Tag Archives: ohs melbourne

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

Moving Goalposts Mid Game Frustrates All

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Goalposts1

The Construction Industry is a competitive one. A large project can be a lot like a game of footy with teams consisting of managers, tradesmen and labourers competing and working together to achieve a common goal.

All games need rules and in games rules are monitored and enforced by umpires. In the construction Industry workplace law and standards outline the rules and it is the turn of the safety professional to play the role of umpires in monitoring and enforcing the laws and standards.

However, safety professionals have a different challenge to that of footy umpires as time and time again due to lack of effective communication at the commencement of the game (project) not every team (contractor) is aware of the rules (laws and standards) expected of them until the game has kicked off.

As a result time and time again, safety professionals are seen by contractors as nuisances that move the goalposts (change the rules) after the game (project) has started.

The culture in the construction industry must change so all teams (contractors) know where the goalposts (rules) are before the game (project) starts so safety professionals are not continually seen by contractors as unfair rule changers after the game has already started.

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

Importance of Trust in OHS Consulting

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Trust

As Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Management continues to diversify and evolve it is difficult for OHS consultants/consultancies to constantly remain up to date and current across all industries. I believe it is vitally important for the image of OHS consulting as a whole that when a consultant/consultancy is presented with consulting opportunities that do not fall within their current capabilities that the consultant/consultancy refers the client to a more suited service provider.

This referral has a number of benefits; firstly the client receives a better service with regards to their initial issue, secondly the consultant/consultancy that made the initial contact does not risk damaging their image by working outside of their capabilities and delivering poor service and finally a positive image of consultants/consultancy is maintained or even improved.

Our consultancy recently faced a scenario where a client approached us about the provision of a service outside of our current capabilities. We referred another consultancy within our network whose capabilities matched the client’s needs. This referral resulted in the three benefits listed above. The direct benefit we received was that the OHS consultancy we referred repeated the process and directed a client to us whose needs were within our capabilities. The aforementioned scenario was a win for both clients and consultancy.

Referring clients to other OHS consultancies may not appear too appealing to the consultancy at first, however, with the underlying benefits of doing so apparent, I believe it is important to trust that the referred consultant/consultancy will do the same and create an ongoing win for client and consultancy and reinforce the value of having OHS consultants across all industries.

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

OHS Management Plan

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Mnagement System

What is an OHS management Plan and what should it include?

An OHS management Plan is a combination of commitments from company management in the form of policies, organisation arrangement, assigning of responsibilities to internal company management and specific details and methods in the form of procedures and administrative documentation on how these commitments will be realised.

A typical contents page from an OHS Safety Management Plan can be seen below:

·         Document Control

·         Organisational Structure

·         Project Details and Introduction

·         Sub-Contractor Management

·         Company Policies

Health & Safety Policy

Environmental Policy

Industrial Relations Policy

Harassment Policy

Anti-Discrimination Policy

Rehabilitation Policy

Alcohol & Drugs Policy

·                                Roles & Responsibilities

            Managing Director

            Works Supervisor

·                                Risk Management

            Risk Rating

            Safe Work Method Statements

                         Hazard Reporting

·                               Safe Work Procedures

            Company Induction

            Incident & Accident

            First Aid

            Emergency Procedure

            Hazardous Substances

            Electrical Equipment

            Manual Handling

            Permits to Work

            Personal Protective Equipment

            Environmental Impacts

            Worker Health Issues

            Pre-Existing Medical Conditions

            Young Workers

·                               OHS Training

           Training & Toolbox Talks

           Employee Consultation

           Health and Safety Representatives

·                               Performance Monitoring

           Statistics

                        Performance Evaluation     

·                              Corrective & Preventive Actions

           Corrective action

                        Preventive Action

·                              Forms & Registers

           SWMS01 Template

           FOR-01 Worksite Accident/Incident Report Form

           REG-01 Incident/Accident Register of Injuries

           REG-02 Chemicals Register

           REG-03 Plant Register

           REG-04 Electrical Test & Tag Register

           REG-05 PPE Register

                       FOR-02 Toolbox Talk

 

An effectively implemented OHS management Plan will:

·         Identify and minimize hazards associated with your organisation’s business

·         Reducing incidents, accidents and injuries in the workplace

·         Reducing risks of legal action for worker’s compensation and liability claims

·         Providing due diligence evidence should an incident or accident occur

·         Boost Staff Morale

·         Allow staff to concentrate on basic business activities

·         Improve performance and productivity

We hope you found this blog enlightening. If so, please don’t be afraid to comment below. Thanks for reading.

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

Aged Care – Australia’s Riskiest Industry?

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Aged Care

It may come as a surprise but the Victorian Aged care Industry has the highest percentage of workplace injury claims in Victorian according to the major insurers.

However, unlike many of the cases in other industries such as construction and manufacturing the Injuries claimed for in the Aged Care industry are of a chronic nature and are often carried into the most recent workplace from previous employment.

Unfortunately for Aged Care Facilities due to the current WorkCover system in Australia, the most recent employer of the injured employee will have to take on the burden of administering & managing any claims made by employees on their pay roll at the time of the claim.

With this in mind Aged Care facilities need to be fully aware of their OHS obligations towards their employees and ensure every workplace risk management control is considered and put in place where practicable.

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

A Lesson from Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction?

