Thread: OHS GONE MAD

Originally Posted by Eevo

is it really that hard to put on a seatbelt?
takes 2 seconds n may save ur life.

I can remember my grandparents always refusing. Whenever they saw a cop car they'd just pull the belt down over the shoulders, and fling it back off after they had passed......

I was born after the implementation of belts. I can't even drive a car around the paddock without putting it on ( it's one of those sub-conscious things)

seeya,
Shane L.

I have found this tread most interesting from go to where we are now.
I am currently in the process of writing &implementing a WHS plan for the Roadhouse.
The place is 10 years old and as far as I can find never had one.
I have just returned from a WHS Cert4 course, still to finish the assessment, which I also found interesting.


This htread has definitely shown me that it is very likely there will be resistance to implementing the policies & I will have trouble enforcing the policies. I think my staff are in for a shock & a large cultural change.


I'm sure this will be challenging for both myself & the staff, & I'm sure there will be a few blues & maybe even a sacking or 2 but I'm determined to have this in place for the protection of customers, staff & myself.


Just a little example, I have recently re-written our Food Safety Program. A small part of this was that all Food Service staff must wear caps. So far I've had 3 major dummy spits for staff not complying & had to threaten sacking 1.
If that's just over wearing caps imagine what will happen when I try converting 3/4 of our work culture????????????????


Looking forward to it!
Jonesfam

Originally Posted by Eevo

is it really that hard to put on a seatbelt?
takes 2 seconds n may save ur life.

In the case I brought up there is no need for one at all, come and spend a day with me and you will see how it does not enhance any safety for us but instead actually hinders our work.


When starting a hole we often have to get out two to three times and shovel back in cuttings from the last holes to add water too and create a slurry and make a collar.


The whole time we are standing still on flat ground.


I certainly am not discussing seatbelts in cars etc, just this one instance where it is completely unnecessary and a complete nuisance and lap sash in our application is very restrictive and uncomfortable. It is there only for the rare occasion we work on slops which is hardly ever.

The argument is not if we all want to be safe at work and go home to our dearly beloved but the level of paperwork and processes we are made to comply with to be in keeping with the relative WHS legislation.

My workplace has a large proportion of blue collar workers, a lot of which have limited levels of education, literacy and some with NESB issues. To have them read, and comply with Pre-start inspections, Safe Work Method Statements, Work Instructions, Safe Operating Procedures, Safety Data Sheets, Workplace Inspections, and the myriad of other paperwork that fills an A4 folder to the brim, just to push a mower of pull weeds out of a garden is ludicrous. When speaking to them about this stuff you can see their eyes glaze over and the turn off switch is thrown.

If we were allowed to reduce all this down to a simple 2 page document they they understood we would have half a chance of gaining compliance.

When I put this to our WHS Coordinator I get the usual "We need to comply with the Act and Regulations or WorkCover will be onto us.

Don't start me about this bunch of sanctimonious numbskulls. If you ask them how something should be done safely they won't tell you but if they come out for an audit and perceive in their opinion that it is unsafe - look out.

I once had to go into head office and be interviewed by a WorkCover official. 5 hours in a room with no water being grilled over and over about an incident where one of our staff crashed a ride on mower into a creek when his steel cap boot got jammed in between the hydrostatic drive pedal.

Funny thing was he was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown clear. If he had it on he would have been upside down in the creek.

K.I.S.S. principle should apply

Originally Posted by jonesfam

I have found this tread most interesting from go to where we are now.
I am currently in the process of writing &implementing a WHS plan for the Roadhouse.
The place is 10 years old and as far as I can find never had one.
I have just returned from a WHS Cert4 course, still to finish the assessment, which I also found interesting.


This htread has definitely shown me that it is very likely there will be resistance to implementing the policies & I will have trouble enforcing the policies. I think my staff are in for a shock & a large cultural change.


I'm sure this will be challenging for both myself & the staff, & I'm sure there will be a few blues & maybe even a sacking or 2 but I'm determined to have this in place for the protection of customers, staff & myself.


Just a little example, I have recently re-written our Food Safety Program. A small part of this was that all Food Service staff must wear caps. So far I've had 3 major dummy spits for staff not complying & had to threaten sacking 1.
If that's just over wearing caps imagine what will happen when I try converting 3/4 of our work culture????????????????


Looking forward to it!
Jonesfam

You should be ok in time. You also have advantage of doing it your way. Hats and food is nothing new and was around long before these new systems. As you say, will take a few battles.

In our situation we are brought in as contactors and then told how to run our business including machine operations. I find it incredible that someone who has never run your machine can make rules on its opperation basing thier assesment on other types of machine.

We work in places where there are fast moving machines, excavators sitting on top of rock piles etc etc. Its almost like saying every animal is the same.

There is slso no consultation. It is just you will do it or we'll get someone else. Imagine what you would get told if you bring in say a sparky to the roadhouse and then told them how to do their job.

We are in and out of a stationery machine all day so a seat belt is the last thing we need, yet we are catagorised as any other machine because its a machine.

Originally Posted by tonic

In the case I brought up there is no need for one at all, come and spend a day with me and you will see how it does not enhance any safety for us but instead actually hinders our work.


When starting a hole we often have to get out two to three times and shovel back in cuttings from the last holes to add water too and create a slurry and make a collar.


The whole time we are standing still on flat ground.


I certainly am not discussing seatbelts in cars etc, just this one instance where it is completely unnecessary and a complete nuisance and lap sash in our application is very restrictive and uncomfortable. It is there only for the rare occasion we work on slops which is hardly ever.

I dont wear a seatbelt in the grader,its too bloody uncomfortable for all day use.I do put it on when preparing gravel pits or working on embankments where there is a chance of an OH WOW moment.Pretty hard to roll a grader as you can quickly make it very wide with articulation and a 14 foot outrigger.It is possible so I do put the belt on in those dangerous working conditions.
Andrew

Originally Posted by tonic

Using an old thread here, but it is relevant.




These are one type of production drilling rig and are the ones we use. They sit on level ground almost all the time and move on average 2.8 metres every 20 or so minutes to the next hole to be drilled. Today, a mines inspector wrote up one of the blokes and the owner because the bloke was not wearing his seatbelt. If you ever wondered why we have no money for infrastructure, well, we pay public servants to make sure your wearing a seatbelt in a machine that basically does not move.

The key word is almost. What happens when the production drill turns into a contour drill. Plain and simple if a machine is fitted with a seat belt it must be worn.

Originally Posted by Pilbara130

The key word is almost. What happens when the production drill turns into a contour drill. Plain and simple if a machine is fitted with a seat belt it must be worn.

We don't do that work. As contactors we should have the right to decide what happens with our machines and how they are operated. The operators manual for this machine does not allow it to work sideways on slopes. We can go up and down very gradual slopes straight on. These machines are production. The operators manual for the machine also says, seat belt to be worn when tramming only. It's just a case of a lazy office worker detailing the same rules for all machines without actually going out to see what they do or how they operate.