Industrial Safety News - Mar&Apr 2014

INDUSTRIAL

SafetyNews

PPE • ACCESS • HAZMAT • HEALTH • INJURY • MANAGEMENT • ENVIRONMENT • FOCUS

March - April 2014 VOL 9 NO. 1 Price $9

Wake up call for forestry New Zealand’s most dangerous industry

Toxic corrections • Fleet safety • Rules for drug tests Safely managing workplace chemicals is your responsibility.

We will help.

Cost-effective training customised to meet your needs.

Committed to ensuring dangerous goods and hazardous substances are in safe hands.

CALL: (04) 499 4311 OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY

Info@responsiblecarenz.com

Safe workplaces require

SOUND CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT

Employers must ensure employees are trained and equipped to safely handle dangerous goods and hazardous substances.

WE CAN HELP! Our experts deliver cost-effective training customized to meet your needs: HSNO Test Certification How to Implement HSNO in your Business

HSNO Approved Handler Managing a Chemical Emergency

CONTACT US TODAY TO DISCUSS YOUR SPECIFIC CHEMICAL TRAINING NEEDS.

Ph 04 499 4311

Email: info@responsiblecarenz.com Fax: 04 472 7100

OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY

ANOTHER RESPONSIBLE CARE NEW ZEALAND INITIATIVE

3

FIRST WORD

Zero Harm a passionate target for US health and safety expert Pike River and the Fonterra botulism scare are major accidents that began with small subtle undetected mistakes, the aftermaths of which have had or are having profound impacts on companies, industries and even society.

Errors happen every day, during every shift, and will occur as long as humans are doing the work,” explains Tom McDaniel, Global Manager Zero Harm and Human Performance at Siemens Energy.

“On average, a person will make 10-12 errors per hour, most of which have minimal consequences, so we often only worry about the tiny percentage that lead to disaster.”

He has worked in the energy industry for 34 years and is currently Siemens Energy global manager Zero Harm and Human Performance, where he leads the effort to achieve the goal of ‘zero harm’ for Siemens employees, customers and the public.

“Zero and harm are just two words that by themselves, even together, don’t mean very much,” Mr McDaniel says. “While the main focus is safety, I believe zero harm needs to be addressed across all aspects of a business – safety, production, customer relationships, the environment, and even in the financial area.”

He became involved with health and safety through his work in environmental safety in the nuclear industry. “However, back in the 1980s, the focus was ‘wear your personal protective equipment, follow the procedure, and everything will be OK’,” Mr McDaniel recalls.

“Then Three Mile Island happened and it really became clear to me that our current health and safety focus wasn’t working and there was an opportunity to bring change to industry.”

Since that time, the place of the individual in achieving safety goals has been a key interest and focus for Mr McDaniel, who strongly believes that people need to be empowered to take responsibility for health and safety. “I have seen so many serious incidents in my

March - April 2014

Mr McDaniel will speak at the 2014 New Zealand Wind Energy Conference in April

Three Mile Island happened and it really became clear that our current health and safety focus wasn’t working career and there wasn’t a single case where that person went into work that day intending to die,” he notes.

However, he still finds most safety people trying to fix the human rather than addressing the organisational weakness. “In my practice I teach a way for workers to have a bad day and still be safe and successful,” he explains.

Mr McDaniel’s extensive practical experience around the world has included the development of models for many organisations and

companies to enhance their safety, quality and reliability programmes.

“Just recently I was involved in two different fatality investigations with subcontractors,” he reveals.

“Even though they were in different countries conducting different tasks, both incidents were very similar in that both contained known ‘error-likely situations’ that a competent person would have noticed and addressed.”

Mr McDaniel says almost all tasks involve humans. “You can’t stop humans experiencing cognitive

error many times an hour,” he insists.

“Can your organisation live with that? What about violation behaviour? Can you see and predict that?

What are the potential impacts?

Can you build interventions between your workers and an incident?”

Understanding human performance can lead to many new actions, including the incident investigation that often end when a ‘culprit’ has been found, but which should be the beginning of the investigation as violation or human error is only the cause in rare cases.

Mr McDaniel will speak at the 2014 New Zealand Wind Energy Conference in April and will also present one-day workshops on Human Performance Fundamentals in Health and Safety in Auckland and Wellington.

www.isn.co.nz

4

THIS ISSUE

FEATURES

original state. Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty’s report says hazardous waste regulations and enforcement need fundamental changes if New Zealand is not to become more toxic than pure.

Fleet safety

Cover story – Forestry 12-25 Any industry whose workers have a 70 percent greater than average chance of being killed clearly has serious safety issues that need to be tackled without delay. The government has endorsed an independent review initiated by the Forest Industry Contractors Association and promised speedy action on it recommendations. This 14-page report examines the industry in detail and talks to those who will decide just how the country’s most dangerous industry can get its house in order. Kensington Swan’s Grant Nicolson and Olivia Mellor look at the legal implications while Impac Services director Peter Gibson sets out a strategy for the future.

30-33 Companies with five or more heavy goods service vehicles can now join ACC’s new Fleet Saver programme and get reduced motor vehicle levies for good road safety practices.

Less than 50 percent of Europe’s truckies wear a seat belt despite research which says at least half the fatalities would still be around if they had been belted in. Navman adds a new feature to identify drivers who compromise safety and lower fuel efficiency. A 600 bar pulsed water jet boosts kinetic energy by between five and 10 times - good news for fleet maintenance. Volvo Trucks develops a system that automatically retards the trailer and straightens up the rig on slippery downhill stretches.

Drug testing 36-37 Record rates of workplace drug tests don’t tell the whole story and many employers may be breaking the law says Council of Trade Unions general counsel Jeff Sissons.

REGULARS

Editor Geoff Picken 0212 507 559 geoff@ mediasolutions.net.nz Sales manager Pam Brown 0274 790 691 pam@mediasolutions.net.nz

Commentary 6 The lack of a safety culture in many workplaces means they simply keep on doing the same things over and over again until the crisis of a serious harm injury or death seems to take them by surprise says Concordia chief Hamish Brown.

26 Add the duties of a Hazardous Substances and New Organism (HSNO) Approved Handler and HSNO Person in Charge role to the increasingly complex responsibilities as a PCBU - as embodied in upcoming legislation says Responsible Care’s Barry Dyer.

www.isn.co.nz

Supporters Bata New Zealand Limited P21, Charles Parsons (Westex) P7, Emex R/C, Gracol Composites P35,Honeywell Safety Products P5, Klein Architects P11, McLeod Cranes P6, New Zealand Red Cross P17, Oliver footwear P15, Responsible Care F/C & P2, St. John P39 & 40, Terrain Industries P13

Managing partner Phil Pilbrow 027 564 7778 phil@mediasolutions.net.nz

Publisher Mike Bishara 027 564 7779 mike@mediasolutions.net.nz

Design & pre-press Jamie Laurie jlaurie@hayleymedia.com

Subscriptions mail@mediasolutions.net.nz Rates: $30 incl GST and postage for 5 issues, plus digital editions to five email addresses.

Overseas rates available on request.

Web development Neo Chen 021 507 318 neo@appsolutions.co.nz

OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY

34 A high performance recycled plastic cribbing system engineered to provide optimum safety and durability when stabilising heavy loads and, in the US, a new robotic manikin talking head has been developed for respirator fit research.

8 When seeking replacements for the scrapped ACC Worksafereps health and safety training scheme it makes a lot of sense that WorkSafe is not just a regulator but is also involved in improving the knowledge, understanding and education of reps reckons CTU boss Peter Conway .

9 The MBIE has paid out $1.1million in redundancy to expe- Preventing and responding to workplace bullying rienced staff who do not want to sit a test resulting in fewer safety inspectors on the ground than at the time of Pike River disaster.

9 WorkSafe New Zealand deals a blow to workplace FEBRUARY 2014

27-29 Even when remediation of toxic waste sites is deemed successful, it is very expensive, with the taxpayer taking the brunt of the expense. Sites are almost never returned to their

Innovation

News

BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES

Toxic Waste

bullies with the production of guidelines to help employees and employers handle the issue.

10 An enhanced range of ACC support for people with injury-related hearing loss will come into effect on 1 July.

10-11 Specialist health architectural firm Klein wins the first 4 Green Star Design rating awarded by the New Zealand Green Building Council for a medical facility.

ISN is endorsed by NZ Safety Council

March - April 2014

5

CONTENT PARTNERS

Seimens’ Tom McDaniel on targetting zero harm – page 3

Concordia MD Hamish Brown discusses warning signs – page 6

Editor Geoff Picken on plans for forestry sector safety – pages 12-23

Kensington Swan partner Grant Nicholson on law changes – page 22-23

Kensington Swan solicitor Olivia Moller on law changes – page 22-23

Impac Services director Richard Gibson plots a way forward– page 24

Responsible Care CEO Barry Dyer calls for accountability – page 22-23

Green MP Catherine Delahuntly chases toxic waste remedies– page 27-29

www.isn.co.nz Free access online to an interactive digital edition.

Free access to the industry’s most comprehensive, key word searchable archives in eight key industrial safety categories: PPE, Access, Hazmat, Health, Injury, Management, Environment, Focus.

Free access to daily updated news with the ISN online carousel

The more comfortable the earplug, the longer it will be worn.

Introducing Howard Leight FirmFit™ foam earplugs, independently tested to be 40% softer with 29% lower expansion pressure than other similar earplugs. So soft, your workers will want to wear them all day long.

For more information call 0800 322 200 or visit www.honeywellsafety.com

Printed by Crucial Colour 24 Fairfax Aveenue, Penrose, Auckland +64 9 589 1550 Published by Media Solutions Ltd Level 2, 9 Anzac St, Takapuna PO Box 31397, Milford 0741 09 489 8663

March - April 2014

www.isn.co.nz

6

COMMENTARY – Management

Safety culture’s warning signals Nobody wants a serious workplace accident or death, but the inability of many New Zealand workplaces to read the warning signs should be a wake-up call that is not to be ignored.

Many workplaces simply keep on doing the same things over and over again until the crisis of a serious harm injury or death seems to take them by surprise.

Investigations continue to demonstrate that, “There were a number of practical steps which would have prevented the incident”.

Even now, it has taken the death of 10 forestry workers to suddenly discover that 150 forestry based workplaces were not complying with safety regulations. Fifteen have been shut down because of serious imminent danger to workers.

Recognising the early warning signs that a safety culture is compromised may mean the difference between life, debilitating injury or death.

www.isn.co.nz

It is well-proven that even when there is compliance with all the right processes, safety equipment, and safety audits, these can be undone in an instant by a disengaged employee or contractor. The results could be catastrophic for your business, your clients and your investors.

Here are a few simple things you can do to improve your business’s health and safety culture: • make sure the people you appoint as supervisors understand the importance of safety culture – they need to be trained to support, mentor, and help employees understand and live your safety culture • measure your health and safety culture with our preliminary Safety Culture Litmus Test that

will signal if your safety culture is a risk factor - your accountant would never guess the financial status of your business, so no one should attempt to guess something as important as safety culture.

• check to see if employees feel comfortable raising safety issues with their supervisor/manager.

• find out if employees from one trade feel comfortable approaching someone from another trade if they see them in an unsafe situation • can employees refuse unsafe work and do they feel they can exercise that right?

The safest workplaces are ones where management trusts employees enough to refuse unsafe work - when so entrusted, this trust is rarely abused • are employees encouraged to report incidents and close calls?

• does the company have an incentive programme that discourages incident reporting?

• are reports of unsafe conditions addressed promptly?

There are compelling reasons for establishing an effective safety culture other than saving lives and reducing injuries.

Improved business reputation and quality assurance, increased employee engagement, and reduced operational costs are just some of them.

Safety culture is a powerful leadership tool for improving productivity and financial performance. It is inexpensive to maintain, and ensures everyone is mindful about risk and takes responsibility for keeping themselves and others safe.

We have over 10,000 survey results from managers and employees who continually reinforce research which says 80% of an organisation’s safety culture is determined by senior and supervisory leaders.

We’ve seen serious harm injuries go from 18 per year to zero within twelve months once management ‘get’ the importance of an effective safety culture.

Once management makes the mind shift from safety being a compliance issue to a business strategy that delivers competitive advan-

tage, their considerable skills can be focused on targeting zero harm.

The reason any passenger who randomly flew on a US domestic jet every day would go approximately 19,000 years before dying in a fatal accident is mostly about airline executives understanding that the safety of their passengers is a business issue.

Today the health and safety of employees is unquestionably a business issue: • employees expect to go home safe • clients do not want to be tainted by their suppliers’ poor safety records • banks and investors are recognising that there is a link between well-managed safety and a well managed business.

The collapse of Pike River’s business and the shutdown of others because of poor safety culture should send clear signals.

Knowing about your safety culture can provide invaluable warnings – you’ll know about the safety of your most important assets, and you’ll also be forewarned about whether your employees are, in effect, sitting in the departure lounge waiting for a better, more caring employer.

The ability to see the warning signals starts with measurement – until that happens it is likely you won’t know what you don’t know.

Hamish Brown is managing director of Concordia NZ, workplace and safety culture specialists that help organisations understand their own strengths and weaknesses to make informed strategic choices through effective measurement and understanding of their own culture.

09 585 0333 www.concordianz.com

March - April 2014

8

NEWS

Safety scheme scrutiny provides points to ponder Several key issues will have to be considered in any replacement of the scrapped Accident Compensation Commission’s (ACC) Worksafereps health and safety training scheme, a union leader insists.

Council of Trade Unions (CTU) secretary Peter Conway believes the consultation paper currently being prepared by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) will need to take account of the role of the representatives.

“The reps will not only need to be able to cover the new health and safety powers, there’s also the question of the transition for all existing reps who haven’t been trained around the new powers,” he maintains.

“I think there’s also issues regarding the core competencies of a rep, whether there’s going to be a registration system, the funding model and if there’s going to be government funding – which we hope there is.”

