Your August TriEx Update
Recent reports from Australia about a rise of Silicosis cases has put the attention back on the dangers of silica dust. Silicosis is a condition of the lungs, caused by the exposure to silica dust over a long period of time. Health officials are referring to the dust as "the new asbestos". You can read more about this below.
Workplace stress and anxiety as risen by 30% across businesses since 2016. WorkSafe have highlighted improving mental health as part of their 10 year strategic plan, but many businesses are yet to address this area as part of their workplace health & safety. More about this below.
Workplace bullying and harassment (including sexual harassment) is also a serious issue for New Zealand. Studies suggest that up to one in three workers report experiencing some form of bullying or harassment each year. PCBU's have an obligation to address workplace bullying, and you can read more about this below.
And last but not least, during this time of year most people are using more electricity and electrical appliances, like electric heaters. It's important to ensure you're using these appliances safely, to avoid electric shocks or fires. More about this below.
Enjoy the read!
Ngā mihi nui, from the TriEx Team.
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Silica Dust
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Stay safe with electricity use
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Mental Health in the workplace
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Manual Handling
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Canterbury Safety Charter
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Bullying and Harassment
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Alarming Spike in Silicosis
A rise of Silicosis cases in Australia is leading to business insiders labelling silica dust as "the new asbestos". While Silicosis is declining worldwide, an increase in new cases in Australia has caused employment lawyers to call for a national ban on dry cutting techniques.
Silicosis is a condition of the lungs caused by exposure to silica dust over long periods of time. It develops slowly, over 10 to 15 years, and mostly commonly affects those who cut natural and artificial stone. The disease is incurable, and contributes to the 600 - 900 New Zealanders who die from work related illnesses each year.
Silica is a natural substance found in concrete, bricks, rocks, stone, sand and clay. Silica dust is created when materials containing silica are cut, ground, drilled or otherwise disturbed.
As a PCBU, you must eliminate risks of silica exposure that arise from your work so far as is reasonably practicable. If you can’t eliminate the risk, you must minimise it so far as is reasonably practicable.
To learn how our Occupational Hygienists can ensure your work practices are safe, click here or email enquiries@triex.co.nz
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Stay safe with electricity use
This is the time of year that people often bring out that old dusty heater from the garage for a bit of extra warmth. It's important to keep warm during the colder months, but even more so to make sure those appliances are safe to use. Loose connections can be deadly and cause electric shocks or fires.
Plugs, cords, and outlets like power boards need to be carefully wired and maintained to ensure they don’t cause electric shocks or fires.
Over time, the use of plugs and sockets can wear down the connection between the pins of the plug and the contacts of the socket (commonly known as power points). This can result in a loose connection that can cause electrical arcing which may result in a fire.
Keep an eye on the plugs and sockets in your home as they age, particularly in old homes where the wiring was not designed for the number of electrical appliances in use today.
To read WorkSafe's full toolkit on safe electricity use, click here.
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Mental Health in the workplace
Improving mental health in the workplace has been highlighted by WorkSafe as part of their 10 year strategic plan. This is in line with the obligation PCBU’s have under the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015, but many businesses aren’t addressing this area of concern.
Workplace stress and anxiety has risen by almost 30% across businesses since 2016, and over 40% of staff will come to work while sick, according to a survey conducted last year by Southern Cross Health Society.
Despite these figures and the increasing focus from WorkSafe, most workplaces have yet to acknowledge the impact poor mental health and overworking is having on its staff. The full scope of the often unmentioned issue is yet to be revealed.
Click here to go to the full story on the Gallagher Bassett News page.
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Manual Handling
Are sprains and strains a regular occurrence on your incident reports?
Workers may be at risk from lifting and carrying injuries particularly
when:
- completing repetitive tasks
- a load is too heavy, difficult to grasp, or too large
- the physical effort required is too strenuous
- they are required to bend and twist when handling loads
As a PCBU you have primary duties to provide and maintain a safe work environment, and provide information and training to protect workers from risks at work. However, workers also have a responsibility for their own health & safety. Our manual handling training will equip your team with the necessary skills to help prevent unnecessary injuries.
On-site Manual Handling Training can be conducted at your workplace with a maximum of 10 attendees per session. Each workshop is comprised of 60 minutes theory and 30 minutes practical.
To learn more about our Manual Handling training, click here.
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Canterbury Safety Charter
Making sure everyone goes home safe and healthy every night
The Canterbury Safety Charter was developed in the early days of the rebuild as a way of making sure everyone who works on a Canterbury construction site goes home safe and healthy every night. It’s an agreement on health and safety between more than 370 organisations – from small to large construction firms and from government organisations to NGOs – and sets the standards for a consistent approach to health and safety on Canterbury work sites.
