SEARCH RESULTS

Last week I was asked to meet with an organisation to talk about providing health and safety support to them. This happens frequently, which is just as well, or I wouldn’t have a business. Why am I writing about this meeting – what was different about it? The difference is that I had first spoken to them a few years ago. Three years ago, we had almost the same conversation. I told them what Safewise could do to support them and they talked about being able to do it themselves. That was the option they chose. At the time they considered doing it themselves was a cost-effective way to develop and run their health and safety system. There is nothing wrong with developing your own health and safety system. It can be more cost-effective, and it can work very well. There is a lot of information available to assist organisations to do this. You can download the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, and you can download templates and forms. You can even download an entire hazard risk register. What you can’t download is experience, time and knowledge. This organisation had written a reasonably good health and safety system. It was very long and had confused some aspects of the old Health and Safety in Employment Act and the current Health and Safety at Work Act, but overall it was adequate. What wasn’t adequate was the implementation of the system. The person charged with running health and safety had it tacked onto the end of an already full role. This person had limited knowledge of health and safety and didn’t really know how to drive it, how to excite people about it, how to make it part of the way they work. Using a consultant can help in all these areas. A good consultant should be able to work with you to help you get the best outcome for your organisation. Maybe they write the system, maybe they provide training, maybe they are a back-up to what you are doing. A good consultant should have qualifications, experience and belong to a health and safety organisation, such as the NZ Institute of Safety Management (NZISM), and, preferably, be on the Health and Safety Association of NZ (HASANZ) register. They should also be someone you connect with. Go it alone or use a professional – it’s your choice. Remember that a robust, well-implemented health and safety system will save you downtime from injuries or damage. It will ensure you have a plan to stop things going wrong, but will also have a plan for managing the things that do go wrong. How can Safewise help? We work with organisations that need more health and safety knowledge, or more time, than they have in-house. For more information, check the website.

This is one of the most frequent statements I hear: health and safety is just common sense. But is this true? WorkSafe New Zealand put out a media release recently about a driver who was watering a track. He was travelling at low speed. He allowed two young boys, around 10 years old, to climb on and over the tanker truck as it was moving along. One of the boys fell off and was badly injured. No doubt the driver thought the kids were just having an adventure, and how bad could it be if they fell off when he was driving slowly. Unfortunately, he, and the boy found out. I admit that I have done things that, in hindsight, probably were not well thought through, as I am sure we all have. WorkSafe said that we need to look at all hazards and risks, not just the obvious ones. Research shows that people are aware of the biggest hazards but they are often injured by the small hazards they don’t even think about. For instance, electricity workers suffer from sprained ankles because of the uneven ground they are walking on, but seldom from electric shock. In fact, uneven ground is often not identified as a hazard, despite it being a major cause of injury. Another example of a serious lack of common sense occurred on one of my client’s sites. The owner asked her contract cleaner to clean the rubber non-slip edging on her stairs. The cleaner presumably wanted them to shine so used silicone. This could have had serious consequences, but the cleaner didn’t think past the appearance of his work. Common sense is based on a person’s life experiences and learnings. There may be a collective common sense within a business among the workers who are trained and experienced. However, not everyone has the same level of understanding. Not everyone will be aware of the potential consequences of their actions. Stop, take the time to think about what you are doing, think about what could go wrong, think about the outcomes of your actions; often controlling a hazard will create another hazard. Think about other people and what they know, and what they probably don’t know. Health and safety isn’t about being the fun police. It’s about everyone going home at the end of the day. How can Safewise help? We work with organisations who need more health and safety knowledge, or more time, than they have in house. For more information, check the website.

