News

15 Ways to Increase your Customer and Visitor Safety

When was the last time you reviewed the effectiveness of your customer and visitor safety procedures? In July 2013, Briscoes Ltd were fined an eye watering $75,000, when an elderly customer tripped over a cardboard box in an aisle. At the time, there was much consternation from the public about the...

The Prescribed Person – the 2021 edition

The day of the tradie is here...

Torque or Talk? The Importance of Communication in the Workplace

Communication in the workplace is so important. Here is some linguistic gymnastics to get your tongue around: While you are promulgating your esoteric cogitations and promulgating your esoteric cogitations, articulating your superficial sentimentalities, your amicable philosophical or physiological observations, beware of platitudinous ponderosity. Let your extemporaneous verbal evaporations and expatiations have lucidity, intelligibility...

Temporary workers and chemicals

With the impact of COVID-19, the shortage of skilled and reliable employees  and the reminder of having to do things differently, the hiring of temporary workers has increased. For work where chemicals are involved, effective health and safety management is always important, but making sure temporary workers are informed about the...

The importance of a JSA

A job assessment prior to the start of a task or contract is not a new thing, but it's increasingly important. Take 5 steps back and 5 minutes to review and consider the way the work is to be done, as well as the actual or potential hazards and risks associated...

Protecting your feet and back

I have a flat foot - but why is this important? This is a common condition for many New Zealanders, with a simple solution (one that has a direct link to the workplace). Why bring this topic up? I was talking to my granddaughter, who along with her partner, is a sharemilker. She...

Standards, Guarding, Training, and Employees’ Actions

The below headline caught my attention recently, and after reading the court notes, I can’t understand why this can still happen in this day and age (29 years since health and safety laws were introduced into New Zealand), or are there other factors involved that have not been made known? Don’t...

Engaging new employees

For many small businesses, now is an uncertain time.  However, with the government's strategies for job creation, for many businesses, this is a positive time and will give them opportunity to help people gain employment, and develop new skills. Earlier this week (August 2020), we attended a Govt work/job creation and...

What is zoonosis?

Zoonosis is a disease which can be transmitted to humans from animals. Any case of zoonosis that is attributed to a workplace is deemed to be a serious infection, and thus is a notifiable event that must be notified to WorkSafe. Serious infections are defined as: Any serious infection (including occupational (zoonosis)...

Actual and potential hazards

An issue with the process of hazard and risk management is that it is a bit like crystal ball gazing - identifying what is real (actual) and what is possible (potential).  This can be a challenge. The article below highlights an interesting conundrum of being able to foresee an event, and...