perspective

[Glot]

Firstly, I am an extremely strong believer that no one should leave work in a body bag.
But have we gone too far? OH&sS or WHS or what ever you choose to call the people that sit in an office working out ways that they can avoid litigation. That is what it is all about. The government ( all past and present) putting laws into place to protect themselves. These laws don't necessarily protect the public, they jus mean they can not be held liable for "not doing sufficient". The latest political football about the home insulation scheme is an example. The real fault comes down to the people installing the insulation and the people supervising them.
The significant operating costs added to a large manufacturer such as Holden or Ford may have stopped one or two people being seriously injured or killed each year but at what cost? When thousands of people loose their jobs from the automotive industry, fall on very hard financial times, loose their marriage and family, become depressed enough to commit suicide.........
How many people will have died then?
It will happen. We just don't see the figures.
Of course we don't want to go back to no safety but we have honestly gone too far. A painter that has worked for 40 years on a plank now has to have hand rails just because some uni graduate in an office said "gee, that looks dangerous"
No wonder Australia is going backwards.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

It's because we don't have any real problems to deal with.

DWRHAHB

 

[thedragon]

Dude, chill out.

Do your bit by creating jobs in Australia by buying Australian stuff buy Australian retailers .... Including books. It will put money in to our local economy and will create jobs here!

Edit: typo

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Unfortunatly the home insulation feasco was caused by greedy business's wanting to make a quick buck and cut corners. The laws where already in place.....they just chose to ignore them. We had one mob around here who ran their insulation show out of a used car dealership. Then whinged when the scheme was wound up. Then they had the gall to go to Canberra and present themselves on TV as hard done by. Made me sick. Fuckers ripped off the tax payers.

 

[GuyQLD]

Holden's demise had more to do with unions than WH&S.

That should throw the cat amongst the pigeons.

 

[GalBrew]

I think it had to do more with the fact that people aren't that big on the large family sedan that chews though $100 of petrol a week anymore. Ford and Holden both are making cars for the 20th century, not the 21st and wondering why people aren't biting.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Mm....to a degree.......load up your 4 cyl and watch it drink petrol....

 

[GuyQLD]

Both my 4cyl drink diesel. I'd watch it drink it, but it gets boring after a while.

 

[goomboogo]

Remove the tyranny of OH&S officials and Australian books will be cheap as chips.

 

[shaunous]

Remove the tyranny of OH&S officials and Australian books will be cheap as chips.

Fukin Amen to that.

Although we've had them for that long, chances are the masses here have lost all common sense and we would tumble into hell.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Unfortunatly it has become a necessary evil to stop office boys from getting hurt and running to mummy. More Darwinism and less litigation would go a long way.

 

[jlm]

Back to the OP, I've been an electrician in the building game since '96 or '97, and have watched OH&S get to a point that I think is over the top. I'm running a million dollar electrical contract in a hospital, and the amount of time I have spend doing paperwork.....not because someone has hurt themselves but because they are performing a task where they could hurt themselves (every ******* task)....is unbelievable. So the bloke who's getting paid the most and is the most competent and efficient worker (within our crew) spends the least amount of time on the tools. Then add the cost of extra equipment that every trade has to buy when rules change (our latest was spending several grand on platform ladders)....and we still cop shit every time the hourly rate goes up.
I agree that no-one should go home in a body bag but the simple fact is that due to the nature of the work we do, people will always end up getting injured to varying degrees, and in some unfortunate cases, die. No amount of legislation will stop the things that cause that, whether it be mechanical failure, sheer bad luck or sheer stupidity.

Oh, and always remember......If your battery charger doesn't have a tag on it.....its not safe to use.

 

[manticle]

Had a steel safety chain at the loading dock at my work replaced with a plastic yellow one.
At least if someone ever falls through it, they'll be able to see where it broke.

 

[GalBrew]

You know that OHS is getting over the top when you have to write a risk assessment to sit at your desk (they are death traps) and there are posters in the stairwell telling you how to use the stairs.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I remember when JSA/SWMS first came into being. I couldnt get out of the the work vehicle without filling out a small novel.

The great thing was having to go to Sydney and stay in a flash motel in the city ( many, many times ) to listen to some bloke tell me how to pick up a box so I didnt break every bone in my body. And fill out said paperwork.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

You know that OHS is getting over the top when you have to write a risk assessment to sit at your desk (they are death traps) and there are posters in the stairwell telling you how to use the stairs.

And how to use the mealroom microwave. Kill you them things. I remember some knob jockey coming in and having a spat about it. So we asked him where his safety jacket and steel capped boots where. Got accused of being a bunch of smart asses

 

[Truman42]

Our company uses a transport contractor to transport our machinery to customers. (Caterpillar earthmoving equipment)
This transport contractor is our preferred supplier so all their drivers have completed a 2 day induction and training course and have load/unload tickets etc etc.
With new transport regs coming in sometime this year we now have to check every single load that leaves our yard. The onus is not just on the driver or transport company but on us the consignor to ensure the load is safe. Basically we have to treat every driver like an idiot.
We also have customers who have their own trucks come and pick up machinery. They may have been driving for 30 years but if they don't have the proper load/unload competences we have to load their truck and have them sign a detailed form saying that they will have someone with a ticket unload at the job site. It pisses off a lot of drivers that feel like we are treating them like morons.
(These new transport regulations include a lot more rules than what I mention above and will basically send many small carriers broke as they won't be able to comply due to the cost.)
Then there is driver exclusion zones where they must stand while we load the truck. You can't stand next to a forklift and unhook a sling or adjust the load as it's placed onto the truck anymore.
We have to wear safety glasses even while walking around the yard just in case a speck of dust blows into our eyes.

Even just to have a plumber come and fix a toilet they have to do an online induction, a branch induction and wear PPE. It makes it hard just to get someone to do any work for us as most small businesses just can't afford all the crap.

Whilst I'm all for Safety in the workplace, I agree with the OP that it's getting beyond a joke. One idiot does some thing stupid and kills or injures himself and then new regulations are brought in which costs money to implement. Then everybody pays the price.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

 

[mckenry]

I've had a gripe about this type of stuff for years. In a previous role, I had to do specialist gas detection for confined space entry, for hot work in explosive atmospheres. So, safety WAS important. I wasnt doing the hot work, but the guys who were, relied on me and my equipment, to keep them from blowing themselves up. The work really made me nervous. What my gripe was, was that I becam a bit blase about the paperwork as every job was the same tick, tick, tick without really thinking about it. Then it became dangerous. So we got more fxckin paperwork and around we went again. I eventually left to take an I.T. role instead. Much more relaxing, but guess what! I just filled in my first HIDRA (hazard identification risk assessment) for working in my office FFS FFS FFS FFS FFS FFS FFS!
Yes, we have gone too far!!!!!!!!!

 

[shaunous]

Unfortunatly it has become a necessary evil to stop office boys from getting hurt and running to mummy. More Darwinism and less litigation would go a long way.

I need a few of them stickers for my council workshop.