Business Processes

Workplace Health Monitoring and Drug Testing

Why should a business have to do this? Workplace health monitoring is an essential part of ensuring employees are protected from hazards and workplace risks. Apart from the PCBU's obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, it is a good investment of resources, especially if you: value the skills...

Sole Operators & Health and Safety Responsibilities

We have had several enquiries recently for health and safety plans from sole operators and two-man contractors. It appears that the PCBUs of larger companies are now putting the pressure on these small operators and are wanting to ensure that they have their health and safety bases covered. This raises the...

Monitoring and Checking Equipment

With a recession in New Zealand, many businesses are experiencing a downturn in business activities, and for many will be considering laying off staff or even closing the doors. While this may sound negative, it’s a reality that many face. A few businesses who find themselves in this situation take the...

Managing Celebrations in the Workplace

Your H&S responsibility? A question I have been often asked over the past few years is about the responsibilities of the business owner (or in today's terms, the PCBU) under the Health and Safety legislation, when they provide a Christmas party for their staff and provide alcohol. While providing an answer as...

8 steps to a healthier business in 2018

2018 is only a month away but do you remember December 1999? It was a time when businesses throughout the world were in a mad panic, because of the fear of the Y2K computer bug and the soothsayer's prediction that the world would end. As we now know, it didn't...

Safety and Thinking Outside The Square

From the mouths of babes - a story about thinking laterally While driving, John and his 10-year-old young son Philip came upon a traffic jam. Up ahead they could see a large semi-trailer with a high load wedged under a railway overpass. There were police and fire trucks everywhere, a big...

Safety and Plant Maintenance

If it ain't broke, don't touch it or fix it! If you manage the mechanical production or service processes of your business on this outdated cliché, then I suggest that you rethink this approach to the maintenance of your plant, buildings and equipment.  This not only has the potential cost of...

Manage Known Risks

I recently read an article from WorkSafe NZ regarding managing risk (read article here) and the consequential financial impact on the company involved must be really hurting them. Could this be your business and could you wear the cost? Instead, take immediate action to manage known risks. The points to be taken from...