He is particularly concerned about the role of WorkSafe New Zealand. “It makes a lot of sense that WorkSafe is not just a regulator but is also involved in improving the knowledge, understanding and education of reps,” Mr Conway believes. “It also seems to make sense that the new model should be run

by Worksafe.”

However, he concedes the need to “wait and go through the process” to hear the views of all other parties involved, including Business NZ and WorkSafe. “There’s a very real issue of spread across the workforce and there’s always going to be an issue of where the costs lie,” he adds.

Other issues include the status of a rep and whether there will be a formal registration system held

by WorkSafe New Zealand, not to mention the substantive role of WorkSafe and its role in this space.

“Those are just some of the issues but there’s a lot more and that will become plain from the discussion paper that the government will issue,” Mr Conway explains.

The CTU is being consulted as a union representative, although it has a $700,000-a-year contract to provide health and safety rep-

www.isn.co.nz

resentative training under the Worksafereps programme until the end of December this year.

The 10-year-old, government-funded health and training scheme was recently scrapped by ACC Minister Judith Collins, who believes that the $19 million programme with the CTU, Business New Zealand and private provider Impac Services Ltd hasn’t provided value for money.

The Worksafereps programme is being reviewed as part of the forthcoming Health & Safety Reform Bill, which outlines new powers for health and safety reps an MBIE spokesman explains. “They can only use those powers if they are appropriately trained, so we are defining the competencies required for people to be able to discharge those new powers,” MBIE Health, Safety & Compensation Systems Policy, Labour Environment Branch, Labour and Commercial Environment Group Manager Rob Hodgson says.

He notes that MBIE is “working within a framework” where some competencies are already set down in regulations. “We’re going to see if they are still fit for purpose, and if not how we change them,” he adds. “That’s going to involve working with the training providers to test those competencies, and also having another think about the approvals process for training providers.”

The MBIE is also looking at when subsidised training is appropriate as well as ways of measuring the competency and impact of health and safety representatives. “That will help with any negotiations about investment in health and safety training,” Mr Hodgson maintains.

Proposals for the first phase of regulations that includes worker participation are expected to be released for consultation in April, in time for relevant regulations to be drafted before the Bill becomes law

Judith Collins

in April 2015.

Part of ‘Working Safer: a blueprint for health and safety at work’, the new bill is based on recommendations made by the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety to achieve a 25 per cent reduction in the workplace injury and death toll by 2020.

The Health and Safety Reform Bill will create the new Health and Safety at Work Act, replacing the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.

The forthcoming legislation will specify powers and functions for representatives and committees, including the powers for trained health and safety representatives to direct unsafe work to cease (balanced by safeguards against improper use) and issue a provisional improvement notice to an employer requiring them to address a health and safety concern in the workplace.

The reform package also includes an overhaul of the law, supported by clear, consistent guidelines and information for business on their requirements, more funding for WorkSafe New Zealand to strengthen enforcement and edu-

Peter Conway

cation and implement the changes and a focus on high-risk areas.

Other major elements include a stronger focus on occupational harm and hazardous substances, better coordination between government agencies, improved worker participation and stronger penalties, enforcement tools and court powers.

Whatever the outcome of the review, there will clearly be significant changes to the existing Worksafereps programme, which has been delivering health and safety representative training since 2003.

Worksafereps is currently the largest provider of this training in New Zealand, having developed a threestage training programme that has seen all three courses approved under part 19G (1) and 46A of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.

The organisation has worked with employers and trained workers from across New Zealand in a wide range of industries, working extensively in both metropolitan and provincial centres to train some 2,000 workers last year alone.

March - April 2014

9

NEWS

The cost of stripping safety supervisors More than $1.1 million was spent making health and safety inspectors redundant last year, leaving fewer inspectors than at the time of the Pike River disaster.

MP Shane Jones says the closest the replacements have got to wood is shuffling paper.

Despite vowing to increase the number of inspectors, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment offered experienced staff the option of taking redundancy if they did not want to sit a new test.

Those who did not meet the standards required by the test were also offered redundancy, or to be able to sit it test again in 12 months.

Figures released under the Official Information Act show 17 health and safety inspectors took redundancy under the programme during 2013, with an average payout of $67,000.

The redundancies came as the number of health and safety inspectors dropped from 146 at the end of 2012 to 129 at the end of 2013.

WorkSafe, the Crown agency established to oversee reform of workplace health and safety, says it is on track to increase the number of inspectors to 200 by the end of 2016.

WorkSafe human resources manager Janine Hearn says the Pike River Royal Commission and Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety showed the regulator had to “improve the quality of its work”.

The strategy to improve was “about lifting capability first, and numbers second”, Ms Hearn says, with the implementation of technical tests for all staff.

However, critics say the changes have stripped vast institutional knowledge from the

Beating the bullies with WorkSafe New Zealand Best practice guidelines on workplace bullying released recently

by WorkSafe New Zealand are a big step forward in support and guidance for businesses and individuals regarding a prevalent workplace hazard.

The “Preventing and responding to workplace bullying” guidelines encourage and support people in taking early self-help action against workplace bullying before seeking assistance from WorkSafe NZ or the mediation service offered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

Developed with the MBIE, the guidelines seek to support employees and employers to respond to situations before they get out of hand and to achieve workplace-based solutions.

WorkSafe NZ general Manager, High Hazards & Specialist Services Brett Murray says WorkSafe NZ wanted to help people deal proactively with the issue themselves and to promote healthy work cultures.

“Bullying in the workplace is a difficult issue for everyone concerned,” Mr Murray says. “It affects people’s

March - April 2014

personal health in a variety of ways, and also seriously impacts business productivity.”

The guidelines are available on WorkSafe NZ’s website, along with several online tools including: • an ‘Am I Being Bullied’ checklist • a flowchart of actions for dealing with being bullied • a calculator tool for employers to assess the cost of bullying • a workplace assessment tool that measures organisational culture with a view to preventing bullying.

Mr Murray said the guidelines are the first in New Zealand to provide a clear definition of bullying while also offering specific and targeted advice for both employees and employers. “We wanted to take the issue of bullying out of the toohard basket,” he adds.

Advice for employees ranges from

workforce, with a former inspector who took redundancy claiming the trainees would be “of no practical value” for at least two years as they learnt about the industries.

Labour MP Shane Jones says the system was incentivising highly experienced staff to leave, adding that he had been told the replacements were typically those who had office jobs beforehand, such as bank managers, who would have little or no practical experience in dangerous work places.

“I can quite guarantee they’ve never been in a forest before – the closest they’ve got to wood is shuffling paper,” Mr Jones claims.

“You cannot import expertise and imagine it replaces experience.”

BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES

Preventing and responding to workplace bullying FEBRUARY 2014

how to assess if you are being bullied and recording instances of bullying behaviour to a range of low-key solutions, while advice for employers includes how to best

respond to reports or allegations of bullying as well as promoting a healthy and respectful work environment.

www.isn.co.nz

10

NEWS

Greater clarity for injury-related hearing loss

An enhanced range of support for people with injury-related hearing loss will come into effect on 1 July 2014.

The changes apply to those aged 18 and over regardless of whether hearing loss is partially or totally injury-related, and are aimed at providing better support for people’s changing needs over time.

“The changes provide more financial support towards obtaining hearing devices such as hearing aids, including an extra allowance to cover consultations with audiologists, and a new contribution towards ear moulds,” says ACC’s general manager of claims management Sid Miller. “When you look at the total package of support available, all clients will be better off under this new approach.”

There’s also a simplified approach to determining the support available, with the current ten ‘bands’ used to identify support for different levels of injury-related hearing loss replaced by three broader bands. “The exact level of increased support will depend on which band you fall into, and how many hearing devices you require.”

Mr Miller says the extra consultation allowance, which is separate to the fee paid to cover the fitting of hearing devices, will help clients who wish to shop around for devices.

“Clients will be able to seek two funded consultations every six years, to compare options from different audiologists to meet their hearing loss needs.”

ACC will also support multiple repairs per device from July, up to a fixed amount.

Mr Miller says the changes take into account feedback received from the hearing loss sector, to find out how ACC can better support clients.

“We want to help more with clients’ ongoing needs,” he adds.

“This means not only providing support for the purchase and fit-

www.isn.co.nz

ting of hearing devices, but also meeting downstream needs such as repairs and obtaining support such as ear moulds.”

Generally, ACC supports people with injury-related hearing loss, and the Ministry of Health (MOH) supports people with health-related hearing loss.

However, ACC acts as a ‘one stop shop’ for people who have a combination of both injuryand health- related hearing loss, providing jointly funded support packages from ACC and MOH. Key changes at a glance: • simpler model for determining level of support available – three bands of support, down from 10 • extra consultation allowance – this allows two consultations with different audiologists every six years, so clients can ‘shop around’ for a suitable hearing device compared to the previous situation where one consultation was covered as part of the fitting fee • flat fitting fee regardless of level of hearing loss – the previous fee was graduated according to level of hearing loss • higher contribution towards hearing devices for all clients (taking into account new contribution rates and inflationary adjustments) • new funding for ear moulds (devices worn inside ear for protection and to help conduct sound) • support for multiple repairs – clients can now seek any number of repairs, up to a fixed limit per device, over a two-year period.

Previously, one payment per client was covered every two years.

New hospital wins first green building award for a medical facility Specialist health architectural firm Klein has achieved the first 4 Green Star Design rating awarded by the New Zealand Green Building Council for a medical facility.

The project team scooped this honour for the sustainably designed $55 million Forte Hospital which was recently opened by Prime Minister John Key. Located in the heart of Christchurch’s Red Zone area, the building marks a significant and historic milestone as the first significant new building to be completed in the red zone since the 2011 earthquake.

The state-of-the-art surgical facility situated on Peterborough St replaces the Oxford Clinic building that incurred significant earthquake damage and was later demolished in 2012.

Klein’s award-winning work within the New Zealand health sector won the commission in 2012 from Forte Health to complete the specialist interior fit-out, working with Ruth Whitehead and the base-build architects Wilson and Hill.

“An important part of the client brief was to create an interior that was both environmentally sound and sustainable so we have incorporated a whole raft of initiatives

aimed at making it as energy efficient as possible,” says project lead architect Melanie Mason.

“The key challenge for us was the speed of the project. Construction of the building commenced while we were still finishing design of the fit-out,” Ms Mason notes.

“Design was completed in just eight months and from start to finish the complex took only 18 months to construct, which is a remarkable feat.”

The buildings roll call of eco credentials include solar power, smart lighting system, heat recovery air conditioning system, waste reduction and a specialist built in energy optimising building management system.

Unlike similar medical buildings the architects incorporated an atrium in an attempt to allow natural light to permeate into areas of the building that would normally be forced to rely on artificial light.

This clever design tactic has allowed light to flood into the four operating theatres and 12 bed recovery areas, helping to make these areas

March - April 2014

11

NEWS

The operating room

The waiting room Photo credit: Stephen Goodenough

The recovery room much more pleasant environments, while the overall interior has been carefully crafted around the specialist needs of patients and staff.

Forte Health’s general manager Dorothy Paton says the specialists and stakeholders are thrilled with the environment that has been cre-

ated for patients, visitors and staff.

“The building has been designed by healthcare professionals, which has provided the best outcome for all,” she believes.

Klein recently completed other major projects such as the new five-storey clinical services building

at Middlemore Hospital in South Auckland for Counties Manukau DHB, a $140 million, 30,000m development that saw the creation of 14 operating theatres, a 43-bed recovery suite and a 42-bed assessment and planning unit.

Committed to healthcare design for over 20 years

March - April 2014

Klein is continuing to work in Christchurch leading the master planning and health design of the major redevelopment of the Burwood Health Campus, which is now under construction.

listen

design

resolve

www.isn.co.nz

12

FOCUS – Forestry

Cutting the misery toll out of forestry One of New Zealand’s most hazardous industries is about to get a long-overdue health and safety shake up Any industry whose workers have a 70 percent greater than average chance of being killed clearly has serious safety issues that need to be tackled without delay.

Especially when 10 workers in that industry were killed last year alone, and another fatality occurred a mere 16 days into the new year.

Alarming though they are, these forestry industry statistics are merely the tip of the iceberg.

WorkSafe New Zealand figures indicate that some 967 forest workers suffered significant injuries in the 2008-2103 period, many losing limbs or being otherwise maimed.

www.isn.co.nz

March - April 2014

FOCUS – Forestry The rate of Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) claims for the forestry industry is six times the national average – twice that of the mining and infrastructure sectors and three times that of manufacturing.

Latest available figures show that forestry workers suffered some 200 serious harm injuries in 2012 at a cost of $2 million and a total cost for all active ACC claims of $10 million.

This despite the 2012 launch of the revised Approved Code of Practice for Safety and Health in Forest Operations, a massive 100-plus page tome drafted by the industry itself in an effort to cut the number of serious harm incidents in major serious harm areas such as tree felling and breaking out.

The code spells out precise safety requirements with the employer tasked with ensuring that employ-

Practice Approved Code of th in al for Safety and He ns Forest Operatio

DOL 12241 MAR

13

DECEMBER 2012

No real effect to date

ee training “includes nutrition and hydration, and the negative impact of stress, fatigue, and substance abuse to the level of an appropriate NZQA unit standard.”

Yet accidents are still occurring at a frightening rate, making the Minister of Labour’s target of reducing workplace deaths and serious injuries by at least 25 percent by 2020 ever more difficult to achieve.

The recent decision by the Forest Owners, Forest Industry Contractors and Farm Forestry Associations to appoint an Independent Forestry Safety Review (see sidebar) has therefore come none too soon.

The appointment of the independent panel and its terms of reference have been endorsed by forest industry organisations, ACC, relevant government agencies, the Council of Trade Unions and the Business Leaders’ Health & Safety Forum.

The government itself has also been quick to sanction the sixmonth-long review and Minister of Labour Simon Bridges is promising to introduce new forestry safety legislation that increases owners’ responsibilities while also including worker participation.

