In recent years, New Zealand’s government has made major changes to work health and safety in response to concerning rates of workplace injuries and fatalities. Pro Safety Gear takes a closer look at what’s been happening. Reducing workplace injuries and fatalities: The New Zealand (NZ) government plans to reduce workplace serious injuries and fatalities […]
Putting yourself in the way of a charging bull might not make sense to some, but for Darryl Chong, it’s just part of his job protecting the bull riders who compete at rodeos. “Rodeo protection athletes are basically bodyguards,” he said, speaking to ProChoice Safety Gear. “Our job is to distract the bull after the […]
Stormwater management in construction is critical, with the primary goal in both commercial and DIY projects being to prevent building site by-products from entering stormwater drains. It is illegal to discharge any pollutants into a stormwater system, that is, anything other than rainwater, so careful site planning is imperative. Failure to plan can cause costly […]
Businesses are legally required to ensure the health and safety of their workers, and toolbox safety talks are a popular and proven step in helping fulfil that requirement. They provide an excellent forum for employers to fulfil their legal obligation of consulting with workers around situations which may affect their health and safety, according to […]
Preventing tools and equipment from being dropped or knocked from heights is crucial, with falling objects the fourth highest cause of workplace fatalities in Australia from 2012–2016, causing 122 deaths in five years. Falling objects are also responsible for a significant number of workplace injuries, resulting in 3515 compensation claims in 2014–15 alone. Factoring in […]
In 2014–15, automotive electricians and mechanics made 1,760 serious workers’ compensation claims, involving at least one week away from work. The median work time lost was four working weeks and the median compensation paid was $10,300, according to SafeWork Australia. With safety risks in an automotive workshop covering many different areas, including hazardous manual tasks, […]
Nearly two-thirds of Australian adults are overweight or obese, with the consequences of this being felt in workplace productivity, lost time injury (LTI) and cost. According to the 2014–15 National Health Survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 25–29.99, classified as overweight but not obese, accounted […]
The most common mistakes that people make when applying sunscreen are to not check the expiry date, apply too little and not apply the sunscreen early enough. All of these mistakes reduce the effectiveness of sunscreen by decreasing the sun protection factor (SPF) it offers, according to dermatologist Dr Saxon Smith and the Cancer Council. […]
