PF Olsen Aus logo.jpg

Safety Matters

Duties of Officers and the PCBU

Under the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act, an officer must exercise ‘due diligence’ to ensure that a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) is compliant with their duties. Although the WHS Act hasn’t been adopted in Victoria and Western Australia, the principles are the same for those States. An officer is a senior executive who is involved in decisions that affect the business or undertaking. This includes all people listed as Directors in your company documents. An officer can be held personally liable and be prosecuted for a failure to comply with their due diligence obligations.

READ MORE

Fatigue

What is fatigue? Fatigue is more than feeling tired and drowsy. In a work context, fatigue is a state of mental and/or physical exhaustion which reduces a person’s ability to perform work safely and effectively. It can occur because of prolonged mental or physical activity, sleep loss and/or disruption of the internal body clock. Fatigue can be caused by factors which may be work related, non-work related or a combination of both and can accumulate over time.

READ MORE

Haulage Safety

Truck Maintenance and Record Keeping More and more truck incident investigations are being conducted by the relevant State authorities. There is a growing need for truck owners and drivers to be able to demonstrate to these authorities that both the truck and driver were in a safe working condition prior to an incident taking place. Generally the bigger the consequences of the incident the more scrutiny both will come under.

READ MORE

Zero Harm Posters

In late December and early January, the PF Olsen Australia team sent out a new 2016 Wall Calendar with many of the important dates for the calendar year, we also included a few of the key forestry events occurring in 2016.

READ MORE

Sun Exposure

Guide: Cancer Council Australia has developed a comprehensive guide for people who work in the outdoors. The guide is aimed at employers to help develop the appropriate assessments and control measures. The document outlines control measures, guidelines and much more. To view and download the pdf please click on the link below. Skin cancer and outdoor work, A guide for employers

READ MORE

2015-16 Fire Season

Last week’s rain slowed the early start to the fire season in south eastern Australia, but only for a short period. The Bureau of Meteorology’s prediction for the next three months shows a low chance of exceeding medial rainfall in the south east and a high chance in the south west of Australia. It looks like it could be a busy fire season in the south east.

READ MORE

Snake Bite First Aid

Forestry workers in Australia frequently encounter snakes. Unlike other parts of the world, the majority of snakes in Australia are venomous.

READ MORE

News

Updated WorkSafe Tool- WorkSafe have updated their Injury Hotspots information.

READ MORE

Drug & Alcohol Testing

The impact of drugs and alcohol, and the directly related injuries and incidents, is a serious issue in the workplace. Many industries are taking a consistent approach to ensure that safety is not put at risk by persons under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the workplace.

READ MORE

Pre Employement

When employing a new employee it is vital that all the boxes are ticked prior to the employee commencing.

READ MORE