Successful steps The current situation is particularly puzzling as the sector reduced reported injuries from around 450 a year in 2005 to 320 in 2012, thanks to several key initiatives including random drug testing, a forestry action plan, on-site safety training and reviews of codes of practice.

The recent spike in reported accidents has coincided with

13 rising demand from voracious markets from countries such as China, which has put pressure on all sectors of the industry to meet tight deadlines.

Some 78 percent of workers reported working more than a 45-hour week and 20 percent more than 60 hours, a recent study found, as forestry owners and contractors struggled to meet export orders.

CTU president Helen Kelly believes these long hours have played a major role in the rising injury rates, and would like to see a number of industry changes take place immediately.

“I would like to see Labour Minister Simon Bridges regulate the hours of work to control the fatigue many of the forestry workers face,” she says.

“Many of them leave home at 4am and do not return until after 7pm, then they get up the next day and do it all again sometimes six days a week.”

Ms Kelly says there was so much focus on drug testing forestry workers but no one seemed concerned about extreme fatigue.

“We all know what it is like to be sleep deprived,” she observes.

“There are no lighting requirements when people are working early in the morning or late at night and there are no rules about very hot or very cold temperatures these workers work in.”

She maintains that industry training needs to be reviewed and the

ability for the employer to deem a worker incompetent or not should be removed. “We need to stop the deaths happening in a growing industry.”

In addition, forest owners needed across-the-board standards for forest workers to remove the competition between contractors over labour costs. “These standards should include proper pay rates, hours of work, travel time compensation, compensation for bad weather call-offs, training provisions and shelter,” Ms Kelly argues.

“If these were in place and priced properly, all forest owners would have to meet the cost of them in the contracting process and share a bit more of the profit with the rest of the industry.”

Worksafe’s Gregor Coster – prepared to take the issue to the boardroom Code check Her views have been heeded by the Crown’s new workplace monitoring agency WorkSafe New Zealand, which is reviewing the industry’s code of practice and will make changes that would “clarify” operators’ responsibilities.

WorkSafe chairman Gregor Coster says the current code of practice

Fast Facts • Forestry is New Zealand’s third-largest export sector • The industry generates almost $4 billion in export revenue a year • New Zealand is one of the top 20 global suppliers of forestry products • Some 1.79 million hectares are planted in exotic production – mostly pinus radiata • Trees in New Zealand reach maturity in 25-30 years, faster than anywhere else in the world • The accident rate in New Zealand forests is almost identical to that in British Columbia, where the terrain is very similar • British and Australian accident rates are about 10 percent lower

March - April 2014

than New Zealand, possibly because the terrain is easier in those countries • The death rate in the United Kingdom forestry industry is 10.4 per 100,000 workers - in New Zealand it is 343 per 100,000 • There are approximately 7,000 workers in the industry in New Zealand and about 14,000 in the United Kingdom • Local forestry workers earn at least a third less than those in Norway, Finland, Sweden, the UK, Australia, Canada, the US and Japan a 2006 study showed – with only Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea workers receiving less.

www.isn.co.nz

14

FOCUS – Forestry

Helen Kelly wants to regulate working hours. She says there was so much focus on drug testing forestry workers but no one seemed concerned about extreme fatigue.

AT 55-222 was more focused on the “worker on the hill”. “The key is that forestry owners, managers and contractors must do more to protect the men and women on the bush line – that is why WorkSafe

A NEW DIMENSION

New Zealand is prepared to take this issue to the board room,” he says. “These are real, practical steps which can improve the health and safety environment for workers in forests.”

AT 55-222

code and involvement in the inquiry, I am joining the WorkSafe NZ Chief Executive, General Managers and Chief Inspectors in taking the message directly to the owners and managers in the forestry sector,” Professor Coster explains.

These face-to-face meetings build on the 164 inspections of the industry’s 330 logging contractors undertaken since August 2013, which resulted in more than 200 enforcement actions, including 14 operations being shut down.

That means 9.3 percent of the industry had potentially fatal or injurious health and safety failings, while 182 enforcement notices were issued, suggesting more than one safety shortcoming was identified at some of the 150 operators.

Nearly half or 89 of the enforcement notices were due to system failures such as the lack of health and safety plans such as a clear plan for a safe retreat distance during log hauling.

Seven of those shut down for imminent danger were in the East Coast region, two in Waikato, two

WorkSafe New Zealand will also provide secretariat support to the Independent Forestry Safety Review.

“In addition to WorkSafe New Zealand’s proposed changes to the

A NEW DIMENSION

The Oliver AT 55-222 hAs TAken The humble elAsTic sided bOOT TO A new dimensiOn wiTh A wATer resisTAnT nubuck leATher, Tectuff® TOe bumper plus All The TrAdiTiOnAl Oliver feATures Of cOmfOrT, durAbiliTy And sAfeTy prOTecTiOn. The new AT 55-222 jOins The highly successful All TerrAin series Of wOrk bOOTs prOviding innOvATive sAfeTy fOOTweAr sOluTiOns fOr All demAnding wOrk envirOnmenTs.

LOVE YOUR FEET MORE

discOver mOre AT:

www.isn.co.nz

March - April 2014 AT55-222

FOCUS – Forestry

pa

es Dialogue

External influenc

n

ork W cess pro

e

Per so pol nnel icy

log u

rk Wo ies vit acti

Work has begun on developing a new D injury prevention com ialog pet ue programme aimed enc Dia logue e ue compe at encouraging log e tence Dia etenc p safer practices in the Work t com y Managemen o r g an a n forestry sector. isatio mp rces n staff hiring o C ou The ACC Forestry res on Sector Injury PreSupervisi vention Programme will be developed and implemented in collaboration with WorkSafe New Zealand, the NZ Forest Owners Association (FOA), the Forestry Industry Contractors Association (FICA) and the Council of Trade Unions (CTU).

ACC’s Head of Insurance Products and Injury Prevention, David Simpson, says the safety record of New Zealand’s forestry industry has lagged behind other New Zealand industries, as well as forestry sectors globally, for the past 18 months.

“Recent fatalities, 11 since January 2013, have highlighted ongoing safety concerns,” he notes. “This new initiative represents a concerted, collaborative approach by key sector players to address these concerns.”

The ACC programme will involve eight separate streams of work, aimed at developing clearer, effective guides for workers on the ground, to influence them to make safer choices in their day-to-actions.

“Likely outputs of the programme include workshops and educational resources, such as assessment tools, videos and case studies, designed to address the range of tasks and situations that workers face on the job,” Mr Simpson adds.

The ACC programme is intended to complement the independent review of forestry safety, launched in January by FICA and FOA, which will address a broader palette of issues affecting safety in the sector.

ACC’s programme will focus on how the organisation can help workers and employers make safer decisions, minute by minute, on the job. “The FICA and FOA review may address these factors, but it’s also likely to explore bigger picture issues such as how the sector is organised, how compliance is enforced and more,” Mr Simpson explains.

A programme steering committee comprising key stakeholders and worker representatives will meet regularly and act as an advisory group, to support and advise ACC on how best to design and implement the programme.

“By bringing together those who oversee the industry and those who work on the ground, we believe we’ll be able to get a much better understanding of what the issues are, and how we can solve them.”

ACC will fund the FOA to lead the development and implementation of the programme, but Mr Simpson stresses its collaborative nature. “Each party involved has their own important perspective to contribute, and I’m sure this will make for more successful outcomes,” he says. “We all agree that any fatality or injury is one too many, and we’re determined to work together to make the forestry industry safer.”

www.isn.co.nz

Source: FAO

t

Com

nmen

Company organisation

ue log D ia

Worker

Enviro

ct bje ny o

ives

Manager/supervisor

visio

March - April 2014

Employer

r Supe

Standards slipping CTU president Helen Kelly isn’t surprised by the enforcement notice rate, which shows operators were not complying with the most basic standards, which had already been set too low.

“It actually shows us that this industry is not capable of regulating itself and it needs the government to step in,” Ms Kelly maintains.

“Clearly these workers are working too long, in poor conditions, in the rain, in the bad weather.”

The Forestry Contractors Association, meanwhile, puts much of the blame for the mayhem on the recent restructuring of the Accident Compensation Corporation and the reorganisation of safety inspection services that it says contributed to the increase in logging injuries and deaths.

Restructuring has caused a delay in inspections and in accident prevention work in forests, it says, while funding for joint safety programmes was withheld for 18 months and is only now resuming.

Chief executive John Stulen says forestry inspections have been neglected for years and the industry doesn’t know how many inspectors are used to monitor forestry contractors – but that more than nine would be needed to cover all the work sites.

“The inspectors have been under-resourced and a number of them left the inspectorate because they were so frustrated by, in actual fact, two or three years of restructuring,” he claims. “I guarantee you the rate of inspections they are

Avoiding accidents programme prerogative

Dia

in Northland, and one each were in the Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay and Wellington.

WorkSafe New Zealand general manager health and safety operations Ona de Rooy is understandably concerned that so many enforcement notices have been issued. “There is no excuse for any operator not to know what is expected of them,” she insists.

“We are now holding the industry to account, and each player in the sector must step up and take responsibility for making better safety decisions.”

15

16 doing now is not sustainable with their current inspectorate workforce.” (see sidebar) The terrible irony is, he says, that he has been in this industry 32 years and every year except 2013 a significant portion of the injury prevention funds were directed into active work. “However, not one dollar was spent in 2013,” Mr Stulen maintains, adding that the injury prevention funds pool is currently “$500,000-600,000” per year.

Government departmental restructuring meant that every meeting

FOCUS – Forestry the association attended in 2013 saw different managers. “They were all brand new each time and all claimed they had to be fully briefed before they could approve anything,” he claims. “So we took four meetings, received not a dollar – meanwhile Rome was burning.”

The association, which represents 200 companies that comprise 60 percent of the harvesting industry and employ some 3,500 of the sector’s 6,000-plus employees, is committed to improving safety standards.

Many of its members belong to the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum, which is committed to the Zero Harm concept. “The ideal situation is No Hand on the Saw, No Man on the Hill – that’s our objective,” Mr Stulen adds.

The slogan references a possible long-term solution to the problem, namely the increased mechanisation that could apply to 80 percent of forestry sites but is, needless to say, expensive.

Developments such a grapple machine with a camera that can be

operated from the yarder to replace breaker-outs, and a harvesting machine to replace felling with chainsaws on steep slopes could revolutionise the industry.

These machines are currently being trialled, but probably won’t be available before the harvesting of a huge volume of wood that is due to come on stream from 2018 onwards following plantings on erosion-prone land in the early 1990s.

Complex composition Forest Owners’ Association chief

Safety watchdog gets sharper teeth Help could soon be hand for beleaguered forestry owners, contractors and workers keen to improve site safety standards.

There are currently seven inspectors who focus on forestry with a further three trainees and plans are afoot to add substantially more, according to the WorkSafe New Zealand manager responsible.

Programme Manager Forestry & Agriculture Grant Duffy says the inspectors will be placed in the areas where most of the logging work is going on throughout New Zealand – Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Manawatu, Nelson/Marlborough, Canterbury, and Otago/Southland.

“Over the last 10 years, the numbers have only fluctuated by one or two – a function of resignations and retirements rather than any structural change in the organisation,” he says. “They can also, where necessary, draw on support from the wider health and safety inspectorate team.”

Mr Duffy says WorkSafe New Zealand and its predecessor, the Health and Safety Group of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, have been through a significant restructuring of its inspectorate that has “freed up a considerable amount of time” for the forestry specialists.

www.isn.co.nz

“Previously, they were involved in assessments – the proactive work – and investigations, which involved significant time at desks interviewing and preparing material for enforcement action,” he adds.

Now they are completely focused on the proactive work and therefore have more time to devote to that work, Mr Duffy maintains. “Over the past two years, we have also instituted a nationally coordinated programme, which means the team is clear on its objectives and is operating consistently across regions.”

The programme includes a formal plan for proactive workplace assessments, essentially unannounced visits to crews, crew managers and principals such as forest companies, with cable hauling and breaking out operations at more than 200 sites having been assessed since August last year.

The second phase in the programme of safer forest harvesting was launched at the end of February, and will see WorkSafe New Zealand begin a programmed series of visits to crews, crew managers and principals focusing on tree felling.

As such, the programme reflects the capability and capacity rebuilding that has formed a key part of inspectorate changes. “The first step has been capability and now WorkSafe New Zealand is moving into building numbers and took on 29 new entrants last year, including the three mentioned above,” Mr Duffy explains.

“Further tranches of new entrants are planned for this year and we expect that we will continue to be able to build additional capacity into the team working in forestry.”

March - April 2014

FOCUS – Forestry executive David Rhodes welcomes the independent inquiry but notes that the industry had an ownership “mosaic” of owners, lessees and contractors that made it hard to draft fully comprehensive rules. “It’s quite difficult trying to come up with an approach that will cover everything,” he insists.

Mr Rhodes agrees forestry was “definitely” a dangerous operating environment if due practice wasn’t observed but not if good practice was followed. “If you follow the rules, then you can be perfectly safe,” he maintains.

The government, for its part, has resisted strident opposition and union calls for a government review of health and safety in New Zealand’s forests after 11 deaths in the past 13 months. (see sidebar) “I am pleased the forestry industry has taken ownership of the inquiry as enduring safety solutions in our forests cannot be made by government enforcement alone,” Labour Minister Simon Bridges says.

He admits the number of workplace deaths and injuries in forestry is “too high” and any action to reduce that toll deserves support. “I encourage the inquiry to report back swiftly so that government can seriously consider all recommendations as quickly as possible.”

Mr Bridges says he was “surprised” by operators’ low level of compliance.

“As a result, I have directed WorkSafe New Zealand to urgently review the Approved Code of Practice to clarify what is expected from forest owners, managers and operators under the law,” he adds.

“I believe the industry taking responsibility coupled with the government’s commitment to improve forestry safety will help lead to sustainable change.”

