Tag Archives: ohs

What Nobody Told Me – Working From Home

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OHS, OHS Melbourne, Ergonomics, OHS Consultant

While working at home may be a new concept for some industries and job roles many employers have been adopting and implementing work from home employment agreements since cloud computing and high speed internet have become common place within industries.

With the recent uptrend in working from home even before the COVID-19 came about there have been some experience based learning’s that we can share with you. If adopted with the right attitude working from home does provide opportunities for business improvements and may result in some innovative new practices within businesses moving into the future.

Establishing a Routine

It is important that you keep yourself in a regular morning routine so that your in the right frame of mind for work. i.e. shower, get dressed for the day, eat breakfast just as if you were leaving the house to go to work.

Those lucky enough to have a spare room or enough space for a dedicated workstation should set up a workstation in these areas. As much as possible try and minimise distractions, ensure comfortable seating (more on this later) and have natural light. Try to avoid working in the same space as where you sleep.

Create a schedule just as you would at work and take regular breaks. Hand out the washing, walk around the block or just make a coffee or cup or tea, all of these things will refresh your mind. Also, it is important to ensure all persons living with you are aware that you work from home and some house rules or structure are set that all persons can respect.

Ergonomic considerations

It is important to ensure your workstation is set up safely in order to reduce aches and pain associated with working at a desk.

We assist companies manage this workplace safety issue and have developed a workstation self-assessment form to guide managers and persons undertaking work at desks to implement adequate controls to reduce risks. We are happy to share this resource with you: Workstation Self-Assessment

When working off a laptop of using a non-height adjustable chair you may need to be creative. Some of the ‘out side the box’ controls listed below may be of use to you.

  • Access an external wireless keyboard and mouse to increase posture flexibility
  • Raise your screen to eye level
  • Introduce a sit stand desk or duel screen
  • Use pillows or a rolled up towel to provide lumbar support
  • Increase your chair height
  • Placing a stool on the ground so your feel have a surface to rest on

 Mental Health

One of the most underestimated challenges when working from home is mental health and the often unexpected sense of isolation people can feel. We humans are a social species and need to feel connected.

While you wont have the coffee machine or water cooler for 5 minute chats when working from home there are other ways of staying connected. Here are a few ideas:

  • Scheduled work team conference calls with video where possible
  • Sychronised coffee or lunch breaks with work colleagues
  • Work group Whats app, Facebook Messenger or just plain old group texts

Our Working From Home Support Services Include:

  • Remote workstation assessments including interviews or video call sessions.
  • Working from home policies and procedures
  • Setting up your workstation procedure

Posted By: Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

2016 Australian Workplace Fatalities

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OHS, OHS Consultant, OHS Consultant Melbourne

Safe Work Australia’s latest worker fatality statistics identifies that 148 workplace fatalities have occurred from 1st January 2016 to 8th November 2016.

The below link will bring you to a numerical chart with industry breakdown:

http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/statistics/work-related-fatalities/pages/worker-fatalities
Some notable industry trends are listed below:

Fatalities by Industry

  • Transport, postal & warehousing account for 35% of all workplace fatalities
  • Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing account for 23% of all workplace fatalities
  • Construction accounts for 15% of all workplace fatalities

Year on Year Comparisons

  • Transport, postal & warehouse fatalities are up 8% on 2015
  • Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing fatalities are down 22.7% on 2015
  • Construction fatalities are up 28% on 2015

Posted By: Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

Are You GHS Ready?

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OHS, OHS Consultant, OHS Melbourne

From the 1st January 2017 new labeling for workplace hazardous chemicals is required.

The Globally Harmonised System (GHS) of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) is a United Nations initiative that standardises chemical classification, labelling and safety data sheets (SDS) for use in workplaces internationally.

To meet the new requirements manufacturers and importers of hazardous chemicals will need to reclassify their products, relabel them and prepare new safety data sheets.

To meet the new requirements manufacturers and importers of hazardous chemicals will need to reclassify their products, relabel them and prepare new safety data sheets.

The GHS changes include using a common set of pictograms, signal words, hazard statements and precautionary statements for labels and SDS to communicate information about a chemical to the user. It covers physical, health and environmental hazards.

For persons conducting a business or undertaking, essential tasks for GHS readiness include:

  • reviewing current inventory holdings for GHS compliant and non-compliant stock
  • allowing holdings of GHS non-compliant stock to run down
  • ensuring all new purchases are GHS compliant
  • reviewing SDS to ensure hazard management practices are in place
  • ensuring workers are aware of the new labelling system and SDS.

In WA, VIC & ACT the GHS classification has not been mandated yet but the hazards associated with using  chemicals still need to be communicated to workers and companies in the aforementioned states may be wise to implement the changes now to keep up with the rest of the country.

Posted by Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

How Good Does it Feel to Give?

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health and safety, OHS, WHS, occupational health and safety

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service are running a campaign aimed at small businesses and company’s to help meet the constant demand for blood donations.

The campaign is called RED25 and Custodian Safety Services have proudly registered to become one of the many Australian businesses encouraging clients, friends and family to donate blood and share in the feel good emotions that saving lives through blood donation gives.

