The past principles and practices of safety management have served us really well and they will continue to do so particularly for simple tasks where individuals or small groups are carrying out things where the risks are well-known and not much is changing in the environment. However, what happens when a procedure doesn't fit the situation? What happens if something unexpected strikes and there's no rule to cover the situation? What happens if we chose to go outside the procedure to get things done?

Hungry Jacks was fined a whopping $90,000 and additional costs by the Industrial Court after an incident caused a worker to suffer from third-degree burns while performing work tasks at the Edwardstown restaurant.

EnergySafety recently announced that they were implementing some changes that would urge electrical contractors to have switches completely disconnected before allowing any person to work on them.

Effective management of ill or injured workers is one of the most problematic aspects for employers and for the human resource management department. It has always been fraught with a lot of regulatory as well as litigation risks, such as those HR professionals and managers needing to implement serious employer’s decisions.

When dealing with these special group of ill and injured workers (whether physically or mentally), the root for this difficulty is the significant probability for the intersection of numerous state and federal legislation requiring both small and large business employers alike to take into consideration competing business regulations and complex industrial obligations.

We are being asked a lot lately about obligations in relation to cold working conditions. This can be a serious issue outdoors in Australia this time of year for some, but also relevant to work in freezer plants and cold storage facilities at any other time. We know the main issues associated with tissue damage, such as frostbite and chilblains, but probably more applicable to us in the Australian climate is that severe cold can impede nerve reactions as fingers and hands lose dexterity, thus presenting other significant hazards.