Industries rely on workers being physically and mentally alert. Fatigue reduces alertness which can lead to errors, and an increase in workplace incidents and injuries The evenings are getting lighter and BBQ season is just around the corner, which means the pressure is on to get jobs done while there is more daylight in the evenings. Continue →

Flawed floor earns a big payout for one casino player who slipped and sustained back injuries By Jerome Matthews (LLB) Casino operators Star Pty Ltd were ordered to pay A$150,000 after a NSW court ruled they were in breach of their duty of care to a customer who slipped and fell in its Star Casino. Continue →

Failure to impose and enforce an effective anti-bullying policy in the workplace could prove expensive for employers By Jerome Matthews (LLB) A recent judgement handed down in the NSW District Court awarded damages in the sum of $1,394,000.91 plus interest and costs to the plaintiff Mr Ward for conduct calculated to cause harm. Continue →

This month’s opening of the new Site Safe training rooms in Dunedin shows the construction safety training organisation’s commitment to the region Board chair, Southland’s Peter Jackson, has a deep affinity for the broader region and has been involved with Site Safe through much of its 20-year history, firstly via his business as a plumber and in later years as a board member and chairperson. Continue →

As the world’s fastest medium voltage circuit-breaker, Fusesaver can react in 10 milliseconds to prevent sparks from faulty power lines or traditional pole fuses, particularly ideal for countries and communities with high bushfire or wildfire risk The Yatala factory is home to the innovative Siemens Fusesaver, a product that is helping eliminate up to 80 percent of sustained electricity outages on rural networks in over 30 countries. Continue →

Hand tool safety tips are useful in every workplace – almost every job calls for their use, and healthy hands are necessary for every job People who work in warehouses, construction sites, or in industrial workplaces will likely use hand tools more frequently, but even office workers use scissors, box cutters, and utility knives. Continue →

A Manawatū farmer says his community wants easier access to a blood test for toxic chemicals from firefighting foam, but the Health Ministry is telling them not to bother according to RNZ News The groundwater around defence bases including Ōhakea in Manawatū have been contaminated with toxic and long-lasting firefighting foam chemicals. Continue →

AWS takes a closer look at a 2019 study on welding fume and lung cancer, from a New Zealand and Australian perspective In 2017 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reclassified welding fume from ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’, as was its position from 1989, to ‘carcinogenic to humans’. Continue →

A scaffolding company has been fined $150,000 after a poorly designed scaffold collapsed while seven people were working on it Affordable Scaffolding (2010) Limited was sentenced at the Auckland District Court last month following the February 2017 incident involving a scaffold erected under the Panmure Bridge in Auckland. Continue →

Container Lifts are emerging as a credible alternative to traditional lifting equipment for intermodal logistics   Installed in over 20 countries, C-Lifts are emerging as viable container lifting equipment, challenging the mid-range container handling market, and dominating the container jacking niche. Continue →