Comments on: Innovative thinking needed if Australia is to save lives and improve the economy https://safetyatworkblog.com/2012/03/19/innovative-thinking-needed-if-australia-is-to-save-lives-and-improve-the-economy/ Award winning news, commentary and opinion on workplace health and safety Sun, 27 May 2012 22:01:39 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 By: NSW inquiry into workers’ compensation illustrates short-termism « SafetyAtWorkBlog https://safetyatworkblog.com/2012/03/19/innovative-thinking-needed-if-australia-is-to-save-lives-and-improve-the-economy/#comment-1776 Sun, 27 May 2012 22:01:39 +0000 http://safetyatworkblog.com/?p=9967#comment-1776 […] has discussed the recent figures released by Safe Work Australia on injury and illness costs as a counterpoint to business sector claims of the “burden” of safety but IGPRC […]

]]> By: Les Henley https://safetyatworkblog.com/2012/03/19/innovative-thinking-needed-if-australia-is-to-save-lives-and-improve-the-economy/#comment-1775 Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:09:16 +0000 http://safetyatworkblog.com/?p=9967#comment-1775 I was interested to note the ‘cost to community’ of workplace injury but was disappointed to note that there are no details as to what these costs are or how this cost is allocated. I’d like to understand this more.
Sure, I understand that there is a subjective cost associated with pain & suffering and there is a productivity cost to families where a person is injured an unable to undertake their normal home duties but how do we arrive at the $73,000 (worker) and $28,000 (community) costs????
I am constantly encouraging our employees to make sure they obtain a WorkCover medical certificate from their doctor if they are injured at work – even if they don’t want to make a claim. This way our employer pays the medical costs and not Medicare (read taxpayer/community).
As to the ‘strategic thinking’ stuff, I tend to think that this is pretty much wasted effort, as the majority of injuries are suffered by persons ‘at the coalface’ and, generally speaking, these persons have no intellectual connection to anything ‘strategic’.
I tried reading some of the documents that are linked in the article above and I was quickly de-motivated even to try to decipher what it means to me as I try to advise front line and middle managers on risk management, whilst also attempting to get Executive Managers to take a realistic view of prevention of incidents and injuries.
In my experience, there is a significant disconnect between how Executives think and how middle managers think and how front line workers think.
Unless executives try to think like a worker, they will never communicate ‘strategy’ effectively and they will not manage middle and front line managers with a view to preventing incidents and injuries.
Putting it in simplistic terms, workers just want to do their job and go home – hopefully in the same condition as they came to work. However, this desire to ‘do their job’ is often the catalyst that leads to injuries – doing the ‘wrong thing’ for the ‘right reason’ either without recognising or not correctly assessing the risks associated with their action.
Until we can ‘sell’ the concept that ‘not finishing a job is preferable getting injured by rushing or taking shortcuts’ I believe we will continue to experience injuries.
And while ever the ‘bottom line’ is the motivating force for getting the job done we’ll never sell that concept to front line workers.
And while ever performance management places a heavier focus on ‘production’ and ‘profit’ with little or no regard to the cost impact of incidents, injuries and workers compensation costs then middle and front line managers will continue to fail to manage safety as they manage profit.
For example I am currently in a not-for-profit providing services to clients with disabilities. Can you believe that some managers expect that workers in this industry will be exposed to aggressive and violent behaviour from clients and hence it is expected that those workers will suffer injuries and still be expected to continue working with those same clients. Whilst ‘profit’ is not pushed as the motivating factor, ‘service to clients’ is paramount – and, in the minds of workers, this equates with ‘not adversely affecting funding and income streams’. And there are some workers who believe this same concept – they, like nurses, place the interests of their client above their own well being. little realsiing that if they are seriously injjured they won;t be able to provide services to those clients.
I have also worked in heavy and transport industries where it is ‘expected’ that maintenance personnel will suffer minor injuries when using tools in awkward positions – eg: spanners slip off bolts and knuckles get skinned on sharp edges.
While ever executive, senior and middle managers ‘expect’ or ‘accept’ that some injuries will occur in their industry there is no motivation to prevent them.
And we all know the incident ratio triangle don’t we? 600 near misses : 30 property damage : 10 minor injuries : 1 serious injury/fatality.
So for very 10 minor injuries we expected to experience we can expect at least one serious injury.
So for me ‘strategic WHS’ is about convincing senoir and middle managers that safety is good for profit and NO injury should be ‘expected’.

]]> By: Rosemary McKenzie-Ferguson https://safetyatworkblog.com/2012/03/19/innovative-thinking-needed-if-australia-is-to-save-lives-and-improve-the-economy/#comment-1774 Sun, 18 Mar 2012 23:13:03 +0000 http://safetyatworkblog.com/?p=9967#comment-1774 With all the safety legislation currently in place, with all the safety guidelines in place, with all the focus and intent in regard to workplace health and safety, the truth is that the number of workers who are injured made ill or contract a disease or die remains static.

Innovative thinking has been engaged for as long as I can remember, computer modelling has been used, research into best practices world wide has been under taken and endless reports written that now gather dust on shelves forgotten 5 minutes after the cocktail party launch of the report.

I have spoken with people within the safety industry about truly innovative thinking and true research.
Sadly what I had to offer was put into the “too hard” basket.
Hence sadly nothing will change.

]]> By: Bency George https://safetyatworkblog.com/2012/03/19/innovative-thinking-needed-if-australia-is-to-save-lives-and-improve-the-economy/#comment-1773 Sun, 18 Mar 2012 23:05:47 +0000 http://safetyatworkblog.com/?p=9967#comment-1773 Prevention is better than Cure. but the way the system works here is very strange. The managers and the OHS inspectors should change their attitude towards the poor injured workers. But they all gang up and cover up the true story. If everybody takes the issues as their own then the outcome will be much better than what we experience today.There are lots of policies and procedures in place but who is following them ? No one. Is anyone checking wheter these procedures are followed by the managers and inspectors? I doubt..

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