Hi Steve, our last one was about $5k, and that was a long time ago.

Silica dust risk is getting more attention now Worksafe and Safe Work Aus have published a few articles to make people aware of the potential risk. I was interested to learn a number of spill absorbent contains silica dust (especially you have to spread it, broom it around and sweep them up).

Not wishing to become like State of California with their Proposition 65, I thought a little more education is required on the carcinogen topic. One source says only certain extracts of bitumen and asphalt causes cancer and at a very high temperature. That temperature might be in the production phase, but not when being applied on the road, so it might not be as bad as I thought.

Eroad does electronic day log book on their app. It was easy to clock in and out with the app, and it is NZTA approved. But I think they are getting rid of that. It was easy because it automatically transfers the time, location, rego, odometer onto that e log book without having to grab a pen, ruler and the log book. One click and you are on the clock or off the clock. It even reminds you when you are due for your break, so you can start looking for a rest area before the time is up.

We have the same problem with once in a while going out of the 50km radius zone. The drivers on the road don't know where they might be travelling next. They have to go back to their timesheets to find out where they were since the last 24hr break to fill in the previous days.

We have our own inhouse programme. It's very expensive, but it is tailored to our industry, so can't complain.

From my last HSR training course, we all talked about what HSEQ systems we use. The most popular one is Mango. A few councils and companies use it. It can be used on a tablet or smartphone, so you can take photos and upload them on the move.

I have also heard of SiteDocs and SiteAppPro as well.

Yes agree with Andrew.
We used a 3M positive air respirator helmet in a lawnmowing business, and best money ever spent. No more allergic reactions, sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose.
We had the P2 filters, but they should be able to be paired with P3 filters.
With the replacement model, I found the airflow is less than what we had in the previous model. As you can imagine there are a lot of walking around, the screen does fog up and you feel a bit breathless. There wasn't a way to adjust the airflow, so we had to return it, as you don't want to feel like you are in a plastic bag.
The older model was a full face helmet looking respirator, the air flows through the back top of your head, down your face, and comes out at the neck.

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.

I might have watched this on TV too many times before, but I would imagine even with the lab fume hoods (exhaust hoods), there is a big chance of residue or fumes not captured by the hood.

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?

We use last month's incident report trends to focus on in the coming month. The staff can relate to them and understand why we talk about them.

Hi Aaron,
No, not in my current job. Same for many industries.

My last job was in an airline, so yes totally understand what you mean. Civil Aviation Rules are so comprehensive. If it's not in it, you don't need to know about it.
Maritime NZ also has the same delegation as well.

I think there are a few companies out there who have a stack of documents related to tasks carried out by workers, but many workers have not seen them before. No signed record of must read notices related to the new procedures or induction record of reading and understanding procedures.

I usually get about two PDFs to read through, each has 150+ pages.
Then there is a separate list of things you have to provide. That list is usually about 60 questions. With each yes answer, you have to send in supporting SOP / training record. For the past three years, how many incidents (and separately near miss) per 1,000 hours worked.

I have seen some companies that have copied this idea over to theirs, and requiring similar level of scrutiny as part of their prequalification process.

Speaking of government department - I remember getting a call every year for the past three years to say they are from ACC and they need to do a survey and needed every single details of the H&S Officer. Haven't seen such survey yet. Wouldn't take no for an answer, saying I am breaking the law. I think someone just harvesting our data, as they can say who they really are on the phone these days.

Interesting... I think companies being convicted will just change their name on 1 April, as many companies do every other year. Then they start afresh with a new name.

Like others said, depends on your industry. We usually work indirectly on government projects through another contractor. We waste hours on tendering every year, but never had any luck getting a government project, as we don't cover all their needs.

Lots of our clients are still asking for our ACC accredited employers programme details during our prequalification with them. ISO 45001 looks much harder :smile:

The fatigue of the C word has made my job harder, not easier. Although spending less time researching about Covid every day, everyone thinks we should move on and just embrace it.
Every time it is brought up, no one wants to listen to it.
Mask wearing has diminished. People keep referencing what other countries are doing. They want to be pre-Covid normal. Yet this is much more rampant than we ever had before.
Two years ago, I was probably spending 90% of my time daily on Covid. There were new policies, travel advisory, dealing with suppliers, clients on their policies. Today, it is down to 5%.

Hi Chrissy,

What about a buddy system where the assessor / trainer / senior staff member is mentoring / checking the quality of work by working alongside them for at least the first week? I know this brings on extra cost, but can you afford to have someone seriously injured if they are not trained to your standards?

For our industry, having the qualification is good and means they are qualified to work on their own. But you don't know what they are like until you have a chance to witness the quality of work and see whether they are following the SOP.

