RECENT NEWS

Most people don't think much about machinery guards. They're just... there. Until one isn't. It's easy to trust a machine that's been doing the same job for years without incident. A conveyor runs smoothly. A saw starts when it should. A PTO shaft spins exactly as expected. The trouble is that machinery only needs one missing guard, one damaged component, or one missed check for things to go badly wrong. A recent WorkSafe prosecution involving an unguarded PTO shaft serves a

Many businesses have a health and safety system. The real question is: does anyone actually use it? It's surprisingly common to find organisations with well-written policies, detailed procedures, and neatly organised folders of health and safety documentation that rarely leave the shelf. The documents exist, but they don't influence the way work is carried out day-to-day. When this happens, workplace health and safety becomes a paperwork exercise rather than a practical tool

What Effective Workplace Health and Safety Communication Looks Like Instead "Use common sense." "Be careful." Most of us have heard these phrases at work. Many of us have probably said them ourselves. The trouble is that while they sound sensible, they are not particularly effective workplace health and safety controls. When we rely on common sense or tell workers to "be careful", we leave a lot open to interpretation. What seems obvious to one person may be completely unfami

By Sara Crawford. Winter can bring extra challenges for many workplaces, particularly where workers are outdoors, moving between sites, working early starts, or exposed to cold, wet or windy conditions. Even when temperatures are not extreme, winter weather can affect concentration, visibility, energy levels and overall wellbeing. This can increase the likelihood of mistakes, slips, trips, manual handling injuries, equipment damage and workers taking shortcuts to get the job

As we reach the middle of the year, many New Zealand businesses naturally shift into reflection and planning mode. With Matariki encouraging renewal and forward thinking, it is the perfect time to reset your approach to health and safety management. Rather than treating workplace health and safety as a compliance exercise, a mid-year review gives you the opportunity to check whether your system is actually working for your team. Keep reading for seven practical questions to h

Most businesses treat health & safety as a one-off “We’ve got our policies sorted.” “We did that last year.” These are things we hear often from NZ business owners and managers when health and safety comes up. On the surface, it makes sense. You’ve created documents, completed a risk assessment, and inducted your staff. It feels like a job that has been ticked off the list. But this is where a common misunderstanding comes in. Health and safety is often treated like a checkli