This explanation doesn’t cut much ice with Labour’s forestry spokesman Shane Jones, who says the review was a step in the right direction.

“We need to be honest about how dangerous the forestry sector is but that’s not an excuse for sloppiness or tolerating the current casualty rate,” he maintains.

But he believes Mr Bridges has “outsourced” this issue to the industry and was neglecting his duty. “One of the essential functions of the state is regulation and governing for public welfare, and that public welfare has to stretch through to industrial safety,” Mr Jones insists.

Thoughtful words that will undoubtedly be borne in mind by the review panel as it seeks to develop a more effective safety programme for this apparently dysfunctional industry – and hopefully stop the senseless slaughter on the slopes.

March - April 2014

17

Latest phase of forest safety starts WorkSafe New Zealand inspectors have begun a new round of visits to forestry contractors focusing on the second of the two most dangerous jobs in the industry – tree felling.

“Too many workers in our forests are being killed and injured as they cut the trees, and we have worked closely with the industry and worker representatives to develop Best Practice Guidelines for Safe Manual Tree Felling,” says Ona De Rooy, general manager Health and Safety Operations.

She says that these are really “No Excuses’ guidelines from the regulator’s perspective.

“The industry knows what it must do and it knows what our expectations are – there are no excuses any more.”

Do it right, or don’t do it all – that’s our message, Ms De Rooy adds. “There’s such a fine margin between safe and unsafe when you’re dealing with a 30-metre tree and not doing it right means a person’s life is in serious danger.”

WorkSafe New Zealand expects forest owners to be driving these guidelines throughout their contractor crews; the contractors to be driving them hard with every crew member; the men with the chainsaws to be absolutely clear on what they must do; and to blow the whistle on anyone trying to make them do anything outside the terms of the guidelines.

“If we have full compliance throughout the supply chain, we’ll reduce the death and injury toll in this industry, but it does require everyone to play their part,” Ms De Rooy adds.

WorkSafe New Zealand has completed its assessment round focusing on the other dangerous activity – hauling the cut logs to transport sits in the forest – and has discovered alarming levels of safety breaches.

“We have visited over 200 cable hauling operations and issued over 270 enforcement notices, including 23 prohibition notices which shut the operation down in the face of imminent danger to workers,” Ms De Rooy notes. “We’re finalising the figures from the remaining visits now and will be able to release that information shortly.”

She is “very hopeful” that WorkSafe New Zealand will not strike that level of noncompliance in the tree-felling programme. “But principals, contractors, crew bosses and workers can expect that if we find non-compliance, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action,” Ms De Rooy insists.

www.isn.co.nz

18

FOCUS – Forestry

Persistent political pressure The government is increasingly coming under fire for its seemingly laissez-faire attitude to forestry industry safety standards.

Both Labour and the Green Party have been hammering away at the Minister of Labour Simon Bridges, encapsulating the key arguments neatly and concisely as this January 30 excerpt from Hansard clearly illustrates.

Simon Bridges

Denise Roche

Te Ururoa Flavell

Andrew Little

Denise Roche (Green) to the Minister of Labour: Will he commit to regulating the hours of work in the forestry sector immediately, given there have been 11 worker deaths in the sector in the past 13 months; if not, why not?

Simon Bridges (Minister of Labour): No, I will not immediately, but I am not ruling out regulation in the future. The reason for that is that I do not want to pre-empt the industry-led inquiry that was announced yesterday. I am very pleased that the industry is taking ownership, as the enduring safety solutions that are needed require the industry front and centre.

Nothing is off limits to the inquiry,

and I am sure that hours of work will form part of their investigation. I have encouraged a speedy process so that I can consider the recommendations as soon as possible. In the meantime, I have also instructed WorkSafe New Zealand to review the approved code of practice for forestry in light of the low level of compliance it has seen in its visits to operators, and it will also continue its strong, proactive approach.

Denise Roche: Does he think that all workers in the forestry industry are getting adequate rest breaks and that their fatigue levels and other factors that contribute to injuries and deaths are being well

managed; if so, why?

Simon Bridges: Fatigue, of course, and its effect on workplace health and safety are complex issues.

Responding, I think, to this issue goes far beyond simple regulation of hours of work. The current duties of the Health and Safety in Employment Act already require employers to manage this hazard.

But, as I said, in the inquiry nothing is off limits. I have no doubt the inquiry will be looking at this and many other issues to do with forestry safety. I am eagerly awaiting its recommendations.

Te Ururoa Flavell: Accepting, as I am sure he does, the doctrine of ministerial responsibility for portfo-

lios, can the Minister explain why it is that the forestry industry, rather than the Government, will lead the inquiry into its own malpractices, and does he acknowledge that this sort of approach may not get to the heart of the issues around malpractice?

Simon Bridges: I think the best thing to do in that regard is to wait for the inquiry’s recommendations. I am sure we all hope – and I certainly believe – that the inquiry will get to the heart of it. But, as I said in the answer to the primary question, I think it is very important that the forestry industry for itself shows ownership here. That is how we will get an enduring solution. I

www.isn.co.nz

March - April 2014

MADE SPECIFICALLY FOR NEW ZEALAND

WORKING CONDITIONS

Bata Safety Footwear Range

BATA Company New Zealand Ltd 3 Bata Place, Owhiro Bay, Wellington, New Zealand.

Phone: 0800 658 068 Email: orders@batashoes.co.nz www.bataindustrials.com

For ISO; Quality endorsed company.

ISO 20345:2004, MOD Standards New Zealand.

For New Zealand Standards; AS/NZS 2210.3:2009, BMP 544006 ID No. 5010 Australian/New Zealand Standards.

20

think it is also worth appreciating that this Government is leading the most significant reform in health and safety generally in at least 20 years – $30 million more each year for inspectors, a complete legislation rewrite, and a much, much stronger enforcement approach than we have seen. All of this has

FOCUS – Forestry

far-reaching consequences for the forestry industry.

Denise Roche: Does he think that forest owners are playing their part to protect workers, given that half the logging operators visited last year by WorkSafe New Zealand were not complying with the industry code?

Simon Bridges: I think what is clearly implicit in the question is the answer, and that is that some owners are not. That is why, within a year and a month into its use, the Approved Code of Practice for Safety and Health in Forest Operations is being reviewed with some urgency, so that we go from

the forest floor and actually into owners’ boardrooms and they take their part of their responsibility in this. I repeat again what I have said. If you actually look at the legislation that I will be introducing very soon – on which there have been consultation drafts put out – we are, I think, for the first

Independent investigators stage six-month survey The Independent Forestry Safety Review was initiated by the Forest Industry Contractors Association because of its concerns that the frequency of serious injuries and fatalities in the forestry sector is unacceptably high.

The panel, which consists of (from left) businessman George Adams, health and safety lawyer Hazel Armstrong and safety expert Mike Cosman, met for the first time in February to begin to identify the factors that lead to injury and fatalities in the forestry sector.

The independent inquiry panel will seek to develop new rules that will cover all the various forestry industry ownership options by uncovering the underlying factors that result in workers being harmed.

It will look at workplace cultures, existing safety programmes and training, the activities of WorkSafe New Zealand and ACC, worker involvement and engagement, and the unique structure of the in-

www.isn.co.nz

dustry, with its reliance on contractors to do most harvesting.

The resulting package of practical measures would be expected to result in a significant reduction in the rate of serious injuries and fatalities in the forestry sector over the next five years.

March - April 2014

FOCUS – Forestry time making people in the boardroom front these issues and have responsibilities for these issues, as never before in this country.

Denise Roche: Does he think that the current Approved Code of Practice for Safety and Health in Forest Operations, which was written by the industry itself, with limited union or worker participation, is preventing injuries and deaths in the forestry sector; if so, why?

Simon Bridges: I think the code of practice is a good resource for forest workers and, indeed, owners. But, again, we know that since it has been in place, there have been a number – far too many – of deaths in this industry. As I say, that is why the code is being reviewed. I think you will see significant detail, particularly around owners’ responsibilities and their obligations to their workers. The member also mentions worker participation. I think it is worthwhile again noting that the legislation that will be introduced to this House will have worker participation provisions and obligations for owners like never before in the history of this country.

Andrew Little: Why has it taken until only yesterday before he has started a review of the approved code of practice for forestry when as recently as 19 November last

year, since which time there have been three more forestry deaths, he told this House that “the things that are the focus of that approved code of practice … are the big issues, and are what … [it] focuses squarely on.”, and he saw no need for change?

Simon Bridges: That, in fact, is the true position, in that it is tree-felling and breaking out, which are in a primary area that the code of practice deals with, where we do see the majority of deaths in the

21 Simon Bridges: We did not know it until the end of last year actually, Mr Little. And that is why there is a review going on and the code will have much added to it.

Denise Roche: Does he think that WorkSafe New Zealand providing a secretariat and a submission to the industry-led inquiry into forestry safety is the most his Government can do to stop injuries and deaths in the forestry sector?

Simon Bridges: Well, of course it is not the most that we are doing.

“We have got inspectors out there testing compliance with the code of practice every day. We have visited more than 2,000 players, and more are being seen. There are prosecutions ongoing, and I think more are coming.” – Simon Bridges forests. But, as I say, what we also know, and what we did not know until the end of last year, almost exactly a year after the code of practice came into being, is that some 50 percent of owners are not complying with their obligations at law in this country.

Andrew Little: But we knew that last year.

In the meantime, while the inquiry proceeds – and, I hope, with as much haste as it reasonably can while also wanting to do an excellent job – we have got inspectors out there testing compliance with the code of practice every day.

We have visited more than 2,000 players, and more are being seen.

There are prosecutions ongoing,

and I think more are coming. The chief executive and the chair of WorkSafe New Zealand and their workers are meeting in boardrooms of foresters around this country to make it very clear what their obligations are. There are many other things, indeed, that are going on in this industry. This is a Government that is waiting for an inquiry to produce its findings but in the meantime is taking urgent action.

Denise Roche: Why is he refusing to use his powers right now to make changes that will save lives and stop people being hurt in our forests?

Simon Bridges: I do not think that is a correct characterisation of what is happening. As I say, this Government is taking urgent actions now, and we should also, I think, understand that this is the Government that is implementing the biggest, most significant health and safety reforms, as I have said in earlier answers, in a generation – probably, actually, in several generations. So I think this Government is doing a lot in this area, but it is also important that the industry stands up and takes ownership, and it is good to see that happening with this inquiry.”

League legend leading loggers fighting fatigue Rugby league legend Graham Lowe has launched a pilot study that will use GPS units to try to cut forestry deaths by sounding an alert when workers are tired.

Lowe has formed Lowie Fatigue Management with business partner Rachel Lehen and taken the GPS monitoring vests used by professional athletes and remodelled them for forestry workers.

Staff employed by one of New Zealand’s biggest logging sub-contractors, HarvestPro, will trial the vests, delighting HarvestPro northern manager Roger Leaming. “Just to have some objective measure of fatigue is priceless,” he says. “At this point, I’ve got nothing, no means of judging how impaired someone is.”

Workers who manually attach fallen logs to lines to be towed out are among those most at risk, with studies suggesting their work rate was equivalent to running at least a half-marathon or 21 km every day. “Football players are measured for all that stuff, and we believe forestry workers deserve the same,” adds Mr Lowe.

ACC, WorkSafe New Zealand and the Council of Trade Unions are aware of the study, which could eventually lead to all crews

March - April 2014

Graham Lowe has taken the GPS monitoring vests used by professional athletes and remodelled them for forestry workers

wearing the vests being centrally monitored and told when they needed to rest.

www.isn.co.nz

22

FOCUS – Forestry

Law changes will challenge high-risk forestry sector The forestry sector is one of New Zealand’s highest risk occupational sectors and has an alarmingly high rate of health and safety accidents, including numerous fatalities. This has not gone unnoticed, but the government and successive workplace health and safety regulators have struggled to find solutions.

A Forestry Sector Action Plan operated from 2010 to 2013 - there is an Approved Code of Practice for Safety and Health in Forest Operations (last updated in December 2012), and the New Zealand Forest Owners Association has a committee promoting best practice in forestry operations.

Despite these steps, reducing the number of workplace accidents in the forestry sector has proved difficult.

The release of the government’s Working Safer reform package on 7 August 2013 committed WorkSafe New Zealand to an increased focus on high-risk sectors, including forestry.

This initiative has subsequently seen 164 site inspections undertaken between August 2013 and 1 February 2014. These inspections resulted in more than 200 enforcement actions including the forced closure of 14 operations assessed as presenting imminent danger of serious injury or death.

www.isn.co.nz

The government has recently announced that WorkSafe New Zealand will support an industry-led inquiry into forestry safety.

This inquiry will operate in a similar fashion to the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety, and will make recommendations that will hopefully be adopted and actioned by the government.

WorkSafe New Zealand is also urgently reviewing the Approved Code of Practice to reconsider what is expected from forest owners, managers and operators.

This flurry of activity is not only directed at reducing accidents and fatalities, but also at getting those operating in the forestry sector to perform at a level that meets their obligations under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.

This should be seen as a minimum compliance requirement for forestry businesses, as tougher standards will be introduced with the new Health and Safety at Work Act expected to be in force by mid-2015.

The Health and Safety at Work Act – will it really be that different?

The new Act will be a significant change, and require compliance action by everyone involved in forestry.

Of particular interest will be the responsibilities of the new, all-encompassing legal duty holder, changes to the ‘all practicable steps’ test, and the due diligence obligations imposed on company officers.

These changes will bring new challenges for all businesses in the forestry sector, both large and small. In many cases businesses are going to need to reassess their basic framework of operations in order to ensure compliance when the new legislation takes effect.

A new duty holder Under the new Act the primary duty holder will be a “person conducting a business or undertaking” (PCBU). A PCBU is a person con-

ducting a business alone or with others, whether for profit or gain or not. The ‘person’ may be a company or an individual.

People involved in a company as workers or officers (including directors) will not be PCBUs, but will have separate personal liability.

