ALERT24 20 October 2014 Thomson Reuters New Zealand Safeguard Update Search Archive Manage preferences Contact the Editor Additional Topics Thomson Reuters New Zealand Safeguard Update RSS Top NEWS Intolerance a force for change _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 Public intolerance has been a force for changing how health and safety is tackled, according to the chair of the Independent Forestry Safety Review. Speaking at the OHSIG conference in Auckland last month, George Adams said the review was long overdue, with 31 fatalities and over 1000 serious injuries to workers in the sector since 2008. Serious injuries in forestry are not paper cuts, trust me. Errors in forestry have the ability to change your life dramatically. He said there was a rich vein of public sentiment over the spike in forestry deaths in 2013, just as there was after the Pike River explosion. The forestry industry believed that what they had was not sustainable. Public intolerance changes things. From the panels perspective, he said, forestry was a difficult sector to understand, being both stratified and atomised, with each business having fewer than 100 staff, and no group of really large organisations. If there were half a dozen big companies out there we would sit down and talk with them. But there arent. At a macro level, he said, the success of dairying is pushing mixed farming further up the slope, which pushes forestry plantation even further up the slope - until trees are being planted on slopes of 40 degrees. Manual felling and cable extraction - one of the scariest things imaginable - made up around 70 percent of forestry fatalities. The panels extensive round of public consultation revealed a significant difference between the perspectives of forestry business owners and the guys who use a chainsaw. Adams said at one public meeting a harvesting contract owner revealed that he refused to issue Kevlar chaps to people until they had cut themselves a few times, on the basis that otherwise they wouldnt be motivated to take good care of them. I have never been cut by a chainsaw, Adams told OHSIG delegates, but I suspect it would ruin my day. Adams said it was courageous of the forestry sector to appoint an independent panel to look into health and safety, none of whom had expertise in forestry nor derived income from it. The panel could therefore look at the sector with fresh eyes. One of the challenges for the industry is it is quite insular - its a challenge to see what 21st century New Zealand expects. I hope the industry retains that courage when it sees our recommendations. The IFSRs report is expected to be released on 31 October. Ref: 141017CA-8100 Hang the expense _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 Citing cost as a reason for not fixing an identified health and safety risk will be unlikely to get you off the hook in court under the new legislation due in 2015. Speaking at OHSIG, Kensington Swan partner Grant Nicholson said the new statutes reasonably practicable sounds similar to the HSE Acts all practicable steps but with a key difference: not taking a reasonably practicable step would only be acceptable if the cost of doing so would be grossly disproportionate. There will be very few costs that will be grossly disproportionate to the risk of killing someone. If something costs a few thousand dollars you will have to do it. This could have unintended consequences, he warned. A business, perhaps with the assistance of a consultant, could conduct a risk assessment and identify a list of things to be fixed, and then put the list in order of priority. However, if someone loses a finger to one of the lower-ranked risks not yet attended to, the fact the business has already made some changes for the higher priorities would cut little ice in court. His advice? Reassess all your hazard controls and assessments, and put cost at the bottom of your list, not the top. Nicholson also predicted the new legislation would see more prosecutions taken against workers, because of two new duties: to comply with reasonable instructions from a PCBU, and to cooperate with health and safety policies and procedures. Thats a good thing, as it should help you with developing a culture of responsibility. Ref: 141017CA-8149 Timing of new law uncertain _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 The return of a National-led government is no guarantee that the Health and Safety Reform Bill will be enacted on April 1, as originally intended, according to MBIEs principal policy advisor. Kelly Hanson-White, who is advising Cabinet about the regulations that will accompany the new statute, told the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forums OHS leadership group in Auckland recently that, because of the many factors that influence the legislative process, it was not possible to say when the bill would become law. There is quite a bit of pressure on the government to meet the April 1 date, but the progress of the bill is up to the Speaker of the House and depends on what the [governments] priorities are. There are still so many uncertainties, even though the legislation has pretty much cross-party support. Before the House rose for the election, Hanson-White said the Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee had heard about half of the 100 submissions on the bill, and the decision was yet to be made about how the remaining submissions would be handled. They could go back and start hearing the other fifty submissions, but if they do that as part of their regular business - meeting once a week when the House is sitting - it could take quite some time. They could use a different process that will speed things up, but thats entirely out of our control. However, according to many of the submissions received, the most critical issue of timing associated with the new law will be the interval between when it is passed and when it comes into effect, she said. We had a lot of feedback saying what they really needed to know was how much time there would be after the act was passed before it became law. The plan is for the whole thing to come into force at the same time, but the central thing will be that gap. The acts regulations must be approved by Cabinet, and Hanson-Whites team is currently developing draft regulations in five subject areas - general risk and worker