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Vince Vegas

Ineffective insurance claim management in businesses and insurance companies can result in the handling costs of any adverse event experienced by a business to far exceed what was initially anticipated.

The one thing nobody can do is stop the clock and rewind. With this in mind the only option is adverse event containment in the form of quickly assessed, managed and closed out cases.

There is a movie scene that always comes to my mind when I think of this process. The scene is part of Quentin Tarantino’s hugely successful Pulp Fiction from 1994. The particular scene involves Vince Vega, played by John Travolta, who accidentally shoots informant Marvin in the face (adverse event). His partner that day, Jules Winnfield, played by Samuel L Jackson, knew that stopping the clock and rewinding was not an option so he called in The Wolf, played by Harvey Keitel (Claims Manager). The Wolf, an experienced and knowledgeable claims manager contained the situation.

This scene, if a little grotesque, is an example of effective adverse event management. All businesses and insurance companies should have access to their very own ‘Wolf’ to act quickly in assessing, managing and effectively close out unforeseen adverse events.

If businesses and insurance companies follow Jules Winnfield’s example and bring in the right guy at the right time, the consequences and handling costs of adverse events can certainly be contained.

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

Asbestos in Australia

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Asbestos PicAsbestos is the name given to a group of naturally occurring minerals found in rock formations. Three types of asbestos were mined in Australia: white, blue and brown asbestos.

Asbestos becomes a potential risk to health if fibres are suspended in air and breathed into the lungs. Breathing asbestos fibres into the lungs can cause a range of diseases, including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

In Australia, asbestos cement materials were first manufactured in the 1920’s and were commonly used in the manufacture of residential building materials from the mid-1940’s until the late 1980’s. During the 1980’s, asbestos cement materials were phased out in favour of asbestos-free products

Australia banned the use or import of blue and brown asbestos or asbestos products in the mid-1980s, and banned all manufacture or import of white asbestos products in December 2003. From 31 December 2003, the total ban on manufacture, use, reuse, import, transport, storage or sale of all forms of asbestos came into force.

Asbestos fibres are not visible to the naked eye. They are very light, remain airborne for a long time, and can be carried by wind and air currents over large distances.

Employers need to understand the extent of their management or control. For example, if you lease or rent your premises – then you should check your leasing agreement to establish to what extent you may have management or control.

Employers are responsible for additional legal duties in their capacity as an employer in relation to managing asbestos.  For example, employers may have a duty to consult under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 in relation to managing and removing asbestos in in relation to managing and removing asbestos in their workplace.

Asbestos removal work is dangerous, and should always be performed by a Licensed Asbestos Removalist who is trained to remove and dispose of asbestos safely, without risk to you and your employees in the workplace.

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

Magazine Articles

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Sustainability

Custodian Safety Services have been invited to submit an article on Occupational Health and Safety and how it is being adopted and viewed by businesses and employees in the Australian waste and recycling industry for the popular bi monthly free Sustainability Matters magazine.

Cathal Uniacke, Principle Consultant at Custodian Safety Services and writer of the magazine article stated; “The Australian Waste and Recycling industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years and this growth looks set to continue, however, OHS standards surrounding the day to day operations of businesses in the industry have a long way to go to catch up to its cousin the construction industry. I wanted to write a hard hitting and brutally honest article in the hope some businesses and their employees in the industry will realise they have to pull up their socks and address the management and attitude towards OHS across the board”

The Article will appear in the February/March edition of the magazine.

Irish Scene

Custodian Safety Services have been asked by Fred Rae, the editor of the popular Western Australian Irish Scene magazine, to take part in an interview on how our services can benefit businesses in Western Australia.

“Being a proud Irish man, that has always taken an extra little bit of satisfaction in assisting fellow Irish expats who also emigrated to Australia and took the initiative of setting up a business in the hope of creating their own crock of gold, I jumped at the chance to offer up some free Occupational Health and Safety advice and information for businesses in Western Australia’s Irish Scene magazine.” Said Cathal Uniacke, Principal Consultant at Custodian Safety Services.

The interview will appear in the March/April edition of the magazine.

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

Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo

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Expo

On the 19th & 20th of November 2013 Custodian Safety Services exhibited at the Australasian Waste & recycling expo in the Melbourne Convention Centre.

“We felt that with the rapid growth increase in the waste and recycling Industry experienced in Australia over the past couple of years and the prediction of that growth trend to continue there is a definite need to ensure businesses centred around this industry have access to relevant and up to date Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Advice that will assist their business in the management of their OHS. This year we really focused on bringing information on the responsibilities and obligations business owners and managers have under state laws and regulations to as many businesses as possible” said Cathal Uniacke, Principle Consultant at Custodian Safety Services.

To date, the exhibition has been a huge success for Custodian Safety Services as the business has picked up several new clients with regards to the provision of OHS services and ongoing OHS support and is currently in negotiations with several others.

Custodian Safety Services look forward to providing OHS related services and support to our new and existing clients in the years ahead and are proud to be a business in a position to make a positive difference to businesses and employees involved in the waste and recycling industry.

ohs melbourne, cathal uniacke

At their Post! Hannah Vanderheide and Cathal Uniacke, Custodian Safety Services exhibiting at the recent Australian Waste & Recycling Expo at the Melbourne Convention Centre.

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

Irish Chamber of Commerce