Articles

Can WorkSafe enter my business?

A question that we are often asked is, “Can a WorkSafe NZ inspector enter my business at any time to carry out an inspection, to question my employees, to seize materials, records, or any other materials?” The answer is yes, but the key wording in section 168 below of the Health...

How to manage Hazardous Substances

Hazardous Substance registers - how do you manage them? We get asked a lot about the storage and recording of chemicals and other hazardous substances. Here are our recommendations to manage hazardous substances. Recording When it comes to the recording of hazardous goods/substances (what you have on site and use) and their controls, there...

How Effective are your Contractors’ Health and Safety Systems?

Every business has external contractors to undertake work for them - whether it be the plumber, the vinyl layer, the painter, the builder, an air conditioning servicing business, etc. My question to all businesses is: have you communicated the health and safety requirements of your business to the contractors you use;...

Silt and Silica Dust

After reading a WorkSafe article about silica dust,  I feel so lucky and privileged. Why? As a young man, I served my apprenticeship as a carpenter, and in those days, PPE was something that sounded like a disease that one would not like to catch. I still remember cutting sheets of fibrolite that...

The Importance of PPE

Chemical Sprays and PPE I want to share with you an incident that occurred due to working with a hazardous substance, that ruined the mental wellbeing of a young man. A few years ago, I called into a local garage for petrol. I was served by a young man (around 19 years...

Emergency Stop Devices

It used to be normal for workers to wear ties to work, no matter the job. Thankfully, it is not now.  There are too many stories about workers whose ties were caught in a set of rollers and other machinery, before emergency stop devices were the norm. And by now, they should...

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...