management, worker participation and representation, hazardous substances, major hazard facilities, and asbestos. We had another 180 submissions on these matters, including some very detailed and extensive ones, which was really excellent. Weve pretty much heard from every industry, and from a good range of business sizes, all around the country, so its been a very useful process. Along with these submissions, the team is in constant consultation with Safe Work Australia, and has recently been meeting with WorkSafes guidance group, a team of practitioners and industry experts, to ensure regulations that will be both workable and effective. We have to be able to quantify the impact of the [law] changes and know what will happen on the ground, so we try to imagine scenarios that will not fit the regulations. We have a suite of case studies that look like real businesses, and we use those to try to break our own recommendations. The team hopes to present its recommendations to Cabinet before Christmas. Ref: 141017CA-8303 Changing the narrative _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 CTU president Helen Kelly told the OHSIG conference that the deregulation of the labour market has changed the way work is conceptualised, and this contributes to New Zealands poor health and safety performance. The dominant narrative, she said, is that people are lucky to have a job, and that workers are effectively beneficiaries who shouldnt challenge anything. She cited the Canterbury Rebuild Safety Charter as an example of how this narrative could be challenged by getting all stakeholders in a room to agree priorities. Its being led by WorkSafe in a unique and radical way, and we have been completely involved in that. The workers voice is seen as an essential part. We are changing our view of the construction companies, and they are changing their view of how unions work. By contrast, Kelly cited Pike River as the pinnacle of poor health and safety management, with rhetoric afterwards about how lucky the Coasters were to have had the mine provide jobs, a soldier narrative. She criticised the decision last year to drop HSE Act charges against former Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall, saying the decision to accept insurance money in exchange for a discharge places all workers at risk. Thats one of the worst decisions in health and safety in the last five years - by the regulator, by the Government, and by the courts. Ref: 141017CA-8282 Expect long, prescriptive regs _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 OHS practitioners can expect a lot of detail in the new regulations, if those developed for the mining industry are anything to go by, the health and safety manager for Stevensons Group told the meeting. John Casey described the Health and Safety in Employment (Mining Operations and Quarrying Operations) Regulations 2013, developed in the wake of the Pike River Royal Commission, as long, complex, and prescriptive. They run to 179 pages, consist of 11 parts and 10 schedules, and the word must is used over a hundred times. Casey said he believed these regulations showed what to expect from those that will be developed to support the new act. These were the first cab off the rank. The mining industry was at the forefront, and I believe its set the scene for New Zealand health and safety generally. Ref: 141017CA-8366 Leading the supply chain _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 A two-year pilot programme in which CEOs from major corporations will use a suite of leadership tools to drive health and safety improvements throughout the supply chain has just been launched by the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum. Forum executive director Julian Hughes told the leadership group meeting that the pilot, which commenced on October 1, would both test and further develop the strategies contained in the forums Contractor Initiative, released earlier this year. The forum is always looking at how we can leverage our position as a group of large businesses to influence outcomes in smaller businesses, he said. This is our first attempt to use leadership to do that. The programme was developed in response to an investigation which used a literature study and both qualitative and quantitative research to identify the factors that influence OHS among contractors. We came up with 12 success factors, but at the centre of it all was having respect for everybody who contributes to the business, no matter how they are engaged, Hughes said. The CEOs in the pilot programme have committed to own the process, ensure it is being managed, and measure its effect, using an assessment tool developed by the forum. We want to lead a step-change in health and safety, but unless we can get this programme right were probably not going to be able to move the bar. Ref: 141017CA-8394 Risk assessment risks _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 The move from a health and safety system based on hazard management to one based on risk management has potential for problems, but should make little difference to companies with robust OHS management systems, the BLHSF leadership group meeting was told. Ravi Kolluru, health, safety and training manager at Waikato lines company WEL Networks, said that although there are hundreds of ways of analysing risk, the risk analysis matrix remains the most widely used. He expressed some doubt, however, about the systems accuracy, and its potential for abuse. In a company where I worked previously I presented one risk to a team of eight people, and each came out with a different rating, with huge variations. People can also manipulate risk level assessments to that suit their own agendas, he said. If they dont want management to know that a high risk is being ignored, they can play it down, or if they want sufficient funds to address the risk, they can easily elevate the risk level. Despite these issues, Kolluru said WEL Networks appraisal of the proposed new law had shown little need to change existing procedures. We looked at whether we would need to change our health and safety management system, or the day-to-day documentation that is part of it, and concluded that it would be business as usual for us, although we will be paying close attention when the new regulations come out, to understand the specific