True Robert, great pity that the regulator lacks the resources to update guidance information, but on the flip side, their lack of staff has also seen a steady decline in the number of prosecutions.

Matt is quite correct Lucille, WS hasn't released any up dated information yet, probably worth getting some copies of the standards that apply to machinery use/design etc (AS4024 series)

As a safe place to work, New Zealand compares poorly with other developed countries like Australia, UK and Canada. Investigations into accidents in the workplace have been dropping as WorkSafe struggles to deal with complex cases. The question is: how do we improve this depressing situation?

Radio New Zealand has an interesting Podcast here

If the process can be remotely controlled / automated in a sealed area, that would be the best solution. Your chance of getting in contact with the harmful chemical on a regular basis is much lower. — Yonny Yeung

Isolation is the second best option if the entire process can't be eliminated from the workplace. Reading Robyn's post,it sounds like major CapEx is on hold, but she does have some proposals in the pipeline to do that when the budget situation changes.

On a side note, Worksafe mentioned bitumen and asphalt are class 1 (known) carcinogens. Can you imagine one day we are going to see asphalt workers working with a full face positive air respirator on the road? — Yonny Yeung

Same with workers cutting into concrete Yonny, what sort of price are you paying for a 3M positive air respirator?

Thanks for sharing your experience Stephan, must say I hadn't given a thought to button style batteries :up:

Hello Amy
Yes, there are some fire suppression technologies that would at least slow down a Lithium Battery fire on a boat or ship, take a look at this thread https://forum.safeguard.co.nz/discussion/671/storing-or-transporting-lithium-batteries
So long as the batteries have cell monitoring capability built in, there should be very little risk of them spontaneously catching fire ,but all bets are off if they are damaged as a result of a collision or grounding, and charging has caused some vehicle fires.

Another NZ house has been destroyed by a fire started by a Lithium drill battery, which wasn't on charge or on the drill. There have been 35 fires this year started by a Lithium Battery

Unplugged lithium-ion battery spontaneously combusts, destroying Auckland hom

Hey Brendon,what about SafePlus if some similar businesses are a part of it you might get some benchmarks to see where you are at:

How do you benchmark my organisation’s performance?
Benchmark results are an indicator of how your organisation compares to other organisations that are broadly similar. Results are based on your organisation’s industry sector type, its number of employees (small (<20), medium (20-99) or large (100+)), and complexity (legal structure).

You’ll only get a benchmark result with your performance information if there are at least 9 assessments for other organisations with the same sector type, size and complexity.

Does seem the way it is currently Andrew, but that's a whole other thing.

You could try joining the Business Leaders Health & Safety Forum, they produce a bench marking report based on their members, which include transport and warehousing

https://www.forum.org.nz/assets/Uploads/Benchmarking/Benchmarking-2020-Snapshot.pdf[

What industry Brendon?

Absolutely, anything that might improve our Workplace Death, Serious Accident rates is worth a go in my book.

No engine hoist, no problem, every day nature produces more ingenious fools.

Which couldn't your story be an example of a reason to not collect this data as if you don't have it, it cannot used as evidence against you... if you were only considering statutory risks. — MattD2

And if it isn't 100% accurate, that also would be a reason to think about harvesting it, though it is very useful to know a vehicle is where it's supposed to be, and when it's supposed to be there.

Hello Frank, what sort of business are you the HSE officer for? Manufacturing, Construction, Forestry, Office Based Sales/consulting etc etc and how many employees/sites?

Have you had any formal H&S training?

Here are some resources that might help.

Health & Safety Indicators And Measures
https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/the-toolshed/tools/writing-health-and-safety-documents-for-your-workplace/

Worksafe may specify the expiration period for the certificates, but I could not find any information that they (or OSH / DoL) have done so for PATs - even the ACoP just mentions the regulator can set when the certificates expire but doesn't include any specific period. — MattD2

Yeah same here Matt, Hilti says that their Operator Cert doesn't expire for tools listed, but may need to be redone to add new tools to it.

It's been awhile since we had a frivolous Friday post, so here ya go


(WARNING SHAMELESS DAD JOKE AHEAD- younger viewer discretion required)

When you need help, be careful what you shout

At night there's less light and it takes longer for our brain to process the images - it's more effort and concentration. 4-5 hours of nighttime driving or machine operation is the same effort as around 8-9 hours in good daylight. — Darren Cottingham

That's something for any employer running night shifts to consider Darren, along with transport operators- good post :up:

We do not recruit a lot of new people as we "grow our own" and have a process for training them and assessing their competency. — Chrissy Roff

The EWRB is very prescriptive regarding proper supervision of trainee electrical workers Chrissy, so your comments regarding your companies training/assessment of their workers is not surprising.

With regard to newly qualified/overseas imported workers, I would be trying to ensure they work alongside a competent assessor to monitor their compliance with your H&S system, safe & appropriate use of tools and Electrical Safety/compliance with the appropriate electrical standards(AS/NZS3000 etc) for a few days at least.