There must be different things that your company does that others don't. A good mentor can offer tips on how to do things better / safer and like Stephen said, pick up on bad habits as well.

I would imagine Worksafe would be interested to know whether your company would leave new staff member working alone unsupervised from their first day. Doesn't sound good, does it?

Hi Tanya,
Why don't you scan the old ones and put them into a Sharepoint file for chemicals no longer used.
Maybe rename the file to the last used year, chemical name and recycle the paper SDS.
That way you can find it under five minutes.

I have seen some temporary staff agencies charge their temporary staff for it. Those $75 pairs they source are not very comfortable to wear standing up all day. People find out after working in them all day. They are welcome to buy their own lace up, above ankle height boots, the more comfortable ones are at the $150-$250 mark. The lace up, above ankle height boots requirement reduces ankle injuries.

We have a few of our own staff and even temporary staff from agencies forget their boots at the start of the day. As we only stock the $230 ones, it's a pain at the end of the day, because they might only work with us for one day, but we can't put them back into the box for the next person. So they take them home, or they leave them above the lockers to gather dust, thinking the company will take them back, or they can be reused for the next person.

Then we have to buy more to replenish stock, and the same staff member forgets to bring their boots again. We have lockers they can store their boots in, and we have also mentioned storing the spare pair in their vehicle might not be a silly idea. But this just keeps happening.

Eventually we have to implement a 6 month lifetime policy. We require staff to bring back the old pair for evidence if they require replacement less than six months interval. The constant getting them wet and not dry them overnight causes the water to break down the uppers, causing cracks and water enters the boot.

We found the wheat coloured leather do not last as long as the black ones, with or without a waterproofing coating spray applied. Some staff prefer the wheat coloured ones, as that seems to be the trend right now. Maybe influenced by Australia, as most boots over there are wheat coloured.

I have started a trial with the Oliver waterproof upper boots with another staff member last year, and they have lasted over 11 months so far, wearing them five days a week and getting them wet almost daily (washing truck at the end of the day). So the extra $20 for them is definitely worth it, as his previous pairs only last for six months.

Having been knocked off my bike for a couple of times on the road, I would only ride off road / in a park / carless spaces these days. Too risky on the road for me.

There are companies I have worked for that specifically excludes mode of transport with less than four tyres. That was doing deliveries.

Having been T-boned at the driver's door by someone who ran through a red light while I was doing a delivery, I would have definitely got hurt if I wasn't in a car. Their vehicle was written off. My vehicle repair cost was just under market value, so it got repaired.

Interesting to see that company and other companies in the same group now changed the stance on motorcycle delivery, they are now allowing it. It would work better in busy cities where it's hard to get a park, but it riskier for getting hurt.

I have been renting electric scooters for short journeys in the city. It's fairly low risk on the footpath, but you do have to keep your wits about you, as driveways are the biggest hazard.

I think individuals should be able to choose whether they want to take the bike or scooter or even walk. I wouldn't be focusing on whether work is liable if someone gets hurt while biking / walking to and from places for work. You get covered by ACC anyway.

Interesting, considering Andrew Little was the head of EPMU for 11 years

They told everyone to keep the QR codes in their drawers and whip them out when the government changes its mind again. We simply left ours up. It's not mandatory to scan and it's not mandatory to remove them, so we just left them up for now.

Most non Kiwis won't have a clue about the Covid Tracer App. Unless it is promoted at the arrivals with large posters saying mandatory, I doubt many people will get their phones out, connect to the free WiFi and download that app and use it.

Thank you for that Julie,
Interesting to note the UV light irradiation on those air purifiers might not be so effective, compared to what they are claiming on the sales pitch.
Probably same goes for the HEPA filters on these portable air purifiers. Most of them are tiny filters used in a large open plan office, compared to large filters in a ducted HVAC system.

Also read user feedback of some of those cheaper CO2 monitors out there are giving random varied readings (when they are placed side by side). Worried how accurate these things are, as they are meant to be a tool to indicate how stuffy the room is.

While I was requesting the new template for the Close Contact Exemption Letter from Business Connect, I found the "approved" status in my completed applications list at the bottom of the page :smile:

Hi Kristal, upon tested positive PCR, they should be stood down and self isolate, until the next PCR test shows negative.

RATs are much less sensitive, so not surprised this is the case. There were also concerns that nasal RATs don't pick up Omicron as effective as PCR or saliva test.

If you need RATs, there are companies offering them around $230 /20pk. BusinessNZ was offering half that price, but preordering is now closed.

Strangely enough this document Step 3 says the email that we receive after we registered is not an approval.

No timeframe given to us when we will receive that confirmation either.