Latest News

Latest News


Working safe with purpose made tools
13 weeks 9 hours ago
There have been great advances in the engineering, design and manufacture of fit-for-purpose knives and cutting tools that will do particular jobs effectively and safely. For years, innovative employees have obtained and made tools to get the job done. These include hacksaw blades ground to a cutting edge with a handle fashioned from masking tape. These homemade blades have been responsible for...

Walkways keeping you safe in industrial areas
17 weeks 6 days ago
A place for everything and everything in its place! This adage also applies to humans in an industrial environment. If walkways are provided, it is important that you use them as they have been designed to separate you from the hazards that may exist off the walkways. These hazards may include forklift trucks, overhead cranes and process and plant hazards. Do not enter a work area unless...

Driving safely in the festive season
24 weeks 1 day ago
School holidays and Christmas should be times of great happiness and an opportunity to enjoy a well earned break with the family. It unfortunately introduces challenges to our safety and that of the rest of the drivers on the road and the occupants of our car. Often drivers undertake a long trip that represents the longest duration at the wheel in an extended period. This is sometimes compounded...

Hygiene and hazardous substances
26 weeks 1 day ago
I can remember my mother telling me to wash my hands as a child. Then, I thought this was overrated and going straight from handling the pet dog, lizards and frogs could not possibly be an issue. Seems she was right and now hospitals and clinics have firm protocols on how to best wash and dry hands. In the workplace it is possible to come into contact with a wide range of dusts, hazardous...

Fire and emergency alert
28 weeks 1 day ago
Most of us would relate to the sad events of Black Saturday and be aware of fire’s capacity to cause devastation and destroy lives, infrastructure and business. The same capacity to destroy life and property is present in the industrial environment. A safety management system must contain effective prevention and reaction measures to protect life and property. Every time you fly you will get a...

Be vigilant in the office
31 weeks 2 days ago
A few years ago I became aware of a large company head office that had a safety record worse than some of the processing plants that operated across Australia. Notwithstanding the great tea trolley disaster and the fact that road incidents and injuries were included, it demonstrated that the office is not a place where safety can be ignored. A safety management system needs to be developed and...

Manual handling most common cause of injury
35 weeks 5 hours ago
We have all heard that manual handling is the most common cause of injuries that lead to the most expensive claims. The impact on the individuals and their families as a result of the pain and social impact is difficult to quantify, but from firsthand experience it can be devastating and tragic. Manual handling can be defined as pushing, pulling, lifting, lowering, restraining or otherwise...

Keeping safe in the shed
37 weeks 1 day ago
I was opening the door to my shed recently and was going through some of the things you would typically find in the average home garage or shed.   There are so many objects and materials that can cause injury and that are not always operated, maintained or stored in a best practice manner. Sometimes the rigour that is applied in a workplace toward OHS is missing when it comes to...

Are you hearing me?
40 weeks 1 day ago
I have a friend who visits and when he does the TV volume goes up so high the conversation level rises to a low yell to be heard. My friend started work in the timber industry and is today nearly as deaf as the proverbial post he used to cut to length with a noisy circular saw. Today there is an obligation to provide workplaces where noise levels are under 85 dBA (decibels) measured over a shift...

Slips, trips and falls
43 weeks 1 day ago
One of the leading causes of injuries in the workplace is attributable to the classification Slip, Trip and Fall. Injuries resulting from these can be as simple as a loss of traction and a stumble to multiple fractures. Workforce on Tap staff have sustained two fractured bones in STF (Slip Trip Fall) events in 2011. A slip is where footing is lost due to slippery surfaces and or boot or shoe...