The Charter puts out a monthly update which features profiles of Charter members, links to topical health and safety articles and legislative updates and guidance from WorkSafe. You can subscribe to the newsletter here on the Charter website.
The Charter team are happy to come and talk to your teams - they can run toolbox talks or focus on a health and safety issue you’re currently facing. Please contact the team here.
By demonstrating leadership and working together, we will build Canterbury safely and create a legacy we can be proud of.
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Bullying and Harassment
Workplace bullying and harassment (including sexual harassment) is a serious issue for New Zealand. Studies suggest that up to one in three workers report experiencing some form of bullying or harassment each year.
Bullying and harassment issues in the workplace are covered under sections of the Employment Relations Act 2000, and Health & Safety at Work Act 2015, and PCBU's have a responsibility to respond to incidents of bullying and harassment, and manage bullying in their workplace.
Psychosocial risks such as work-related stress, bullying and harassment (including sexual harassment) are a focus of WorkSafe’s 10-year strategic plan for improving work-related health.
Bullying and harassment is a known and common workplace risk. Managing this risk should be a standard part of every businesses approach to effective management of health and safety. You can learn more about responding to and managing workplace bullying at WorkSafe's website here.
Our Psychological First Aid course includes a segment on workplace bullying. To learn more about Psychological First Aid, click here.
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Welcome to the team
TriEx is going through tremendous growth currently, and we're excited to welcome these fantastic people to the team.
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Ritchie Verano
Registered Nurse
Auckland
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Kristy MacDonald
Occupational Health Nurse
Christchurch
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Workplace Training Calendar
Download our full training calendar here.
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Site Safe Construction Health and Safety Awards 2018
The Site Safe Construction Health and Safety Awards acknowledge people, sites or companies/organisations who have demonstrated innovation and leadership in helping to improve health and safety in the Construction Industry.
The Auckland Evening of Celebration will be held on Wednesday 7 November 2018. Regional events in Wellington and Christchurch will be held in the weeks following the Evening of Celebration. Applications for the awards open close September 1.
To enter see the categories and enter the awards, click here.
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TriEx is on the move!
As you're likely well aware, TriEx was acquired by Global Third Party Claims Administrator, Gallagher Bassett (GB) earlier this year. As such, we're moving into a brand new premises with the other Christchurch based GB business units.
Our new premises will include additional clinic and training rooms, allowing us greater capacity to provide quality customer service across all of our services.
We'll be notifying all of our clients of our new address and move date in due course. Keep an eye on our next newsletter for updates.
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WorkSafe have accepted enforceable undertakings from Plunket Electrical Oamaru Limited and McConnell Dowell Constructors Limited.
The enforceable undertakings were granted following an incident at Peaks Pump Station in North Otago in September 2016.
Three workers employed by Plunket Electrical Oamaru were installing a 1400kg switchboard when the switchboard tipped forward and struck one of the workers in the abdomen. The worker would have been crushed and trapped by the full weight of the switchboard had it not landed on a steel stand nearby. The worker was left with crush injuries to his abdomen including a spleen laceration.
McConnell Dowell Constructors were project managing the site while Plunket Electrical Oamaru was completing the installation. Both companies had obligations to the health and safety of workers under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and our investigation found their failures contributed to the unnecessary injury of the worker.
To read the full details of the enforceable undertaking, click here.
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An enforceable undertaking has been accepted from glass supply and glazing company Woods Glass (New Zealand) Limited, following an incident in January 2017 when a worker's leg was crushed in machinery.
The worker was injured when the glass cutting machine he was working with jammed.
The worker climbed onto the machine to see what had happened and as the jam was cleared the machine inadvertently began operating again, crushing the worker's leg.
He suffered a compound dislocation of his left ankle that required two weeks hospitalisation and more than two months off work.
Following the investigation into the incident, WorkSafe found that Woods Glass had failed its employee under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, including a lack of safe procedures and guarding involving the piece of machinery.
The injured worker felt that the enforceable undertaking was a constructive approach to what had occurred.
To read the full details of the enforceable undertaking, click here.
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To stay up to date with the WorkSafe NZ Prosecution summaries, you can check out their website here.
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Site Safe
Safety Liaison Groups
The minutes for the Northern Liaison Group are located here. The next meeting is on October 10, and look out for TriEx as we present at the next Civil meeting on September 5.
The minutes for the Wellington Liaison Group are located here. The next meeting is on October 25.
The minutes for the Southern Liaison Group are located here. The next meeting is on October 18.
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New Zealand Institute of Safety Management
The Canterbury branch events are available here including the Canterbury Roadshow on August 27.
The Auckland branch events are available here including the Auckland Branch Committee meeting on August 14.
The Wellington branch events are available here including the Wellington Branch Networking & CPD on September 4.
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