PCBUs will be required to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers they engage and workers whose activities in carrying out work are influenced or directed by them, including employees, contractors, subcontractors and others.

PCBUs will also owe a duty to other people who may be at risk from work carried out by the business or undertaking.

This will cover everyone involved in forestry operations.

A new legal test “All practicable steps” is out, “reasonably practicable” is in.

The new Act will require PCBUs to comply with their obligations “so far as is reasonably practicable”.

On the face of it, this test is not that different to the current requirements to take “all practicable steps”.

However, the way in which cost is assessed as a factor will be very different.

The new Act will not place cost on

March - April 2014

FOCUS – Forestry an even footing with other considerations when deciding what is “reasonably practicable”.

Instead, there will be a clear presumption in favour of safety ahead of cost unless it is “grossly disproportionate” to the risk.

This has the potential to hit small forestry businesses hard.

Consideration will need to be given to how limited funds can be expended to delivering health and safety in the workplace, and some tasks may not be able to be undertaken when risks cannot be mitigated.

With power comes great responsibility - officers’ due diligence Under the new Act, obligations will be imposed on “officers” and “directors”. It is impossible to say exactly who will be caught but it will include directors, people who make (or participate in making) decisions that affect at least a substantial part of a business and anyone who has the capacity to significantly affect the entity’s fi-

23

nancial standing.

The primary obligation on an officer will be to exercise “due diligence” to ensure that the PCBU complies with its duties and obligations.

Officers will need to understand health and safety in their business, including what is being done to comply with the PCBUs’ legal obligations. It will no longer be enough for officers to simply receive meeting minutes or reports from a health and safety committee or health and safety manager without doing more.

These new obligations will have a particular impact on larger forestry businesses where greater scope exists for disconnection between senior management and those physically completing the work. However, smaller forestry companies and owner-operated businesses will also be impacted as every officer of every company will need to be able to prove they have done due diligence.

An officer can be prosecuted if a PCBU breaches its obligations, whether or not the PCBU is also

prosecuted. Simultaneous PCBU and officer prosecution is likely to present significant financial challenges for smaller businesses faced with dealing with legal costs and sharply rising penalties.

Harmful or helpful – what will the new legislation mean for the forestry sector?

There is no doubt extending the duties and obligations of businesses working in forestry will pose a challenge for the sector, especially

as many are already struggling to meet current legal obligations. The hope is that this pressure will lead to safer outcomes and ensure more people get home safely every day.

All forestry businesses need to start preparing for the new regime now.

There will be no grace period for the industry to ease into its new responsibilities and, as a high-risk sector, increased and persistent enforcement action can be expected when anyone does not measure up.

By Grant Nicholson, partner, and Olivia Moller, solicitor, at Kensington Swan, which delivers legal advice across all areas including health and safety law.

Terrain was established in 1983 and has a strong reputation as the best one stop shop for all things forestry and safety.

Based in the central plateau and well known as an Industry leader in the supply and knowledge of industrial, forestry and safety supplies throughout New Zealand and Australasia. Purchased in 2006 by Mark and Lisa Aldridge, Terrain specialises in providing extensive ranges of wire rope, logging hardware, harvester chain, safety hi- vis clothing, personal protection safety equipment, and boasts the largest safety boot range in NZ. Work boot styles are forever evolving so the range is updated frequently to insure the selection offered is always up to date with current trends and standards.

The “Terrain Wire Rope Warehouse” situated on the same site, holds stocks of wire rope in excess of 100 tonne, to suit every forestry requirement. Offering a 24 hour, 7 days a week service to contractors both instore and in the bush Nationwide, to rig your hauler, meaning costly downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.

Order today, and your goods will be delivered the next day (allow 2 days for rural deliveries).

safety shop

forestry & rigging services

wire rope warehouse

Phone: +64 7 378 4754 | Email: info@terrainindustries.co.nz March - April 2014

www.isn.co.nz

24

FOCUS – Forestry

Commentary

Suggested safety strategies provide possible way forward Forestry had a terrible year last year – any death is one too many. The industry recognises that it needs to do better and appointing a taskforce to examine current issues, provide a fresh perspective and make recommendations for moving forward is a big step in the right direction – along with the wider safety legislation changes that are currently underway.

By Richard Gibson

The industry already has a safety strategy that includes a number of great initiatives that, over time, are likely to make significant improvements in safety performance and that work needs to continue.

It is obviously difficult to recommend any interventions before viewing the data and the final taskforce report, but there are some key elements that we think need to be captured in the strategy moving forward.

Understand the challenge People who have never worked in the bush often don’t realise how difficult and hazardous the work activities actually are. In most industries, many elements of the work environment are controlled and the controls eliminate or at least minimise many of the significant risks.

Machines have to be fully guarded and interlocked to prevent an operator accidentally coming into

www.isn.co.nz

contact with moving parts that can cause injury. However, forestry workers use a fast, rotating chainsaw with sharp cutting edges that has no guard and has to be manually manoeuvred – often in awkward positions.

Similarly, an object on the walkway in a manufacturing environment is regarded as poor housekeeping and would be moved. Yet trying to walk in forestry situations can be a difficult task, as the terrain is uneven, slippery, steep, trees and branches are everywhere, and jobs like breaking out often require workers to either pull a heavy strop/chain to wrap around logs and then move very quickly to get out of the way before the log gets dragged away by the hauler or skidder.

Many people simply do not have the physiological capacity to do the job.

Then there are the many error-enforcing conditions that increase likelihood of error. These can include noise, rain, wind, freezing or hot temperatures, physical fatigue, keeping pace, distractions, communication issues, unique situations, or impairment.

The above situation will have to change if the industry is to achieve zero serious injuries or deaths. It is not just a matter of education, attitude or following rules. We must reduce the actual risk exposure by eliminating a number of the significant hazards.

Safety intelligence strategy To make good decisions you need good information. This is frequently lacking with regards to safety, as highlighted by the taskforce, with ACC claims often providing the best data set. However, claims only capture injuries, are not timely

or very accurate, provide little insight into cause and miss the wider learning opportunities from high-potential-severity events.

Many years ago the forestry sector was one of the early leaders in establishing an industry Incident Reporting System. This system provided general insights into such key factors as the work activity involved, the operation and injury type.

However, significant improvements in information technology and safety processes mean we can now do so much more to provide real insight; not only the issues and causes but also in terms of level of compliance. This information is extremely valuable for both designing and evaluating interventions.

For example, when we talk about information, we are not referring to basic stats on injury numbers by body type, injury type, agency and mechanism. We are referring to an understanding of all the risks by work activity, area or process; the control measures that are currently in place, the current risk exposures and the agreed risk treatment plans at forest owner, operator and contractor levels.

The progress against these treatment or improvement plans could be tracked at all levels and the effectiveness evaluated by measuring changes in operating performance standards through online inspections and audits, and by monitoring the profile of incidents that do occur. This incident information could be collected in real time via smart phones, call centres or daily updates.

The industry should move to adopt a common causation model to enable causation coding methodology to be applied across the sector, and possibly use an industry shared

safety team resource to help with data quality and support high-potential investigations.

Very specific information could be collected around high-risk areas so a richer information base is gathered. This information would be a powerful tool for understanding which specific control measures failed and why they failed – identifying the underlying causes of incidents – as well as identifying emerging trends and providing all industry players with informative alerts. These alerts could be sent automatically every week via summary alert reports to all players in the industry, with the incident scenarios relevant to them.

Further information could be gathered from inspections and audits completed on a smartphone, which would help measure conformance against agreed control plans for critical risks. Training and competency records could also be captured on a national level to identify industry-critical risks, assess how well the industry is conforming with agreed controls and how players are tracking against their control plans, the incident profile against that risk, and how many people are deemed competent to manage that risk. Feedback on all this information could be provided directly to the people reporting it, along with using smartphone technology to deliver awareness training and procedures.

Once this information base was established, targeted interventions could be quickly implemented.

For example, there may be trends with the use of a particular piece of equipment or breach of a rule.

Analysis could highlight the underlying cause, whether it be design, maintenance, training or supervision, and this information could

March - April 2014

FOCUS – Forestry be quickly communicated to the sector.

These tools would also enable positive recognition to instantly highlight useful information such as who has reported the most hazards, incidents or near misses, who is completing their actions on time, or which contractor has shifted their risk profile the most. The great thing with information management is all the above can be done today and is already being implemented by Impac at client level – and it’s only going to improve.

Mechanisation strategy Ultimately, if we want a safe industry sector we need to eliminate the significant hazards or specific threats that are causing the issues.

Mechanising operations and using new technology will help eliminate a number of high-risk work activities and introduce new control options for other activities. Static delimbers have already removed the need for many chainsaw oper-

ators on a skid site, and harvesters can remove the need for a worker to be manually felling a tree. Proxy sensors could also be deployed to auto-alert the machinery operator and workers in areas where there is a risk of human-machinery contact.

There will obviously be numerous challenges to be overcome to fast-track mechanisation and this should be a key focus of forest owners, operators, contractors and the regulator.

Planning for mechanisation needs to start at the planting stage, such as where to plant, terrain, tree type, pruning and harvest size. The strategy would need to cover a broad range of issues, from financing the equipment to managing the new risks that mechanisation can introduce and up-skilling the workforce.

The regulator has a key role to play here, so in the longer term the regulators aren’t just looking at the person “holding the chainsaw” but have examined the forest owners and operators planning processes

25 to determine whether they could have eliminated the hazard or risk entirely.

Safety culture strategy The current Forest Owners strategy is lifting the bar in this area already and we hope that efforts in this area will grow. Part of the challenge is capturing all operators, including farm forestry or smaller woodlot owners, and not just those working in the larger commercial forests.

We would like still like to see a step change in the safety competencies required of people involved in the sector if they have influence over safety - including owners, operators and contractors.

There is so much good information now available on safety leadership, safety in design and planning, improving ergonomics, managing safety, and understanding human error.

Given the high-risk nature of the industry sector, many of these topics

should be required competencies in the same way that airline operators recognise the need for having competencies around understanding and managing human error.

Initiatives in this area can then be measured by industry safety culture surveys and also by measuring the activities that people undertake – whether it be safety talks or walks to how far people go in terms of “all practicable steps”.

A combination of these interventions, combined with plenty of commitment, should see a dramatic fall in forestry industry injury rates.

Richard Gibson is a director of Impac Services and heads the Safety Intelligence Division.

He first worked in the forest industry in 1993, where he was sponsored by the Logging Industry Research Organisation to examine attitudes towards safety as part of his Master’s degree thesis.

Sponsored article

Oliver Footwear adds toMORE their sucessful LOVE YOUR FEET all terrain 55 series s.

discOver mOre AT:

Oliver Footwear has again led the way in responding to workplace and customer needs with the release of a new Elastic Sided Boot that incorporates all the traditional Oliver features of superior comfort, durability and safety protection.

Designated the Oliver AT 55-222, the new boot gives Oliver the most comprehensive range of safety and industrial footwear choices across virtually all wearer and working environments in NZ and Australia.

The AT 55-222 is an Elastic Sided Boot that has a wheat coloured, water resistant, Nubuck leather upper with the added feature of a TECtuff® rubberised toe bumper to safeguard against premature wear caused by scuffing.

The comfort features of the boot begin from the sole, where a softer midsole and a high density hardwearing outsole, cushion the foot and help to reduce foot, leg and lower back fatigue.

Oliver Footwear’s unique COM-

March - April 2014

FORTcushion® uses a combination of cellular urethane and PORON1 to protect the heel and ball of the foot and with the NANOlite® foot bed, the AT 55-222 provides exceptional underfoot comfort, cushioning and support.

The gently raised surface of the NANOlite® foot bed also massages the foot when walking to promote greater blood flow and further reduce fatigue.

The dual density sole is heat resistant to 300°C of surface contact, resistant to mineral and organic oils and acids and also affords excellent slip resistance.

Like the other footwear styles in the Oliver AT 55 Range, the new AT 55-222 has a NATUREform® Type

Oliver Footwear has taken the humble Elastic Sided Boot to a new dimension with the AT55-222 bOOTs nOw a wheat release of the AT 55-222 combining AvAilAble AT: coloured, water resistant Nubuck leather upper with all the traditional Oliver features of comfort, durability and safety protection.

1 Steel Toe Cap with a wide profile shape to suit your foot and prevent contact between toes and the toe cap.

Heavy duty Kevlar stitching across all critical seams provides increased strength and adds to the durability of the AT 55-222.

The new boot also complies with the Australian and New Zealand Standards AS/NZS 2210.3:2009 and the International equivalents

EN ISO 20345:2011 and ASTM F2413-11.

The new Oliver AT 55 -222 is available in sizes 4 to 14 through all major safety supply retailers.

For more information contact your usual safety product and footwear supplier or Rhys Evans, sales manager - New Zealand rhys.evans@honeywell. com or 0274 811 664.

www.isn.co.nz

26

COMMENTARY – Accountability

Playing your part to safeguard safety Very soon everyone running a business, and possibly the business itself, is likely to be appointed a PCBU – a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking. This means being accountable for the health and safety of every person on your site – employees, contractors and presumably visitors.

To these increasingly complex responsibilities, you can add the duties of Hazardous Substances and New Organism (HSNO) Approved Handler and your HSNO Person in Charge role.

These diverse demands are part of the government’s impending implementation of almost all of the recommendations of the Pike River tragedy and workplace health and safety taskforce reports.

A major improvement long advocated by chemical suppliers will be incorporating the practical management of hazardous substances in workplaces into the new Health and Safety at Work Act, administered and enforced by WorkSafe New Zealand.

Better managing chemical products in our workplaces through HSNO has long been a contentious issue: separate legislation and fragmented enforcement was always inefficient.

Failing to ensure a comprehensive infrastructure was in place before launching New Zealand’s world-class HSNO legislation is largely responsible for widespread non-compliance.

Inadequate attempts to educate, facilitate and encourage compliance, particularly by the estimated 120,000 less well-resourced businesses captured by HSNO, helped ensure compliance has never exceeded 20 percent.

