Central Safety Group Melbourne

Mike Craig

Date & Time: Tuesday 9 May 2023, noon

CSG Hybrid Lunchtime Presentation -via zoom or in person

Speaker: Mike Craig, HSR Support Officer, WorkSafe Victoria

Topic: HSRs – Partners in safety

Health And Safety Representatives (HSRs), elected to represent their fellow employees, along with workplace Health and Safety Committees can make an important difference to workplace safety culture and outcomes.
Mike Craig, Health and Safety Representative Support Officer with WorkSafe Victoria, will discuss how Safety Managers can assist in making these workplace safety roles and relationships as productive and constructive as possible in a lunchtime CSG presentation on 9 May....read more

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 8 May 2023.  When booking, please ensure you select the May Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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Designing a sustainable workplace

We were so pleased to have this interesting topic presented by long-time CSG member Rosie O'Halloran. One of the strengths of our association is that we have members who share their expertise and knowledge with us, and that their particular experiences can also be applied in a range of other workplaces.

Rosie began by giving a snapshot of the period from the 1970s to the 2000s and the evolution of design issues with indoor workplace environments. One aspect that hasn't changed much is the tendency for ergonomics to be the poor cousin to design -that it can be sacrificed to an overriding consideration of aesthetics.

Rosie showed photos that demonstrated this challenge as well as other images of poor design from the workplace that was the subject of her recent Green Star project at the Unversity of Melbourne. Rosie developed a comprehensive methodology that includes a range of engagement methods as well as the application of science and photographic evidence.

Rosie gave many practical examples of what to consider when choosing furniture and equipment. It was interesting to see how her project team developed prototypes and mock-ups of furniture that were tested by users and improved prior to manufacture and roll-out.

While the Green Star ergonomics credit rating for interior design requires certification by a Certified Professional Ergonomist, Rosie emphasised that her methodology can be applied by a generalist OHS practitioner, because she has proven that it works and it complies. In fact, she won an award for it! A great catchphrase sums up one of Rosie's take-home messages: good ergonomics = good economics.

Ergonomics is always topical and we have several other presentations in our archives that may be of interest, including David Trembearth's Musculoskeletal Issues - What’s New and David Caple's Sit-Stand Desks (log in first).

We encourage members to follow Rosie's example in sharing knowledge by presenting to the group, so if you would like to make a contribution, please contact Jane Loudon: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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The hot topics of OHS today

You can always count on Kevin Jones to stimulate discussion about OHS, and his March presentation was no exception.

He started by talking about what he considers to be the 5 hot topics at the moment. One of those topics is working from home, which comes up against the prevailing approach of OHS systems that are based on "workplaces" rather than "work". This issue is linked to another of the hot topics, systems thinking, which Kevin believes tends to be very limited. In particular, during investgations the thinking can become bogged down in old systems and not open to the possibility of change.

Another topic that has been hot for quite a while is that of psychosocial hazards. Kevin had many interesting thoughts about these, including challenges with the traditional hierarchy of controls as well as the tendency for HR to see this as their patch rather than sharing a united front with OHS.

This led Kevin into a discussion of some of the books he's been reading lately on these various topics, and what an extensive reading list he presented to us. On the topic of psychosocial hazards, he started by talking about some books that are "shockers", mainly self-help books that put the onus on the person having difficulties to deal with it themselves, instead of tackling organisational aspects. Luckily there are publications about that do deal with the organisational side, and Kevin shared some of those with us.

It is impressive how well-read Kevin is, and it is not confined to published books alone. He also alerted us to an online research paper along with an interview on RN. The full list can be viewed here (log in first).

One of Kevin's key messages was that he encourages OHS practtioners to be less timid about speaking out, to be more visible and not be afraid to talk about politics. He invites us to join him on the May Day march to highlight the importance of safe jobs! As part of his message, he delved into some interesting ethical topics, including conflicts of interest with big consultancy firms; the profit versus  productivity motivation of business and individuals; and even talked about the UN's Sustainable Development Goals that include "decent work". OHS is a fundamental human right.

To learn more of Kevin's insights, you can also re-visit his presentation from February 2022 New perspectives on OHS (log in first).

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Recruiting and retaining OHS staff

It was a great start to a new year of presentations with Helen O'Keefe's insights into the OHS recruitment scene. As it happened to be St Valentine's Day, Helen gave her presentation a cute twist by drawing an analogy between the employee life cycle and a marriage, and it fitted surprisingly well. She covered the full gamut from recruitment as the dating phase; onboarding & retention equating to a marriage; and separation as a divorce. To avoid the latter, Helen gave several tips on how to maintain a happy marriage in the work sense.

She explained how January started as strongly as 2022 did, which had already broken records with the number of positions being advertised. In particular it is specialists that are being sought. Post lockdown candidates have become more selective, which is making recruitment harder. Position descriptions are changing as a result of this, so that they are more like an advertisement to attract people. Helen gave some practical suggestions about how to make a PD more attractive.

Helen also had some great tips during her presentation for retaining staff, and further tips came up during the engaging discussion afterwards. One fascinating insight was how important a platform like LinkedIn has become. Having an up-to-date profile is advantageous for both a candidate and a potential employer, because it can show how well-connected you are and the range of activities you are involved in. In fact, Helen predicts that CVs will become obsolete and will be replaced by a LinkedIn profile or similar.