WorkSafe NZ put out a media release on 23rd August 2017 containing the details of the first sentencing following a prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA). This has taken a long time as WorkSafe now have 12 months to decide if they are going to lay a prosecution, rather than the six months under the old act. The incident occurred on the 6th April 2016, two days after the new legislation was enacted. A worker had his hand caught as he fed product into a machine. He lost most of his fingers. The guarding on the machine had been identified as faulty six weeks prior and nothing had been done. WorkSafe NZ proposed $900,000.00 as an appropriate starting point for the fine. The judge considered that a range between $400,000 and $600,000 was more fitting the level of culpability. Taking various factors into account, the judge set the final range between $210,000 and $315,000. The fine was set at around $275,000 but was reduced to $100,000 based on the organisation’s ability to pay. Prior to 4th April 2016, under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, fines for this type of incident sat between $30,000 and $40,000. This fine is a significant increase, and shows, very clearly, the government’s intention to hold organisations to account. The headline in the WorkSafe media release is “Take Immediate Action to Manage Known Risks”. It will not be acceptable to ignore identified hazards or risks. I was asked if it would have been better to not identify the risk. The answer to this is an emphatic no! HSWA is very clear that we must understand and manage the hazards and risks in our organisations. Failing to check for hazards or risks, or failing to acknowledge them would be against all principles of the act. We must undertake inspections and reviews to ensure that our building, plant and equipment is in good working order, that any required safety features are in place and are working, and that regular maintenance is being undertaken. We must also make sure that all standard operating procedures (SOPs) are current, and that workers are trained to use the plant and equipment correctly, and safely. How can Safewise help? We work with organisations who need more health and safety knowledge, or more time, than they have in house. For more information, check the website.

WorkSafe New Zealand have just released the first sentencing under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. This was for a machinery guarding incident; a worker had his hand caught, and lost most of his fingers. The company had identified a problem with the guarding six weeks prior to the incident, but had not taken any action towards fixing it. The fine was $100,000 which is an increase from $30,000 to $40,000 under the old Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992. The fine was reduced from $275,000 based on the organisation’s ability to pay. WorkSafe NZ said that identifying and listing hazards and risks is not sufficient. Organisations must act quickly to control the risk to the workers. In some cases, this may mean taking the machine out of service until it is fixed; it may involve special training or other equipment. Recently, I was asked if not identifying or listing hazards and risks would be a better option. It would not! Organisations have a duty to know about and manage the hazards in the workplace. Ignorance of, or ignoring them is not acceptable, and would incur a considerable fine. The best answer is to undertake regular maintenance, and reviews of your plant, equipment and processes to ensure that the hazards have been identified, the risks controlled and everything is being done safely. How can Safewise help? We work with organisations who need more health and safety knowledge, or more time, than they have in house. For more information, check the website.

I’ve been to a few training sessions recently where people are talking about work as it is done. Traditionally, health and safety has been based on fear, problems, and, sometimes, blame. Health and safety has had an image of being the “fun police”, not about people. It would be fair to say that putting rules in place and insisting on compliance is the starting point for most companies, especially those who are just starting the health and safety journey. There is a place for this type of health and safety. Once the basic health and safety structure is in place, it can be time to move on to the next level. There are a few key points to having a great health and safety culture, but, it all starts with people. Recognising people (workers) are responsible, want to do the job as well as they can, and want to go home safely, allows everyone to work together safely and effectively. Start by recognising that work is changeable and seldom goes the way we expect. There are changes every day. These can include weather, customer demands, worker illness, breakdowns, etc. When work or work conditions change, workers will modify their actions so that the work gets done. Management may not realise this is happening, particularly if the outcome is what is expected. When we expect widgets and get widgets, we tend not to look at how the widgets were produced. By visiting the workplace, and talking to the workers we can see, and hear what is actually happening. Asking questions such as “tell me about a job that went well. What made it go well” and “tell me about a job that didn’t go as well as expected. What made it not go well?” will give management a lot of answers. It also makes the workers feel engaged in the process of work, and safety. Take the time to listen, and walk around. Give workers feedback on their suggestions, recognise their contributions, and give them a sense of pride and belonging. The workplace will become a place people want to be at, pride in their work will increase resulting in more quality and less downtime. It may require a change in attitude and some perseverance but it will pay off in the long run. How can Safewise help? We work with organisations who need more health and safety knowledge, or more time, than they have in house. For more information, check the website.

