Articles

How Often Should Hazards Be Reviewed?

We are often asked, “How often should hazards be reviewed?" First and foremost, the primary objective is to eliminate any actual and potential hazards in the workplace. In an ideal world, that would be great but being practical, the reality is that this does not happen so other control methods have...

The 6 Ps to Avoid Injury

TAKE 6 Ps and 2 x 5 TO STAY ALIVE Are the horrific life-changing injuries to a young man (a father of three pre-schoolers) an indication that there are some New Zealand businesses that still have a lot to learn or just simply do not follow the rules of good health...

Reviewing your H&S Documents

Contractor Pre-Qualification and the Document Review Process Recently, a client sent a copy of their results from their contractor pre-qualification review, and queried me on the following question from the final review report. Question - Do you have a process/procedure to periodically review the work instructions, standard operating procedures, or specific safety...

Using Hasmate for Food Safety

The Hasmate online program was designed to be used by all industries, no matter what size. Here are some specific ways the Hasmate program can be used for those in food manufacturing, and other food related businesses. Using Assets Being able to prove that all equipment and machinery used in food production is...

What’s a Spill Kit For?

"What was that noise?" asked my wife, as we enjoyed the warm Gisborne sun and waited for the kettle to boil in our motor home. The next moment, smoke was billowing out of our motor home. It was on fire! A paper towel had been blown by the wind onto the gas...

Making the most of Lost Time Injuries (LTIs) and Incidents

I once read that "from every diversity, there always arises an equal or greater opportunity for change”. An interesting quote, especially in this time of COVID-19, but how can this relate to the lost time injuries (LTIs) in business? Having any lost time injury in any business is disruptive, and can...

Business Sustainability for SMEs

This is a perplexing and challenging question for many New Zealand SME businesses in this age of COVID-19, and all the other external pressures of just making a business function effectively. To get a handle on what this means, I recently came across this article that may throw some light on...

Onsite Monitoring and Inspection Checklists

Over the past 6 months, I have been approached by a number of construction and civil engineering companies to assist them in lifting their scoring in their prequalification assessments. One of the common areas of low marking has been in the area of onsite monitoring (equipment, health, environment, etc.). Here is...

What is a Health and Safety Policy?

Some businesses have a health and safety policy for its contractual pre-qualification certification. Others have a health and safety policy, if the business has a quality management system (ISO9001 or ISO14000 or ISO45001), or a food safety system. However, there is no legal requirement in the Health and Safety at Work Act...