Donating blood is obviously at the discretion of the individual donor but take it from my own personal experience that it feels good to give back to the very community that has helped Custodian Safety Service become a vibrant and growing OHS Consultancy. Maybe you may feel the same?

For information on how to register in Custodian Safety Services RED25 group or on how to become a blood donor contact Cathal on the details listed in this website or visit https://www.donateblood.com.au/red25/join-group and follow the on screen instructions.

Posted By: Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

 

What Nobody Told Me – Hiring an OHS Consultant

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5 things to Consider

Placing your company’s OHS management into the wrong hands can lead to accident’s resulting in injury and/or property damage, inconvenient and avoidable work stoppages and contract delays where clients expect a high level of compliance from contractors. It pays to do your due diligence when choosing an OHS consultancy. Within this article we discuss 4 critical components in choosing the right OHS consultant for your business.

1.      Reputation & Quality of Work

Outsourcing your OHS management may have a lot of benefits, but it can also be a significant risk if not put into the right hands. You want an OHS consultancy whom can deliver what’s required with a high level of quality and whom you can trust and establish a long term relationship with. The types of questions you may want to ask include:

  • Do they have any solid client references from other similar sized clients like you?
  • What success stories can they share?
  • What industries do they get majority of their business from?
  • What areas do they specialise in?

2.      Customer Service & Support

Customer service during the purchase phase is paramount and all good professional service providers will assist in the planning, development, training, trouble shooting, maintenance and upgrading of a service. You should expect to receive a detailed proposal in writing for large jobs or a quotation in writing for smaller jobs. The types of questions that should be answered in the proposal/quotation prior to project completion include:

  • Job Delivery Time frame
  • Fixed Fee Guarantee
  • Professional Indemnity & Insurance
  • Confidentiality
  • Conflicts of Interest
  • Exclusions
  • Availability

 3.      Pricing & Fee Structures

In the OHS consulting services industry it is common place for OHS service providers to charge ‘day rates’ without giving an accurate assessment of how long (or short) a job might be. This ‘open cheque book’ type of fee structure has turned many businesses away from using OHS consultants in the past as they experienced job over runs and often pay far in excess that what was originally forecast. The types of questions you may want to ask include:

  • Do you provide a fixed all inclusive job proposal/quotation?
  • Can you set and guarantee a job completion date?
  • Do you take on jobs under $500 in value?

4.      Responsiveness & Dependability

Business moves fast. With that you need to have professional service providers such as accountants, IT and finance brokers to be both responsive and dependable. OHS consulting is no different and you need a provider that can solve your issue or assist your efforts when the time arises in the quality expected from a professional service provider.

Posted by: Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

Dogman Required?

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ohs, dogman, rigging, ohs melbourne

The debate over whether a dogman is required to sling and lift loads in Australian workplaces has raged on and on countrywide for quite some time now.

Every week you can rest assured that a workplace manager and a client/contractor or employees are at odds about the requirement of a dogman to sling and lift loads.

Unfortunately if we are to consider the issue of dogman requirements across all Australian workplaces and in all Australian states there is no definite yes/no answer to the issue.

If a dogman is needed in ‘every instance of lifting a load’ then every nurse in every hospital and aged care facility should have dogman training which is currently not the case. However, in many construction sites and steel foundry’s dogman training is a pre requisite prior to performing any load slinging/lifting.

Is a bundle of steel being lifted and the persons below any more critical that a patient and a nearby nurse?

rigging, dogman, ohs melbourne, ohs

To help with this commonly encountered workplace dilemma here are a few notes on Dogman requirements we always use to provide direction:

  • If there needs to be an assessment made as to the weight of the load, a dogman is required.
  • If there is a need to make a selection of the lifting equipment (sling/chain) needed to lift the object a dogman is required.
  • If there is a need to work out where and how the lifting chain/sling is to be attached to the load a dogman is required.
  • If the load leaves the sight of the person operating the crane/hoist and whistles or radio signals are used a dogman is required.

The exact requirements on whether a dogman is required or not will continue to vary from state to state based on legislation and industry to industry based on expectations but hopefully you might find these short notes useful.

Posted by Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

Safety Culture – Where to Next?

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Safety Culture

In 1993 the UK Health and Safety Commission defined safety culture as:

“The safety culture of an organisation is the product of individual and group values, attitudes,Perceptions, competencies, and patterns of behaviour that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organisation’s health and safety management. Organisations with a positive safety culture are characterised by communications founded on mutual trust, by shared perceptions of the importance of safety and by confidence in the efficacy of preventive measures.”

This definition of Safety Culture has been widely accepted in Australia ever since and was recently cited in the SIA’s Core Body of Knowledge publication in October 2014.

However, the effectiveness of ‘safety culture’ within organisations with regards to the reduction of workplace accidents and injuries has continued to come under the spotlight in recent times.

At an event focusing on OHS I attended recently a university professor at RMIT stated that ‘safety culture is not something that exists or is something that prevents accidents, organisations must work on fixing organisational and management procedures – if they act on this they will fix the problem.’