Recently WorkSafe NZ announced that there had been seven workers killed at work, in a three-week period. At least two were forklift related; one involved a swing lift. It would be very easy to say that each of these people were in a place they shouldn’t have been, and that would probably be true. But, it is just the smallest part of the answer. It’s like saying wearing a hi viz vest will save your life. It will make you more visible, but it won’t make the injury less if you are hit or caught by machinery. I have no inside information about these incidents, and am not making comment regarding any one of them. However, some basic rules apply: Have a person in charge. Often this is the machinery operator but the important thing is that everyone knows who this person is. Remove people who are not necessary for the activity. Have a plan. Spend a few minutes discussing the activity. Identify the hazards and risks and put a plan in place to control them. Ensure that everyone knows and understands their role, including where they must be. Agree on communication. Make sure that the hand signals, or whatever means of communication you are using, is clearly understood by all people. STOP. If you can’t see someone who should be there, or who was in the area, stop operations until you know they are safe. Job Safety Analysis (JSA) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) A few years ago, a JSA was almost unheard of in smaller business; it was a tool used by large contractors. Smaller business used a hazard ID but, generally, nothing as complex as a JSA. This has changed and a JSA is expected in many situations. A JSA is a step by step analysis of the health and safety risks of an activity. It allows managers and workers to plan an activity safely. It can be completed by any person, with knowledge of the activity, but must be reviewed, discussed, and signed off by relevant workers before the activity begins. It must include site-specific hazards and risks. Used in conjunction with an SOP, there should be enough information to provide the workers with the safe, and efficient, method of carrying out the activity. JSAs and SOPs are similar in that they outline the activity step-by-step. However, a JSA is a hazard/risk assessment tool, while a SOP explains how an activity is done. Use these tools for hazardous activities. My thoughts are with the families, friends and colleagues of each of these workers. How can Safewise help? We work with organisations who need more health and safety knowledge, or more time, than they have in house. We can assist setting up SOPs or JSAs working closely with those who execute the tasks.

As business owners, or managers, there are a few things that can keep us awake at night: paying the bills, having enough work, having too much work, and our workers having an accident. Accidents do happen, our job is to put systems in place to prevent them. One way we can do this is by investigating all accidents. This includes accidents which result in injury, and those that result in property damage. It’s also essential that we investigate near misses. These are a golden opportunity to identify a risk and correct it before damage or injury occurs. The level of investigation will depend on the accident. Sometimes, a talk between the manager, or foreman, and the worker is sufficient. Sometimes, a full-blown investigation is needed. There are times when an independent, or qualified person is needed. The Basic Steps There are some basic steps which should be followed regardless of the level of the investigation: Look at the accident site; take a lot of photos. Talk to the people involved, including any witnesses. Try to confirm evidence by finding two sources of information. I always ask, what was different this time, what would you do differently next time, what do you think would stop it happening again? Look further back than the accident. It probably started well before the actual event Check over plant and equipment to identify any malfunctions; and that it is still fit for use following the accident. Putting it Together Once we have all the information, we need to put it together to understand the timeline, and flow of the accident. This will help us understand what really went wrong. It is very easy to blame the involved worker(s). It is true that the accident wouldn’t have happened without the people, but we lose a chance to improve our business by doing this. Workers make mistakes, or take shortcuts, all the time. The systems we put in place prevent these actions being harmful. So, in an accident investigation, we are looking for the system that needs to be fixed, modified or created. Telling people not to do things never works. Changing the boundaries they operate within, will make a difference. Once we identify the systems that need improving, we must create an action plan. This should include a person who is accountable, and a timeframe. It is good practice to have a senior manager sign off when it is completed. How can Safewise help? We work with organisations who need more health and safety knowledge, or more time, than they have in house.

Recently I undertook site audits for a client who is helping with the Edgecumbe disaster recovery. It was very interesting to see the damage, and the clean-up which is underway. It was also heart breaking looking at the mess - the damaged houses were somebody’s pride and joy. Whilst I was in Edgecumbe, I heard a lot of people saying that no one could have predicted the floods. That may be true, but, as business owners or managers we should be identifying the potential emergencies that could occur in our business, and putting an action plan in place to manage them. There will be some standard emergencies, such as falls, medical events and fire. There will also be business specific emergencies, e.g. working in confined spaces. However, we need to think about natural disasters. What would we do if a disaster struck? How will we care for our workers? How will we know remote workers are safe? Do we have sufficient supplies to survive if we can’t leave our work premises? Something to think about…