Workload, fatigue, relationships, sleep and time off farm, are some of the main challenges facing younger farmers today, so it is no surprise that farmers under 35 want to invest more in their wellbeing, new research has found The milestone study, commissioned by rural wellbeing initiative Farmstrong, found that 64% of younger farming men and 77% of women reported that at least one wellbeing issue had a large impact on their life. Continue →

WorkSafe is urging employers to mitigate any risks before carrying out electrical work, after a worker was left with serious electrical burns to his hands In a decision released by the Invercargill District Court this week, Wallace Murray Electrical Limited was fined $150,000 following the incident, which took place while the worker was replacing a switchboard in October 2017. Continue →

New standards for oral fluid testing processes and technologies have been welcomed by The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), who has long believed that oral fluid testing technology and processes required reviewing and to become a joint Australian and New Zealand standard The AS/NZS 4760:2019 (CH-039 Detection of Drugs in Oral Fluids) Oral Fluid testing standard by Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand dictates consistency around testing methodology, the quality of devices required, and how labs manage test samples. Continue →

A campaign to raise public awareness about life threatening severe bleeding after an accident has been launched today by New Zealand healthcare company Pharmaco Emergency Care, and is being supported by the Medical Director for St John Stop the Bleed New Zealand aims to educate people about how to best manage a major bleed in the critical minutes before emergency services are able to arrive. Continue →

Power management company Eaton has released a new arc fault detection device that provides critical all-in-one protection against electrical fires in homes and buildings With built-in arc fault detection, earth leakage current protection (RCD), short circuit and overcurrent protection (MCB) technology in one compact device, the AFDD+ can be easily installed on switchboards for new-builds or retrofitted in residential applications. 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 →

In two separate events, two workers fell unconscious and later died as a likely result of acute exposure to organic solvents, highlighting the serious health and safety risks of using organic solvents in enclosed spaces with poor ventilation and lack of personal protective equipment One incident occurred when a worker was applying a UV treatment to windows. Continue →

Increasing process automation means the cost-effective automation of vehicles is playing an increasingly more important role – which in turn has serious safety implications Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are encountered in vast warehouses, order-picking areas and production halls. Continue →

The RSL 400 safety laser scanner not only ensures that automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are operated safely by means of protective and warning fields, but it also simultaneously captures the measurement values for the navigation software The RSL 400 merges safety technology and high-quality measurement value output in a single device When the triangulation principle is used for navigation, AGVs are usually equipped with two different sensors: one for safety and one for navigation. Continue →