Helen is such an enthusiastic speaker on her topic and the attendees really appreciated her expertise.

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Rosie O’Halloran

Date & Time: Tuesday 4 April 2023, noon
*Note: a week earlier due to Easter public holidays

CSG Hybrid Lunchtime Presentation -via zoom or in person

Speaker: Rosie O’Halloran, Ergonomist, University of Melbourne

Topic: Green ergonomics: Designing a sustainable workplace

How do you gain a green star rating for ergonomic design? You can learn what’s involved from Rosie O’Halloran, an award-winning Human Factors and Ergonomics practitioner, in her presentation to Central Safety Group on Tuesday 4 April.

She will present a methodology she developed for evaluating and certifying the interior of buildings with a green star rating credit for ergonomic design. Following her success with this at the University of Melbourne, Rosie won the 2022 University Safety Association’s Safety Professional of the Year award.....read more

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 3 April 2023.  When booking, please ensure you select the April Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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Kevin Jones

Date & Time: Wednesday 15 March 2023, noon
*Note: different day due to Monday public holiday

CSG Hybrid Lunchtime Presentation -via zoom or in person

Speaker: Kevin Jones, Editor, SafetyAtWorkBlog

Topic: The hot topics of OHS today

Some of the latest books on workplace OHS will be discussed by Kevin Jones in a lunchtime presentation on Wednesday 15 March. This is a chance to find out what’s new, what’s getting attention, and some of the fastest growing trends in OHS.

Kevin is internationally recognised for his commentary and analysis on safety-related matters and is involved in different areas of safety.....read more

Note: RSVP by close of business Tuesday 14 March 2023  When booking, please ensure you select the March Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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Helen O'Keefe

Date & Time: Tuesday 14 February 2023 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM Event:

Speaker: Helen O’Keefe, Director, HOK Talent Solutions.

Topic: Recruiting and retaining OHS staff

Like many areas of the current job scene, employers looking for quality OHS professionals are finding themselves in an inflated job market, where there are more roles available than suitable applicants.

So what’s required to attract and retain OHS talent when good candidates are spoilt for choice? What do you need to be doing differently? Some useful advice will be offered by Helen O’Keefe, who runs a leading national health & safety executive search agency, at a presentation for CSG at noon on Tuesday 14 February....read more

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 13 February 2023.  When booking, please ensure you select the February Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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5 top tips for successful auditing

What a great presentation this was as Ross demonstrated the qualities of the high-calibre speakers we have been able to bring you once again this year. His enthusiaism for the topic and incredible breadth of knowledge shone throughout the presentation. As he said himself, he could have spoken for hours.

The tips he discussed were around scheduling, planning, the audit interview, evidence and corrective action, and he showed how they can be applied to variously sized organisations. The tip he concentrated the most on was the third one, the audit interview, because this is the area most people struggle with. He talked about strategies to put people at ease and emphasised that the core aim of an audit is to verify risk controls and not to trip people up. I certailny felt that, if I were about to be audited, I would like it to be done by Ross.

During the discussion after his presentation, Ross mentioned that he had discovered surprising advantages with "zoom" audits, so it is good to find a silver lining from the pandemic restrictions of last year.

One of the comments from an attendee in the zoom chat sums up perfectly the standard of this presentation: "Great to hear what you have learnt throughout your years of auditing. Love the positive approach."

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Ross Macfarlane

Date & Time: Tuesday 8 November 2022 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM Event:

Speaker: Ross Macfarlane, Director, RM The Risk Manager.

Topic: Five top tips for successful auditing

Ross Macfarlane has extensive experience conducting successful OHS audits for a wide range of companies and organisations. Since 2008 he has conducted over 1,000 audits and has an audit log of over 1,350 days. Based on this wealth of experience, Ross will share his top 5 tips for a successful audit program in a lunchtime Zoom talk on 8 November.

Ross will discuss how to develop and implement an audit schedule based on risk and then how to plan and prepare for the audit itself. Other topics covered will be: putting auditees at ease during interviews, the rules of evidence, and strategies for corrective actions that actually work...read more

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 7 November 2022.  When booking, please ensure you select the November Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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When a company is small and risks are high

In a refreshing change, we heard about a specific industry this month when Ben Thomson from Flight Academy Australia presented to us. While it was fascinating in itself to learn more about the subject of aviation safety, it was inspiring to learn about ways of instilling a better safety culture into smaller organisations more generally.

Ben began by giving a brief overview of the evolution of safety approaches. It was interesting to see how it began with "airmanship", which focussed on the individual, and gradually evolved to the holistic approach of a full-blown safety management system that they have today, where the focus is on the culture.

Ben outlined some new thinking into the 5 ingredients of an effective safety culture that are really useful for all organisations, no matter the size. The one that resonated most with us was the concept of a Just Culture and Ben delved into that, particularly in relation to incident reporting. One of the main challenges is encouraging people to admit when they've made a mistake, because it is counterintuitive for people to do so. The way an organistaion responds has an effect on the value that can be derived from reporting.

Another challenge with reporting is if the process to do so is overly complicated: while it's important to document incidents, it shouldn't be too onerous for the person reporting. This put me in mind of a great presentation a few years ago from David Provan about Safety Clutter, which complements Ben Thomson's advice for smaller organisations. Financial members can access it here.

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