risks that we need to evaluate. Ref: 141017CA-8415 Model Act conviction _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 INTL17/10/2014 A Canberra-based event hire company has been fined $A37,500 in what is the first successful prosecution under the Australian Capital Territorys new health and safety legislation, based on Australias Model Act. Mashera Pty Ltd, trading as Barlens Event Hire, was engaged by the Canberra Times Art Show in March 2012 to supply panels for the event, on which art was to be displayed. The company engaged a contractor to install the panels but did not check the finished installation before art was hung on them. While the show was open to the public one of the panels failed and, because they were linked, all the panels collapsed in a domino effect, injuring several people. Prosecuting, WorkSafe ACT found the organisers of the event had decided at the last minute to move the exhibition inside due to anticipated bad weather, and Masheras contractor worked until two in the morning to complete the build of the panels. Mashera relied on the experience of the contractor to ensure the resulting structure was stable, and failed to issue detailed instructions, carry out a risk assessment, or conduct any checks on the structures stability. It is important to note that the principal contractor is being held accountable for this incident. Contractors cannot simply delegate all their safety duties to a subcontractor, said ACTs Work Safety Commissioner Mark McCabe. The company pleaded guilty to a breach of s33 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 as a category 3 offence: failure to comply with a safety duty (ACT Magistrates Court, 19 August 2014). WorkSafe ACT news release Ref: 141017CA-8450 Senior roles at WorkSafe _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 WorkSafe New Zealand is advertising three general manager roles, all based in Wellington: The General Manager Assessments will lead the assessment inspectorate and the national programmes team. The General Manager Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement will develop strategy and a stakeholder engagement programme to influence OHS outcomes. The General Manager Operational Policy will, among other things, ensure alignment of internal practice and external guidance. Applications close 27 October. Ref: 141017CA-8667 We have a winner! _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 Congratulations to Jan Frampton, EHS manager with TE Connectivity in Christchurch, whose name was pulled from the hat to win the iPad Mini we offered to visitors to the new Safeguard website. Even if you forgot to enter the competition you can still visit the website, which has a goldmine of a search engine for anyone with a query on health and safety. Readers of Safeguard magazine can now opt for a separate online subscription (with access to magazine content back to 2009), and those who want a handy compliance reference can subscribe to the online Safety Partner database of legislation, commentary, illustrative cases, and best practice material. You know where to go: the Safeguard website. Ref: 141017CA-8618 Union opposes KiwiRail staffing proposal _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 The Rail and Maritime Transport Union is questioning a KiwiRail proposal to progressively relocate its health and safety team from Wellington to Auckland. Wayne Butson, RMTU general secretary, said the proposal was nonsensical because Wellington is the heart of the countrys rail network, and the health and safety regulator is based there. RMTU news release Ref: 141017CA-8702 Occupations with most ACC claims for work-related injuries _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 Workers in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries had the highest number of work-related injury claims accepted by ACC during 2013. Statistics New Zealand, who compiled the figures, says that these groups of workers made 226 injury claims per 1000 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), and 2.6 percent of those workers experienced an injury that resulted in a week or more off work. Whereas the overall rate of injury claims in New Zealand was 92 claims for every 1000 FTEs. Other occupations with high work-related injury claims in 2013 were trade workers (187 per 1000 FTEs), elementary occupations (161 per 1000 FTEs) and plant and machinery operators and assemblers (158 per 1000 FTEs). Read more here. Ref: 141017CA-6427 Incident reports _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 The Waikato Times reports an ammonia leak at a Hamilton meat processing plant drew 40 firefighters in response. The Northern Advocate reports a man helping to shift cows died when his quad bike overturned into a drainage pond in Ruawai. APNZ reports that a woman visiting a hot rod event in Auckland was injured when an unattended vehicle rolled onto her leg, apparently because its handbrake failed. The Press reports a Christchurch building site was closed for the day after a crane toppled over. There were no injuries. The Manawatu Standard reports the Manawatu District Council office in Feilding was evacuated after a disgruntled resident poured petrol in the foyer and elsewhere in the building, including over a staff member. The Waikato Times reports a sharemilker was hospitalised with breathing difficulties when he mistakenly mixed phosphoric acid with chrlorine. The Press reports that a man died during a controlled burnoff on a farm in Hurunui, North Canterbury, five weeks after a similar death on a farm near Cromwell. The two incidents prompted WorkSafe NZ to release a hazard alert with advice on managing the risks of burnoffs. Ref: 141017CA-7722 DIARY Workshop for researchers _ Westlaw NZ | Alert24 NZ17/10/2014 AUTs Centre for Occupational Health & Safety Research is to host a one-day workshop early next year for Australian and New Zealand researchers into health and safety. Jointly convened with Macquarie Universitys Centre for Workforce Futures, the 2 February 2015 event is designed to extend Trans-Tasman research networks to boost collaboration. Further info from Associate Professor Felicity Lamm, [email protected] Ref: 141017CA-8044 view archive . . . Westlaw N
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 04:18:27 +0000
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