A clear division of responsibilities for safe chemical management education between the EPA, WorkSafe NZ, the Accident Compensation Corporation, the Ministry of Health and industry was therefore overdue.

However, regulators require the expertise of multinational and local chemical suppliers, together with the experience of distributors, retailers and waste disposal operators, to make the necessary changes.

Most of all, we need the views of those routinely using our products

www.isn.co.nz

if we are to ensure the chemical management component of the new Act is practical, affordable and reflects best industry practice.

Key Dates: • December 2013 – WorkSafe NZ replaced Labour Group MBIE • March/April 2014 – Issue of public discussion document about Health and Safety at Work regulations • July 2014 – WorkSafe NZ assumes oversight of HSNO test certification regime.

• April 2015 – Implement improvements to test certification regime.

Industry interest focuses on: • the introduction of the PCBU – perhaps at the expense of the widely accepted HSNO Person in Charge – together with the implications for Approved Handlers • the urgent need for an improved test certification regime • confirming the criteria for identifying a Major Hazard Facility (MHF) • identifying the capability to service the focus on Occupational Health • confirmation HSNO Group Standards and Approved Codes of Practice will be transferred intact • assessing the suitability of the model Australian legislation, particularly the supporting codes of practice • a proposed charge for workplace compliance inspections.

Ensuring business operators receive timely and accurate compliance advice is clearly critical to success, and the new WorkSafe NZ focus on enforcement highlights the need to provide businesses with free compliance advice.

Industry associations can play a

vital role.

Responsible Care NZ (RCNZ) is participating in key advisory groups, helping to develop the public discussion documents to canvas opinions about the new Act, supporting regulations and the proposed national performance standards.

But this process is effective only if you contribute your expertise.

We keep our members informed: discussion papers are publicised but SMEs in particular should not expect to be automatically advised.

Check the WorkSafe NZ website regularly for papers and the deadline for responses - www.business. govt.nz/worksafe.

Alternatively, register your email address with RCNZ to ensure you are notified of opportunities to contribute.

In short, this is a once-in-a-career opportunity to help New Zealand develop a pragmatic, cost-effective and efficient process to improve our sub-standard workplace health and safety performance, - including the safe management of chemicals.

The global chemical industry’s Responsible Care initiative requires no harm to people and our environment as a result of our products and operations. This is a worthy objective for every business, made more so by political pronouncements that increasingly highlight draconian punishments awaiting failure.

Barry Dyer says better managing chemical products in our workplaces through HSNO has long been a contentious issue So avail yourself of the chemical industry’s cost-effective ‘compliance tools’ to help you safely manage chemicals in your business and take this opportunity to share your expertise. Make no mistake - your country really does need you!

Barry Dyer is the chief executive of Responsible Care NZ. Members and partners are committed to superior safety, health and environmental performance, particularly the safe management of hazardous substances and dangerous goods, through the global chemical industry’s Responsible Care initiative. info@responsiblecarenz.com, 04 499 4311, www.responsiblecarenz.com

March - April 2014

ENVIRONMENT – Toxic waste

27

Toxic waste in the brave new world New Zealand lags well behind the European Union and the US in terms of standards and regulation when it comes to toxic waste. Toxic sites are prevalent across New Zealand and clean-ups can be ineffective or, on occasion, make matters worse. Even when remediation is deemed successful, it is very expensive, with the taxpayer taking the brunt of the expense, and sites are almost never returned to their original states.

Once dubbed New Zealand’s most contaminated site, the Tui Mine site on Mt Te Aroha was remediated and the major risks to community health and safety and environmental damage removed in a project which cost the government and ratepayers $21 million but cost the original mining company nothing at all New Zealand’s traditional approach to hazardous waste has been to dump it in an allegedly safe facility or to export it. This is not sustainable as eventually all liners leak, and this solution does not begin to address chemical contamination. Furthermore, special landfill pits, designed for hazardous waste, only take a small proportion of what’s generated.

New Zealand needs to catch up and own up to the hazards found in products such as food, cleaning products, clothing, furniture and building materials, and in waste such as sewage and landfill materials.

There is much we can do to reduce the quantity and toxicity of this waste and the risk to ourselves. What New Zealand needs is positive solutions for remediation of hazards and a fresh approach to preventing hazardous waste being generated in the first place.

Historical context From the 1950s, manufacturers started to produce the most persistent chemicals and hazardous waste which became a real prob-

March - April 2014

lem. Some of these were and are by-products from the production of new plastics and new pesticides. There was widespread use of DDT and dieldrin; 245T and 24D (which is still in use) were aerially sprayed over countryside and deadly substances such as poly chlorinated bi phenols (PCBs) were used in the new electrical fittings in homes.

PVC and other chlorinated chemicals became ubiquitous in homes and industries. The use of pentachlorophenol (PCP) as an anti-sapstain in timber treatment led to the poisoning of timber workers, who had no idea that PCP was contaminated with dioxin. Asbestos and creosote were popular building materials.

Lead-based paint was the norm and every farm had a toxic sheep dip. Most people did not know any better.

Slowly and painfully, the dangers of some of these hazardous materials became known.

However, some are still in use and this, plus the widespread use of others, has meant serious degradation to our soils and waterways.

The solutions to date have been primarily to

create landfills where areas are set aside for hazardous materials using lined pits, but these facilities only take a small proportion of the hazardous materials in our lives. The result of past and continuing use of toxic chemicals is the creation of contaminated sites across New Zealand.

There are many sites now recorded but not remediated and the dumping of hazardous materials in smaller quantities across forests and farms is creating unknown levels of risk.

There are risks in ordinary non-hazardous sections of landfills, where the toxic is mixed with the non-toxic and where collected leachate is sprayed onto the site. This management is unsustainable and will at some point reach saturation.

The tradition has been to ignore the issues.

New Zealand’s governments have tried to regulate and have signed up to international conventions, but in practice the country is lagging behind the best global standards and regulatory frameworks.

www.isn.co.nz

28

ENVIRONMENT – Toxic waste

By Catherine Delahunty – Green Party spokesperson for the environment (mining, toxics). “Hazardous waste regulations and enforcement need fundamental changes if New Zealand is not to become more toxic than pure.”

Cleaning Up At the moment, a large number of toxic sites are still creating a risk to people and the environment. Those that have been “cleaned” up are virtually never returned to their original state and issues of clean up, monitoring and management of these sites are controversial.

The easiest clean-up method for some sites is the cover up, known as “pave and wave”.

A concrete seal over land or landfill protects the immediate vicinity from the hazard; the land can then be sold off and used for human activity. The offsite effects of leachate are generally ignored. Current national standards for sites are based on future uses and are entirely site-specific and human health orientated. The wider environment and the offsite health effects are not considered to require a standard.

Sometimes remediation can even exacerbate the contamination. The worst example of this was the Mapua clean-up, whereby the United Fruit Company site was remediated using an engineering solution that created more contamination. The ball mill and the soil drying plant malfunctioned and released contaminated chemicals into the local residential area and workers experienced serious health impacts.

The estuary showed hot spots of contamination after the clean-up.

Although the whistle was blown on this project, precious state resources were wasted on a method that was unsafe.

There is far more potential from a pilot at Whakatane, where timber workers, the wananga and the universities worked together to trial a remediation of PCP waste with natural fungi. An 85 percent reduction in dioxin levels using these natural materials offers some hope for safe remediation of the many sites in that region and at a lower cost. But again, local residents are fearful that new contaminated sites and risks may be created if the regional council pursues a large-scale solution based on a small pilot and thinks it’s the silver bullet.

A major barrier to behaviour change is the fact that the financial burden of the environmental and health damage done by hazardous materials is not reflected in the price consumers pay for products, or in costs to the companies who create the problems in the first place.

Remediation remains controversial and challenging, but in places such as the Tui Mine on Mount Te Aroha the remediation has been endorsed by the mana whenua hapu of the mountain and an extremely dangerous tailings dam has been stabilised.

The old mine tunnels are treated with lime as acid mine drainage is an ongoing issue for local waterways. The Green Party supported this project, which cost the government and ratepayers $21 million but cost the original mining company nothing at all.

National register Another issue is the lack of public awareness around site locations. The Green Party is working with the government to improve accountability and transparency to the public about where hazardous materials and contaminated sites exist and what level of risk they

pose to people and the environment.

Towards the end of last year, the Green Party negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding with the Minister for the Environment, Amy Adams, to progress some of the issues associated with contaminated sites. Since then, we have been working on prioritising the national register of the most dangerous sites and engaging the regional councils with the issues around regional site registers and consistency of clean-up across the country.

We negotiated a change in how the national register sites were chosen, so that persistent and bio-accumulative chemical risk (that is the risk of building up a level of toxic chemicals over time such that chronic poisoning can occur) was given more weighting.

Every regional and district council has a list called a HAIL (Hazardous Activities and Industries List) register, but there is no standard structure and no national map. That is why the Green Party is working with the Government to get a national register for the worst sites and regional registers that are coherent, as the public is poorly served at the moment.

Emerging chemicals of concern Despite the banning of some of the first generation of hazardous substances, there has been no real change in our casual approach to the use of hazardous materials. A second generation of emerging contaminants and a growing body of science about the ability of even tiny amounts of some hazardous waste to affect our health should be a call to immediate action. The recently released World Health Organisation report on 800 endocrine-disrupting chemicals warns that many thousands

The Green Party is working with the Environment Minister to develop a national register of the worst toxic chemical sites

www.isn.co.nz

March - April 2014

ENVIRONMENT – Toxic waste Fungal Enzymes

29

Wood Chip pile

Add fungi+wood chips to PCP contaminated soil and Mix PCP contaminated soil

Fungal Enzymes

A pilot project at Whakatane to remediate PCP waste from the sawmill industry with natural fungi has shown an 85 percent reduction in dioxin levels of chemicals in daily use are yet to be studied for their effects on human health and the environment. It must be remembered that approximately 1000 new chemical products are invented annually and not all are subject to rigorous and precautionary tests based on the most advanced scientific evidence of potential hazards.

Role of the EPA The regulatory framework for hazardous materials is complex and difficult for lay people to engage with, let alone challenge. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) legislation

contains no explicit bias to protect the environment, rendering it a facilitator of development with an archaic risk-assessment model, which lags behind Europe and many US states such as California.

In terms of regulating chemicals the EPA says its approach is precautionary, but the Boards of Inquiry the EPA has presided over have not shown a precautionary approach to date.

There are many chemicals in daily use which have not been examined in terms of community and environmental health, and there are many products with risky chemicals in them on the supermarket shelves.

The precautionary principle should put the onus onto manufacturers to prove that the potentially toxic ingredients they are using are safe, rather than consumers or workers having to prove that they are dangerous. The current process is retrospective with the proof often being the terrible damage already done to the environment, health or both – damage that could have been prevented.

A proper life cycle analysis of all products is the future of managing hazardous substances.

New Zealand needs to copy the US Toxic Release Inventories, which require companies to report annually on how much of each chemical they are releasing into the environment.

Green engineering and chemistry Chemical research and engineering that seek to reduce and prevent pollution at source, by encouraging the design of products that do not generate hazardous waste, is the answer.

The only sustainable solution is to concentrate on stopping hazardous waste being generated in the first place and for a more robust “polluter pays” policy to be put in place.

It is tempting to believe that creating hazardous sections of landfills has solved the problem of disposal, but given the potential for a myriad of substances to interact and create synergistic and toxic effects in ordinary waste dumps, let alone our bodies, we need to take a more robust approach. This is not only possible, it’s vital. We cannot simply engineer more dumping spaces to address the hazards we have created. We need solutions driven by the fast-changing science of chemical risk and the core values of protecting the environment in order to protect ourselves.

EPA plays key role The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) provided the following response to Catherine Delahunty’s charge that they are more focused on development than environmental protection and do not operate an adequate risk-assessment model for hazardous substances.

“EPA’s strategic position is to enable streamlined and strengthened national environmental regulation that protects the environment while enabling economic progress and growth.

“Our overall role is to assist in the protection of New Zealand’s people and environment and we do this by facilitating objective and robust decision-making in accordance with requirements of the environmental Acts.

“In terms of regulating chemicals the EPA is responsible for part of the overall regime in New

March - April 2014

Zealand and for the management of hazardous waste under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act. “The purpose of this Act is to protect the environment, and the health and safety of people and communities.

“We achieve this by preventing or managing the adverse effects of hazardous substances and new organisms.

“Our approach is precautionary in managing adverse effects where there is scientific and

technical uncertainty about those effects.

“We fulfil NZ’s obligations under the Basel Convention and the OECD Decision on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste.

“The aim of these conventions is to stop the ‘dumping’ of hazardous waste in other countries without the facilities to dispose of it safely.”

www.isn.co.nz

30

TRANSPORT – Fleet safety

New ACC safety programme with cash benefits

Companies with fleets of five or more heavy goods service vehicles can apply to join ACC’s new Fleet Saver programme, which offers reduced motor vehicle levies as a reward for good road safety practices. Heavy goods service vehicles are essentially trucks, though some large vans may meet the qualifying criteria above 3500kg in weight when fully laden.

Trucks make up just six per cent of the total distance travelled on New Zealand roads, but they’re involved in 17 per cent of fatal crashes says ACC’s David Simpson

Fleet Saver aims to help foster a safety culture in the heavy road transport sector and make the roads safer for all users, by encouraging members to strive for ‘best practice’ safety standards.

ACC’s head of insurance products and injury prevention David Simpson says trucks are bigger and heavier than cars and therefore more likely to cause fatalities when they crash, as well as serious injuries that require lifelong support.

“Trucks make up just six per cent of the total distance travelled on New Zealand roads, but they’re involved in 17 per cent of fatal crashes,” Mr Simpson observes.

“The cost of ACC claims for injuries resulting from crashes involving trucks can be up to $80 million a year, or around 15 to 20 percent of

the total cost of all motor vehicle related injuries annually.”

