Welcome to our periodic Newsletter. In it, we bring a digest of safety and health information that is most likely to be of interest in developing and maintaining successful systems, with particular emphasis on ACC audits, OSH rules and regulations, Training and keeping abreast of current trends.
In this edition:
- HSE Amendment Act: 4 things you should know and 3 simple actions to comply now.
- A digest of the OSH briefing document on Stress and Fatigue. What ACTIONS should you take?
- Auckland seminar - A toolbox to put the HSE Amendment Act to bed!
Each edition has one or two cover stories, plus links to other articles. If you wish to send feedback, please click on the “Email us”link below. There are links to more articles here.
Kind regards
Simon Lawrence
What is the connection between Hazard Notices and Infringement Notices? What are the new penalties? Has the framework of the Act actually changed? And what do you do about Stress and Fatigue?
[ Web Article ] or see brief summary below:
HSE Amendment Act - a summary
4 things you should know about the HSE Amendment Act:
- You
don't need to throw away your existing OHS system.
Keep it and make it work for you. The
framework of the original Act stays the same. Summary:
If you have an OHS system that works for you, be smart
- use it to deal with the new Act.
- Stress
and fatigue: This issue has reached legendary
status simply by including stress in the definition
of Harm, and fatigue in the definition
of Hazard. This added a grand total of 3 new
sentences to the Act. Hint:
The framework for dealing with these issues already
exists.
- Trained
employee safety reps will
be able to issue Hazard Notices and you will
have to respond in writing or implement the recommendation.
The safety rep may also send a copy of the Hazard
Notice to OSH. Now: Follow
this thread below.
- OSH will be able to issue Infringement Notices (spot fines). They can only do this if there has been prior notice to the employer. You guessed: Prior notice will include Hazard Notices (above).
[ Full analysis on our website ]
[ Seminar: Tools for Compliance - HSE Amendment Act ]
[ Return to Top ]
3 simple actions you can do to comply:
- Talk
openly about stress and fatigue. Everyone
has stress but sometimes there comes a point at which
the individual perceives they cannot cope.
At that point, they stop performing. Discuss causes
of stress and fatigue at safety meetings. List known
causes on your Hazard Register and put in place
prevention measures. You must follow the hierarchy
of controls: eliminate, isolate, minimise,
just like other hazards.
Hint: Prevention is best and counselling is not prevention.
- If
you have an existing employee participation system,
you can "roll it over" into the new
regime. If you don't, you face the possibility
of the system being prescribed for you and the agenda
being set by someone else. Summary:
It makes sense to put in a system before May 5th.
- One of the few concessions to employers in the Act is in the change to the definition of "all practicable steps". The definition now includes " whether a person knows or ought reasonably to know about" All the more reason to get the issues out in the open. Get a dialogue going. If you intend to keep quiet about stress and fatigue, it could work against you. Summary: If you are afraid of "opening a can of worms", this could work against you.
[ Full analysis on our website ]
[ Seminar: Tools for Compliance - HSE Amendment Act ]
[ Return to Top ]
OSH
briefing document
on Stress and Fatigue
Introduction:
The briefing paper is not mandatory . It is simply an information document. In looking at stress and fatigue, it does tend to overlap these two issues. It also emphasises the impact of shift work.
Summary:
-
The awareness of not being able to cope with the demands of one's environment, when
- This realisation is of concern to the person, in that both are associated with a negative emotional response.
- Stressors: Events or circumstances which may lead to the perception that physical or psychological demands are about to be exceeded.
Definition of Fatigue:
-
The temporary inability, or decrease in ability, or strong disinclination to respond to a situation, because of previous over-activity, either mental, emotional or physical.
Causes:
1. The intensity and duration of physical and mental effort
2. The environment: climate, light, noise, workstation design
3. Mental and emotional well-being, responsibilities, worries, conflict, social interactions
4. A lack of physical wellbeing: illness, pain, disrupted circadian rhythm, sleep loss, inadequate nutrition and exercise
5. The organisational characteristics of work
[ Return to Top ]
- Shift-workers, particularly on rotating shifts, have a higher incidence of sick leave, visits to clinics at the work site, and poorer scores on a variety of health measures.
- The presence of stress can be inferred or measured in terms of health problems, emotional reactions and organisational characteristics such as absenteeism or presenteeism (where employees may be described as being physically present at work, but "mentally absent").
- The methods are already available through the hierarchy of controls outlined in the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 - elimination, isolation or minimisation.
- If "stress management" is the only strategy used, the onus of coping lies only with the individual, whereas the power to alter the situation usually lies with the organisation.
- Primary prevention should include strategies which involve adaptation by the organisation as well as the individual. There is, therefore a shared responsibility for controlling stress.
Assessing risk:
The OSH document provides a useful tool for assessing employee's exposure to stress and fatigue.
[ Return to Top ]Seminars: Tools for compliance with the HSE Amendments
You are a busy manager. You just want to know "What do I have to DO to comply with the new Act?" Look no further.
April 16th at the Howick Country Lodge:
May 1st at Quality Hotel, Logan Park
- 2 simple facts that take much of the mystery out of the HSE Amendment Act
- 3 easy things you can do right now about Stress and Fatigue
- Get the full story on unpaid staff and voluntary workers
- 2 things you can do before May to make employee participation work for you
- Practical ways to avoid getting Infringement Notices (spot fines)
- New obligations on employees
- Understand the new connection between OSH and your employee safety reps
- Easy rules for loan employees
- And more
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