes within the composition of the Committee. While welcoming and encouraging the evolution of the group through the input of new Comittee members, he provided continuity and a steady and supportive presence along with a strong commitment to our values.

In addition to his illustrious career in OHS and long involvement with CSG, Ollie has packed in many other interests. In 2020 he retired, after 20 years as board member and 16 years as President, of the Riddell District Football and Netball League. He has umpired 2,038 matches and continues to play and umpire football in the AFL Masters competition. In 2019 he was inducted as a Legend in the Hall of Fame.

Ollie has been a volunteer fireman with the CFA and was the initial Unit Controller with the Craigieburn SES for 10 years. In between all of that, he is a painter of wonderfully quirky emu images.

We wish Ollie all the best in his retirement alongside Jan, his wife of 50 years, their three daughters and seven grandchildren. Family, golf, painting, travelling...he continues to enjoy a rich and fulfilling life, and we look forward to seeing his smiling face at future CSG meetings. Thank you, Ollie, for all you have done for Central Safety Group!