He notes that the number of trucks on New Zealand roads is expected to increase significantly over the next 20 years. “Trucks are also expected to get longer and heavier,

fleet-specific standards.

“Depending on their performance in the audit, businesses will qualify for bronze, silver, or gold status,” Mr Simpson adds. “This will determine the level of levy reduction they receive, which could be as

“Ultimately, though, this is about making sure that your employees and other road users get home safely at the end of the day.” so the introduction of Fleet Saver is an important initiative to enhance safety and help reduce injuries.”

Businesses wanting to join Fleet Saver will be required to complete a self-assessment, and undergo a site audit that will assess performance against seven workplace and two

much as 40 percent, or $186, per vehicle.”

Mr Simpson says Fleet Saver can deliver many benefits in addition to reduced levies.

“The safe driving practices that Fleet Saver encourages can lead to reduced fuel savings and mainte-

Truckers avoid seat belts The latest WHO report “Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013” emphasised increased safety belt usage as one of the most crucial issues for improving traffic safety.

“In recent years belt usage has increased among European truck

www.isn.co.nz

drivers, but even so, fewer than half use the safety belt.

“And that’s despite the fact that both our own and other research has revealed that at least 50 percent of truck drivers who lost their lives in traffic accidents would have survived if they had been belted in.

Of all truck drivers involved in fatal accidents, only five percent were wearing their safety belts,” says Volvo’s Carl Johan Almqvist.

A recent survey conducted by Sweden’s NTF road safety organisation based on observations of more than 700 truck drivers and inter-

nance costs, and being known as a safe operator can be positive for a company’s brand,” he believes.

“Ultimately, though, this is about making sure that your employees and other road users get home safely at the end of the day.”

Companies that already belong to ACC’s Workplace Safety Management Practices (WSMP) programme – which offers tiered work levy discounts linked to documented workplace safety practices – can cross-credit some WSMP elements to Fleet Saver.

A reduced motor vehicle levy for goods service vehicles less than 3,500kg also came into effect in December. The levy falls from $383.02 to $355.59 for petrol driven vehicles, and from $467.08 to $355.59 for diesel driven vehicles.

Mr Simpson says this change reflects the lower risk associated with these vehicles, which include vans, utes and light trucks. “Owners of smaller goods services vehicles, who are often small business owners and tradespeople, will pay fairer levies and have more money in the pocket as a result of this change.”

Fleet Saver joins a suite of programmes ACC offers to employers, which encourage safety and reward demonstrated safety practices and procedures with levy reductions. www.acc.co.nz/fleetsaver

views with more than 200 of them between 2011 and 2013 confirms this picture.

Most said they used safety belts when driving a car, but only half did so behind the wheel of their truck.

Among the reasons given were that it is difficult, inconvenient or time-consuming to put on and take off the belt.

March - April 2014

TRANSPORT – Fleet safety

31

One might call Stretch Brake a kind of low-speed ESP

Truck safety on slippery winter roads

For trucks with trailers, slippery winter roads and downhill gradients represent a tough challenge for even the most skilled of drivers. There is always the risk of the rig becoming unstable and, in the worst-case scenario, starting to jack-knife.

To minimise the risk of this type of situation and potential accidents, Volvo Trucks has developed a system known as Stretch Brake that automatically retards the trailer and straightens up the rig on slippery downhill stretches.

About 15 percent of the 30,000 serious road accidents in Europe every year involve trucks, in a slightly declining trend. With effective brakes, stability systems and collision warning systems we are already Stretch Brake complements the rig’s electronic stability program (ESP). While ESP is at its most effective at higher speeds, Stretch Brake is only operational at speeds below 40 km/h. “One might call Stretch Brake a kind of low-speed ESP. As the rig approaches a downhill slope, the driver manually activates the system.

“When the driver then releases the accelerator, the brakes on the trailer are automatically applied in

March - April 2014

a pulsated mode all the way down the hill until the gradient levels out and speed can once again be increased,” says Mats Sabelstrom, brake specialist for the Volvo Trucks brand.

Stretch Brake was introduced in 2012 on Volvo FH trucks pulling drawbar trailers and in 2013 on Volvo FM trucks pulling drawbar trailers. In 2014 it will also become available for Volvo FH and FM semi-trailer rigs.

“Drivers who have tested Stretch Brake came away very impressed with the system. As we now also introduce the system on tractor-semitrailer rigs even more drivers will be able to negotiate difficult downhill gradients both more simply and safely,” Carl Johan Almqvist, traffic and product safety director for the Volvo Trucks brand.

According to the Volvo Trucks Accident Research Team, which specialises in studying traffic safety,

about 60 or so of the truck accidents that occurred in Sweden alone last year could have been avoided with Stretch Brake2.

http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=MNwJ7Acs_3Y

We will be able to negotiate difficult downhill gradients both more simply and safely, says Carl Johan Almqvist

www.isn.co.nz

32

TRANSPORT – Fleet safety

Water activation of cylinder bore surfaces With today’s quest for reduced CO2 emissions and fuel savings despite increasing power outputs, components for both spark ignition and diesel engines are becoming more complex and compact in design.

The EcoCBooster produces a pulsed water jet delivering a much higher kinetic energy

The innovative EcoCBooster forming part of the PulseBoreCenter provides a pressure reduction from 3000 to 600 bar in activating the cylinder bore surfaces of engine blocks

Thermal coatings are increasingly replacing grey cast iron cylinder liners in engine blocks. To optimise the adhesive pull strength of the coating, the aluminium cylinder bore surface is activated by roughening before the extremely thin (150 to 300 µm) and very hard metal layer is applied. This activating operation is increasingly carried out by high-pressure water jetting, mainly because this technology causes no wear and the roughened surface will not require cleaning afterwards.

High-pressure water jetting as employed in today’s activation processes uses pressures of at least 2500 bar. Apart from the substantial investment, this involves high operating costs, not least because of the very complex filtration required or, alternatively, due to the fresh water input in systems not having a closed water circuit.

The new EcoCBooster used in Durr Ecoclean’s PulseBoreCenter enables bore activation treatments to be carried out at no more than 600

www.isn.co.nz

bar. The secret behind this huge pressure decrease lies in the fact that this innovative process uses a pulsed water jet which boosts the kinetic energy by a factor of 5 to 10.

The results achieved with an EcoCBooster are equal to or better than those obtained by conventional

In their activated state the cylinder bore surfaces exhibit an optimum roughness for the thermal coating process

ticles to be firmly interlocked with surface. The EcoCBooster thus opens up new fields of application, such as the treatment of grey cast iron liners for truck engines, which had not been feasible before even with ultra-high pressure water jetting at 3000 bar.

The new process also scores high in

With this high-pressure pump, it is enough to remove particles down to 3-5 µm and the water is run in a closed circuit. processes using ultra-high pressures. This is confirmed by the industrial applications implemented to date. Adhesive pull strength levels have been found to exceed 60 MPa throughout, regardless of whether the metal coating is applied by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) or arc wire spraying (AWS).

The method allows even cast surfaces to be roughened to a degree that allows the molten metal par-

the cost efficiency department.

The purchase cost of a pump delivering 600 bar is substantially lower than that of a 3000 bar unit. At the same time, its filtration system can be of less complex design.

To minimise wear on an ultra-high pressure pump, it is necessary to remove solid particles down to 1 µm from the fluid by filtration. This means that even fresh water needs to be filtered. The EcoCBooster’s 600 bar pump is clearly less sensi-

tive. With this high-pressure pump, it is enough to remove particles down to 3-5 µm and the water is run in a closed circuit.

This has a significant effect on investment and operating costs.

Costs will be recovered more quickly due to the pump’s low power consumption.

It needs up to 50 percent less energy than a pump in the ultra-high pressure water jetting process.

The PulseBoreCenter consists of an application system with NC controller and booster units in addition to a supply module comprising the high-pressure pump plus the entire water supply and filtration equipment.

The system can process any engine block, from inline 2-cylinder to all V-engine units, including sophisticated W12 and W16 engine designs. manfred.hermanns@ecoclean. durr.com, www.durr-ecoclean.com

March - April 2014

TRANSPORT – Fleet safety

33

Driver behaviour and fleet efficiency

A new feature that enables fleet operators to identify drivers who compromise safety and lower fuel efficiency by their driving behaviour has been added to Navman Wireless’ OnlineAVL2 fleet tracking system.

Scoreboard Summary Report By Driver 10/21/2011/10/28/2011 Driver

Active days

Distance -km

Ignition duration

Total fuel used -litre

Economy litre/100km

CO2 lbs

Speeding events count

Speeding time score

Idling Time score

Over RPM events count

Over RPM time score

Harsh braking events count

Overall score

Average

6

1228.16

37:25:16

712.18

57.99

3611.19

84.09

77.5

100

77.68

78.37

76.1

88.86

DFN02741 DLNAE02404

2

1095

19:21:06

236.96

21.64

1201.55

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

DFN07168 DLNAE02404

5

827.5

35:03:30

852.61

103.03

4323.26

100

75

100

100

100

100

98.33

DFN14230 DLNAE02404

6

3520.1

45:36:08

504.92

14.34

2560.26

0

0

100

100

100

100

97.22

DFN15225 DLNAE02404

8

1401.4

50:0958

1024.29

73.09

5193.81

100

100

100

80

99.84

60

93.23

DFN14427 DLNAE02404

8

1023.1

46:24:49

983.61

96.14

4987.54

100

100

100

100

100

19.24

91.59

DFN05966 DLNAE02404

6

2141.5

33:26:11

464.97

21.71

2357.67

100

100

100

33.33

27.92

100

91.44

DFN06759 DLNAE02404

3

39.3

11:51:38

225.02

572.57

1140.99

100

100

100

66.67

20.86

100

87.85

DFN09253 DLNAE02404

7

329.3

29:25:38

369.67

112.26

1874.46

100

100

100

59.55

99.93

28.82

84.04

DFN08053 DLNAE02404

6

1213.6

62:13:06

1557.09

128.3

7895.43

40.91

0

100

100

100

100

73.4

DFN10361 DLNAE02404

7

690.8

40:40:41

902.63

130.66

4576.92

100

100

100

37.28

35.12

52.96

70.89

Below average

Average

Good

Very Good

OnlineAVL2’s Driver Scorecard uses metrics gathered from Navman Wireless GPS tracking units and integrated hardware installed in the vehicle to display behaviour such as speeding, excessive idling, harsh braking, high engine RPMs or other user-defined driving habits.

The Driver Scorecard reporting suite can present information that provides a more comprehensive overview of fleet activities when data from sensors detecting seatbelt use, braking or other driver related activities are integrated with the system’s GPS tracking units.

Four new reports and two new dashboard KPIs provide fleet managers with visibility into actual driver behaviour regardless of fleet size, helping them quickly pinpoint fleet-wide issues while also allowing them to drill down on individual drivers directly from the system’s Dynamic Dashboard.

The Driver Scorecard feature works on a daily 100 point scoring system with metrics in event count and duration: these are normalised against a standard distance and duration.

Each point lost is then deducted from the daily 100 point allocation and averaged across total dis-

March - April 2014

tance driven to produce a Driver’s Scorecard for that day, enabling ata-glance examination.

Reports and scorecards include a scorecard summary, detailed scorecard trip and progressive scorecard reports that instantly identify drivers’ areas for improvement, show the impact of their behaviour on fuel consumption, and permit drilldown to trip details when needed Individual driver report cards are produced – including personal scores as well as comparison of each driver against fleet averages that can be shared with the driver and used to improve behaviours with training in at-risk areas There are configurable driver score/ driver average score dashboard KPIs – which include the ability to choose the drivers and time period represented. This allows monitoring of “At Risk” drivers with intervention for urgent areas of concern such as speeding, harsh vehicle usage and excessive idling OnlineAVL2 also has new reports allowing managers to view fleet performance by both driver groups and vehicle types, thus helping fleet managers’ spot opportunities to reduce costs and optimise

operations.

The driver groups’ report allows fleet managers to classify their drivers by region, business unit, service type or any other category of their choice, and generate any driver scorecard report or driver-based dashboard KPI by driver group.

This enables managers to easily compare performance by driver group and use the information to improve driver behaviour by offering group based driving incentives.

OnlineAVL2 users now also have the ability to view fleet performance data by vehicle type to aid in usage and cost analysis.

A fleet tracking platform provides location, operations and performance data for both on-highway vehicles and construction and mining heavy equipment – all from a single interface.

The back-end OnlineAVL2 application is delivered under the Software-as-a-Service model with no major in-house software installation or maintenance required.

Other components include Qube 4 on-highway and ruggedised Qtanium 350 off-highway GPS tracking devices as well as in-vehicle M-Nav and MDT mobile messaging GPS

navigation devices.

Navman Wireless has also introduced a new Driver Licence and Certification Authorisation module that enables managers to identify non-authorised drivers using vehicles they don’t have a licence to operate, generating real-time alerts based on their licence credentials and the vehicle type being operated.

The latter module is complemented by a licence expiry report to the driver reporting suite, allowing safety managers and driver trainers complete visibility into driver compliance.

The new Driver’s Licence and Certification Expiry Report provides complete visibility across all licence and certifications on file including licence expiry dates, allowing for immediate scheduling of licence renewal and minimising costly operational downtime through non-compliant drivers.

The company’s technology currently monitors more than 200,000 vehicles owned by over 16,000 organizations on five continents. www.navmanwireless.com

www.isn.co.nz

34

PRODUCT INNOVATION

Magic matting

A high performance recycled plastic cribbing system engineered to provide optimum safety and durability when stabilising heavy loads is being introduced throughout Australasia and South-East Asia by the Cribbing and Matting Ltd. The lightweight, splinter-free,

non-absorbent and environmentally sustainable Dura Crib and Dura Stat ranges were developed to replace older, weaker, less predictable wood cribbing systems which need constant ongoing replacement involving consumption of a finite resource.