Another professor, Patrick Hudson has a more positive view on safety culture and in a recent virtual seminar for Safe Work Australia he likens organisational culture to a game of snakes and ladders—we can climb up but also slide down.

He outlines the key components in distinguishing if an organisation has a healthy safety culture is whether it is proactive or reactive with regards to its OHS management and its senior leadership.

He also states that ‘climbing the ladder’ is harder that company’s think but the good news is that his never encountered a companies that wants to go down the ladder and if companies do get up to the top everybody benefits.

Peter’s full virtual seminar can be viewed here on the Safe Work Australia website: http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/australian-strategy/vss/pages/patrick-hudson-culture-ladder

My own opinion as an OHS consultant working day in day out with businesses to improve their OHS Management across all levels is that the development of a safety culture is not a quick fix and is certainly a difficult area to focus our efforts on while still offering justifiable value for money for any business within any industry.

Whatever you opinions are on safety culture and its effectiveness within organisations at the moment this is an area where I will be watching with keen interest in the coming year as the debates surrounding the topic continue.

Posted by: Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

SIA’s OHS Body of Knowledge Project

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BOK Image

The Safety Institute of Australia has been busy developing a book they call The OHS Body of Knowledge (BOK) in recent years. In early 2015 the final chapters of the book were released.

What is the ‘BOK’

The OHS Body of Knowledge is the collective knowledge that should be shared by Australian generalist OHS professionals to provide a sound basis for understanding the causation and control of work related fatality, injury, disease and ill health (FIDI). This knowledge can be described in terms of its key concepts and language, its core theories and related empirical evidence, and the application of these to facilitate a safe and healthy workplace.

Background

A defined body of knowledge is required as a basis for professional certification and for accreditation of education programs giving entry to a profession. The lack of such a body of knowledge for OHS professionals was identified in reviews of OHS legislation and OHS education in Australia. After a 2009 scoping study, WorkSafe Victoria provided funding to support a national project to develop and implement a core body of knowledge for generalist OHS professionals in Australia.

Audience

The OHS Body of Knowledge provides a basis for accreditation of OHS professional education programs and certification of individual OHS professionals. It provides guidance for OHS educators in course development, and for OHS professionals and professional bodies in developing continuing professional development activities. Also, OHS regulators, employers and recruiters may find it useful for benchmarking OHS professional practice.

Application

Importantly, the OHS Body of Knowledge is neither a textbook nor a curriculum; rather it describes the key concepts, core theories and related evidence that should be shared by Australian generalist OHS professionals. This knowledge will be gained through a combination of education and experience.

Posted By: Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

This article was taken directly from the OHSBOK website www.ohsbok.org.au

Responsibility of Principal Contractors

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Undecided

Should or shouldn’t principal contractors take responsibility of their sub-contractors?

I have worked professionally in Ireland, USA, UK and Australia and the debate over whether or not principal contractors should take responsibility for their chosen sub-contractors has raged on wherever I went.

I attended a Safety Institute of Australia forum at RMIT university campus in Melbourne at the end of last year where the topic of principal contractor responsibility was on the discussion agenda.

Barry Sherriff, OHS lawyer and partner at Norton Rose Fulbright spoke briefly with regards to principal contractors perceived onus that they must supervise sub-contractors “just because you can supervise doesn’t mean you have too….., you are allowed to rely on that contractor to work safely according to recent court decisions in WA and VIC”

It was apparent to me when listening to Barry and the other guest speakers on the day that the interpretation around whether or not principal contractors are responsible for supervising their sub-contractors has shifted to the side of the principals being allowed to rely on their sub-contractors.

So how do you rely on a sub-contractor? A principal contractor can start by ensuring their chosen sub-contractor can provide:

  • Detailed, specific and accurate Safe Work Method Statements for high risk work tasks.
  • Ensuring the SWMS are reviewed when substantial changes to work practices occur.

Also, honestly consider questions like:

  • Are they up to it?
  • Can they develop safe systems of work?
  • Can they implement the safe systems of work?

If not the responsibility must be removed from them as if the principal contractor dives in to take charge mid-way through contracts the principle contractor must wear it in the event of things going south.

One thing that can be established is that sub-contractors are going to need to get on board the OHS management train if they want to be considered as serious contenders for standalone work packages in the coming future.

Posted By: Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

129 Workplace Fatlities – Stop it Rising!

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Worker Fatality

As of mid-September, 129 workers have been killed in Australian workplaces in 2014. While this number is down 11% on 2012 it is up 3.2% on 2013.

28% of 2014 workplace fatalities have came in transport, postal & warehousing, 24% in Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing and 14% in Construction.

In light of these statistics a number of industries have been identified as a priority for health and safety by Safe Work Australia.

The areas identified are:

  • Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing
  • Construction
  • Health and Community services
  • Manufacturing
  • Transport & Storage

If we are to create safer workplaces for Australian workers it is vitally important that business owners. Directors and managers take responsibility for taking steps to improve the health and safety of employees at their workplaces.

Posted By: Cathal Uniacke – cathal@custodiansafety.com.au

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