Blog posts tagged with 'aihs'

The AIHS will be publishing a series of news stories through October to support the four themes of National Safe Work Month. The first week focuses on WHS fundamentals, and gets back to basics by unpacking the fundamentals of WHS. There are a number of fundamentals of good WHS practice, according to Safe Work Australia and industry leaders, who said one of the most important is taking an evidence-based approach to proactively managing WHS risks.

For organisations looking to shift from lagging safety indicators to leading indicators, they must first address their preparedness, priorities and safety culture maturity level, according to recent research. Specifically, leading indicators must be adopted with a systems-thinking approach where they are developed and used in a work context involving people and technology, rather than merely focusing on human behaviour or identifying leading indicators for machinery or plant.

Although most businesses strive to do the right thing by their employees and reduce psychosocial risks, the complexity of this task means most organisations are still struggling to comprehensively address workplace mental health challenges, according to the Black Dog Institute.

There are a number of early intervention strategies that are likely to improve return to work outcomes for workers, employers and insurers, according to a new report. While there is a high level of understanding and belief in the importance of early intervention to improve work outcomes for injured and ill workers, the report found more can be done to improve the effectiveness of early intervention in return to work programs.

Any attempts by companies to rebrand engineered stone as another product to intentionally avoid the upcoming ban on engineered stone was recently condemned by federal, state and territory WHS ministers. WHS regulators should also take strong compliance and enforcement action about the ban, including addressing instances of rebranding engineered stone as a different product, according to the ministers.

Many of the key findings from a recent US report which examined the critical organisational failures that contributed to the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes are equally applicable to many other major accidents and industries, according to Australian National University Emeritus Professor Andrew Hopkins.

The Queensland Government has commissioned an independent review of Workplace Health and Safety Queensland to support proposed amendments to the state’s WHS laws introduced to Parliament late last year.

The Victorian Government is looking to review the sentencing of OHS offences committed by both individuals and organisations after it provided the Sentencing Advisory Council with terms of reference to make relevant recommendations for reform. This will be the first examination of sentencing practices for OHS offences since Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Act came into effect almost 20 years ago.

Storytelling is an easy way to help boost engagement and the WHS profession is primed for storytelling and the benefits it can provide in terms of improved communication, according to an expert in the area.

WorkSafe Victoria recently reminded employers about the serious legal consequences they face if they put workers at risk after the regulator completed 153 successful health and safety prosecutions last year.