Offering a 50-year warranty against splitting, rotting, absorption, termites and mould, the Dura Crib and Dura Stat systems have been extensively proven under some of the world’s toughest safety regimes in the US. Applications include industries

such as construction and building, rescue and recovery, mining and resources, food processing and materials handling, industrial maintenance and safety, road and rail transport, ports and shipping.

Robotic talking head speaks out for respirator fit research A new robotic manikin headform or “talking head” has been developed for respirator fit research by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory.

Small

Medium

Large

Long narrow Short wide

NIOSH used the measurements of nearly 4000 individuals to create five digital headform sizes The talking head will greatly expand opportunities for research into respirator inward leakage, including ways in which respirator wearers may be exposed to various aerosol particles that could penetrate through the respirator or creep in through the sides while they work.

True to its name, the robotic talking head built by Hanson Robotics performs head movements as well as the lip and jaw movements of speech, in order to simulate the exercises a worker performs during a respirator fit test.

In fact, researchers have engineered a way for them to recite the “rainbow passage”, a poetic string of words describing prisms of light and a pot of gold that models all possible movements of the human

www.isn.co.nz

mouth.

This simulated speech allows researchers to test how well respirators fit to a face that moves and speaks, potentially affecting ultimate fit.

NIOSH used the measurements of 3,997 individuals, 1,013 of whom had their facial measurements taken with a laser scanner, in order to create five digital headform sizes “Over five million Americans are required to wear respirators in their workplace,” says NPPTL director Dr. Maryann D’Alessandro. “The talking head is an innovative scientific advance that offers transformational promise to better understanding respiratory protection and respirator fit for an increasingly diverse workforce.”

The talking head is covered in silicone elastomer artificial skin which offers several special characteristics that allow for it to mimic the skin on a human face: • the softness of the material compares well to that of human facial tissues, and elongates or stretches in a way similar to human skin • the material is porous and can be compressed in a similar manner as the fluid-filled cellular material of the human face, reproducing natural creases and folds • this artificial skin has specified tissue depths for different locations of the face, similar to the inner workings of the human face.

The robotic talking head can be beneficial for respirator fit evaluation research because it doesn’t require human subject review board clearance nor does it experience weight changes or fatigue, says NIOSH research team leader Ziqing Zhuang.

“The talking head will be used to research potential respirator leak-

age using biological aerosols such as the HIN1 influenza,” says Dr. Zhuang.

“Development of this robotic headform was needed for these types of studies because older type headforms, which usually had hard surfaces or were covered only with a thin skin of plastic or rubber, could not form a good respirator seal to the face.”

NIOSH will focus on using the talking head with certified N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) for the initial fit evaluation research. NIOSH-approved N95 respirators are commonly used in the healthcare industry to reduce exposure to respiratory pathogens like influenza.

Preliminary evaluation results from an early prototype of the headform show the usefulness of headforms with skin-like surfaces as a tool for gauging respirator fit among different FFR models. Research is ongoing to determine the correlation of N95 FFRs fit on the talking headform compared with how they fit on people.

March - April 2014

36

ENVIRONMENT – Drug testing

Testing times Record rates of workplace drug tests don’t tell the whole story and many employers may be breaking the law says workers’ advocate.

The number of workplace drug tests may have expanded dramatically in recent years but rates of use appear to be falling for many types of drug according to the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (CTU).

The New Zealand Drug Detection Agency (NZDDA) figures show a smaller percentage of workers who tested ‘non-negative’ for proscribed substances – 6.4 percent in 2012 versus seven percent in 2011, notes CTU general counsel Jeff Sissons.

“Detection rates for cannabis, opiates and alcohol have remained essentially constant over the past three years, while methamphetamines, benzodiapenes and cocaine have all seen significant drops,” he says. “What has expanded dramatically is the amount of testing.”

The NZDDA historically tested in 12 industries but they now test in 23, including several white-collar sectors, and overall test numbers have skyrocketed.

“As the largest testing agency, NZDDA figures are a reasonable indication of a general trend,” Mr Sissons believes.

He says drug testing involves balancing the duties of employers and

www.isn.co.nz

workers to create a safe workplace against fundamental human rights of workers to be able to refuse medical treatment, not to be subject to unreasonable search and seizure and not to be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

A 2013 EMA survey that found 45 percent of employers are breaking the law in the way in which they implement their drug testing policies.

“In several instances, employers have gotten carried away,” Mr Sissons says. “It would be great to see as strong a focus put on other workplace hazards such as stress, inadequate training, long hours and fatigue as they do on testing for drugs.”

The CTU concedes that some drug testing, particularly ‘reasonable cause’ and random testing in safety sensitive areas, may be appropriate where drug use poses a genuine health and safety risk.

“However, a testing regime should be focused on detection of impairment, and will always be more effective with proper worker buy-in and engagement,” Mr Sissons notes.

Appropriate testing methods are

also important - the CTU believes saliva analysis is increasingly the best method of drug testing and is more useful in assessing a person’s current state.

“The focus on ‘impairment’ limits the purview of drug and alcohol testing to a worker’s ability to do their job safely and is much more consistent with their privacy and human rights,” Mr Sissons adds.

Saliva testing also removes the “undignified and unreasonably intrusive” elements of urine testing – particularly for women and especially when the collectors are men. “We have received reports of testing being undertaken with inadequate basic facilities and concern for privacy.”

New Zealand would thus follow Australia, where oral fluid analysis is “far more prevalent” and has been backed by a 2012 decision that found the introduction of urinanalysis in preference to oral fluid analysis would be unjust and unreasonable.

Senior deputy president Hamberger noted in Endeavour Energy v Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal,

Saliva analysis is increasingly the best method of drug testing and is more useful in assessing a person’s current state, says Council of Trade Unions general counsel Jeff Sissons.

Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia that “the employer has a legitimate right (and indeed obligation) to try and eliminate the risk that employees might come to work impaired by drugs or alcohol such that they could pose a risk to health or safety. Beyond that the employer has no right to dictate what drugs or alcohol its employees take in their own time. Indeed, it would be unjust and unreasonable to do so.

“Not only is urine testing potentially less capable of identifying someone who is under the influence of cannabis, but it also has the disadvantage that it may show a positive result even though it is several days since a person has smoked the sub-

March - April 2014

ENVIRONMENT – Drug testing stance. This means that a person may be found to have breached the policy even though the actions were taken in their own time and in no way affect the capacity to do their job safely. In the circumstances where oral fluid testing - which does not have this disadvantage is readily available, I find that the introduction of urine testing by the applicant would be unjust and unreasonable. Accordingly I find that the system of drug testing that should be used by the applicant for on-site drug testing should be that involving oral fluids.”

The Endeavour Energy decision has already been judicially considered in New Zealand, with Judge Ford moved to note in Hayllar & Matene v The Goodtime Food Company Ltd that “the conclusions in Endeavour Energy perhaps demonstrate the scientific advances in testing procedures since the decisions of this Court in EPMU v Air New Zealand Ltd and Maritime Union of New Zealand v TLNZ Ltd.” “It is perhaps only a matter of time before these arguments come before a New Zealand court,” Mr Sissons suggests.

The Employment Court’s decisions in EPMU v Air New Zealand Ltd and Maritime Union of New Zealand v TLNZ Ltd remain the categorical statements regarding drug testing, making it clear that an employer must “consult appropriately and in good faith” with workers and their unions when formulating a drug and alcohol policy.

Pre-employment testing presents a difficult issue: potential employers are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability, and, as the court noted in EPMU v Air New Zealand, both alcoholism and drug dependency are disabilities.

“This puts prospective employers in a bind, as a positive drug test may be indicative of a disability but, as the court notes, in many cases will not,” Mr Sissons notes.

The legality of pre-employment testing has not yet been legally challenged and awaits a test case through the Human Rights Review Tribunal, Mr Sissons observes.

“For employers to comply with their obligations under the Human

March - April 2014

Rights Act 1993 and pre-employment testing should only be used where the worker is in a safety-sensitive occupation.”

He maintains that the Employment Court was definitive in EPMU v Air New Zealand that random drug testing is only permissible in safety-sensitive areas, and, Mr Sissons argues, it is difficult to see how this argument does not apply with equal force to pre-employment testing. “What constitutes safety sensitive needs to be determined by good faith consultation between all parties: the employer, the workers and their unions.”

The CTU would like to see New Zealand follow Canada, where pre-employment drug testing is only lawful if being drug-free constitutes a genuine occupational requirement.

There is, Mr Sissons concedes, “broad consensus” around the appropriateness of drug testing where an incident or set of circumstances indicate that a worker may be impaired by drugs or alcohol at work. “However, case law is very clear that the cause for drug testing must actually be reasonable, which includes post-incident testing, and an unreasonable cause will not be retrospectively validated by a positive drug test.”

Ultimately, the CTU believes that appropriate and lawful alcohol and drug testing is a useful tool to keep workplaces safe. “However, evidence suggests that many New Zealand employers are not testing appropriately or lawfully,” Mr Sissons says.

“Employers should engage fully with their workers and unions to design a fair and reasonable policy that minimises risk while respecting workers’ human rights.”

Lethal legislation The Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Act 2013 introduced benefit sanctions, including cancellation of benefit and repayment of the testing fee for beneficiaries who failed pre-employment drug tests.

These sanctions do not apply to beneficiaries who are addicted to alcohol or dependent on drugs,

37 leading to an ungainly compromise that may lead applicants to overstate their alcohol or drug use to avoid benefit sanction.

Results released under the Official Information Act show that of 8001** applicants referred by MSD to a position with mandatory pre-employment drug testing in the first 12 weeks of the new regime only 22 failed a test or refused to take one.

The CTU sees a new low in the drug testing debate in Louise Upston’s recent contribution to the member’s ballot, the Employment Relations (Safe and Healthy Workplaces) Amendment Bill that was developed by National MP and former managing director of drug-testing agency Methcon Mike Sabin in consultation with the EMA. The Bill proposes to expand the requirements of good faith to include an obligation on employees not to “reduce productivity” and to “submit to any testing, questioning or searches required by the employer” that are not inconsistent with the Act and to provide employers with all relevant information”.

It would also give employer the right to implement drug and alcohol policies without consultation, allowing them to : • drug test any worker for any reason the employer chooses • set out the levels at which a test would be considered positive • permit “the search of the employer’s property by the employer or its agent, including through the use of canines, including property used or occupied by an employee” • require a worker “to reveal and surrender any drugs or alcohol where the employer believes on reasonable grounds that the [worker] has such an item under their control or in their possession” • suspend without pay or instantly dismiss a worker who fails a drug test (at the employ-

er-determined level), refuses to take a test or refuses to reveal and surrender any drugs or alcohol” • allow employers to prohibit workers from taking prescription or pharmacy medicine if they have health and safety concerns that “can be supported by medical advice, commentary or medication warning (such as labelling on the medication) that shows it is more likely than not that the medication may have caused the employer to hold health and safety concerns”.

The Bill states that none of these powers can be held to be inconsistent with the duty of good faith, the test of justification for employer’s actions or the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 and the Human Rights Act 1993.

Mr Sissons reckons that the Bill has the dubious distinction of being the most draconian piece of New Zealand industrial legislation yet seen.

“That such a Bill was deemed fit for the ballot is remarkable given that it permits systematic and fundamental violations of workers’ human rights,” Mr Sissons concludes. ** Editor’s note: The MSD does not keep records of the number of applicants actually tested.

Many potential employers only test short listed applicants.

www.isn.co.nz

St John First Aid On average 200,000 people every year will require first aid in the work place. The most common injuries are caused by slips, trips and falls.

Be prepared to make a difference A loose cable or misplaced box causing a tumble may not seem that serious but realising these incidents account for 40% of accidents resulting in hospitalisation and 20% of accidental deaths you might start to think about these incidents a bit differently.

From a simple trip in the office, or slip on a greasy floor in a busy kitchen through to falling from heights on a construction site, the range of potential injuries is just as broad. It could be a simple sprained wrist as someone tries to break their fall or a fractured bone as part of a bad landing.

And if you start to consider falls from heights and landing on hard surfaces you could be dealing with multiple fractures, bleeding, dislocations, and head and spine injuries.

It takes just one day Knowing how to deal with these injuries quickly and effectively can be the difference in how well a patient recovers, and how long it takes. When you think it takes just one day to complete a St John First Aid Level One course, that one day could be a great investment. St John First Aid courses are regularly run across New Zealand, or we can run them at your premises.

We can also tailor workshops to ensure the training you get is relevant to the industry you work in.

Why choose St John?

St John is one of New Zealand’s leading first aid training providers, delivering courses nationwide. Our courses are informative, interactive and engaging. Plenty of practical scenarios prepare you to take control in common emergencies. Practical assessments for CPR and other essential skills prepare you for life-saving situations, and lead to NZQA unit standards on many courses.

90% of students attending a St John First Aid course felt the credibility and real-life experience of our tutors gave them the confidence they needed to respond in a medical emergency.

And of course, choosing a St John First Aid course supports ambulance and other essential St John services in your community.

Top things to do in a fall situation: Common injuries from a fall are fractures and dislocations.

These tips will help you effectively care for the patient until help arrives.

1. Control any bleeding by applying direct pressure around any exposed bones. Apply padding around, or above and below, the wound.

2. Call 111 for an ambulance.

3. Immobilise the injured part to reduce pain and risk of further injury, usually by supporting the injured part in a comfortable position.

4. Make the patient comfortable placing generous padding around the inured area, keep them warm and avoid and unnecessary movement.

You call us for help

Becoming a competent first aider is more than just getting a certificate. St John First Aid Training has the widest range of courses from First Aid Level 1, to Advanced Resuscitation. We provide Refresher courses, and comply with NZQA requirements, NZRC level 7, and we’re endorsed by the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. More importantly though, our convenient classes are held by experts with real field experience. Paramedics and event volunteers are our teachers because we know that maintaining first aid and resuscitation skills is more than an academic exercise, it can make the difference between life and death.

stjohn.org.nz/First-Aid

0800 FIRST AID

COLENSO0040A

Call us for training too