Archive for month: August, 2019

The construction industry, including shopfitting, employs more than 625,000 people across Australia, making it one of the biggest employers in the country – and the statistics surrounding the mental health of construction workers are staggering.

According to recent reports from MATES in Construction and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC):

• construction workers are more than twice as likely to suicide as other people in Australia
• construction workers are six times more likely to die by suicide than through a workplace accident
• apprentices in construction are two and a half times more likely to suicide than other young men their age
• 21 per cent of workers in the construction industry were shown to have had a mental health condition
• 9 per cent of construction workers have a condition affecting their mood, such as depression.

In a ‘she’ll be right’ male-dominated industry, it is becoming increasingly important for employers to understand and support their workers, and to consider that the people they employ are likely to have experienced mental illness at some point.

While the curtains are slowly lifting around mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, the benefits to both workers and employers are astounding. Not only does a mentally healthy workplace create a more engaged, robust and productive workforce, but research also shows that healthy workers are more productive, take fewer sick days, and are less at risk of injuries and return to work quicker than their less healthy counterparts. Research also shows that a well-planned wellbeing program can have a long-term return on investment of 1:5 or higher, and a reduction in workers’ compensation claims, reduced absenteeism, improved morale of workers and increased productivity.

Wellbeing programs can support better lifestyle choices around smoking, nutrition, harmful alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and obesity all risk factors for avoidable chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Additionally, poor mental health can either be a contributor to or the result of having a number of chronic diseases.

Workers can be supported to make healthier choices by providing education and ensuring physical environments, policies and organisational systems support a healthy lifestyle.

By investing and participating in workplace health programs, you can make your worksite a mentally healthy work environment… and it’s not that difficult!

Involve everyone – all workers can participate in activities that promote mental health.

Invest in health and wellbeing and see your bottom line improve – a well-designed workplace mental health and wellness program can return investment for small business, with reductions in leave and rises in productivity.

Take a holistic approach – adopt an integrated approach that looks at the big picture and how everything you do fits together to support mental health in your workplace.

Raise awareness of mental health at toolbox talks or informal chats, promote healthy ways of working and be seen to be doing the same.

So, where and how do you start taking action?

While all this sounds great, deciding where to start can be difficult. It can help to begin with small improvements and build from there. Consider starting with some simple activities, that everyone can try. Over time, develop a comprehensive mental health and wellbeing program and watch the benefits for your business grow.

You’ll find that some simple activities are a great place to start, like:

• circulate information such as fact sheets, e-newsletters, intranet or websites, online resources and posters that promote positive mental health.
• talk about mental health with your team regularly and consider using toolbox talks, webinars or podcasts like those from Safe Work Australia, Heads Up or Mates In Construction.
• build knowledge and skills to stay mentally fit with training, tools and resources that are supported by evidence – use eHealth apps, mindfulness and physical activity programs
• conduct a staff satisfaction survey to gather feedback on areas of concern and ideas about how to create a workplace that supports mental health.

 

To assist, WorkSafe Victoria has developed an online tool that can help businesses to take their first steps towards a positive, mentally healthy workplace.

The WorkWell Toolkit brings together resources and ideas that are tailormade to suit any business size, in any industry.

It’s as simple as taking a questionnaire about your business to get personalised advice, create an account to receive videos, templates and case studies that are relevant to you and your workers, and then track your progress online.

SafeWork NSW also has a Mental Health at Work website, with tools and resources that will support you to implement wellbeing strategies at any work site.

Begin by encouraging conversation, checking in with workers regularly and lead by example. The health of your team might depend upon it.

 

 

 

 

This information is provided by ASOFIA as general work health and safety information. ASOFIA does not make any representation or warranty about the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained here or in any links to additional sources. The information herein does not replace any statutory requirements under any relevant State and Territory legislation, and you should always check with your relevant jurisdiction. Links to other websites do not constitute an endorsement of material at those sites, or any associated organisation, product or service.

All PCBUs, in all states and territories, are required to notify their work health and safety regulator of certain ‘notifiable incidents’ when they occur at work, under work health and safety (WHS) legislation.

Work health and safety regulators are committed to preventing work-related deaths and injuries. Notifying the regulator of ‘notifiable incidents’ can help identify causes of incidents and prevent similar incidents at your workplace and other workplaces.

How do you know what is reportable and what isn’t?

A ‘notifiable incident’ arising out of the conduct of a business or undertaking at a workplace, is:

• the death of a person
• a ‘serious injury or illness’, or
• a ‘dangerous incident’

 

‘Notifiable incidents’ may relate to any person—whether an employee, contractor or member of the public.

A notifiable incident should be reported to the regulator immediately after you become aware it has happened; if the regulator asks—written notification within 48 hours of the request, and the incident site to be preserved until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise (subject to some exceptions).

Only the most serious health or safety incidents are notifiable, and only if they are work-related. They trigger requirements to preserve the incident site pending further direction from the regulator.

Examples include:

• A burn requiring intensive care or critical care which could require compression garment or a skin graft. It does not include a burn that merely requires washing the wound and applying a dressing.
• Amputation of a limb such as an arm or leg, body parts such as hand, foot or the tip of a finger, toe, nose or ear.
• Deep or extensive cuts that cause muscle, tendon, nerve or blood vessel damage or permanent impairment, deep puncture wounds, tears of wounds to the flesh or tissues—this may include stitching to prevent loss of blood and/or other treatment to prevent loss of bodily function and/or infection.
• An injury that results in or is likely to result in the loss of the eye or total or partial loss of vision, an injury that involves an object penetrating the eye (for example metal fragment, wood chip) or exposure of the eye to a substance which poses a risk of serious eye damage. It does not include eye exposure to a substance that merely causes irritation.

 

Some types of work-related dangerous incidents must be notified even if nobody is injured.
The regulator must be notified of any incident in relation to a workplace that exposes any person to a serious risk resulting from immediate or imminent exposure to:

• an uncontrolled escape, spillage or leakage of a substance
• an uncontrolled implosion, explosion or fire
• an uncontrolled escape of gas or steam
• an uncontrolled escape of a pressurised substance
• electric shock, including minor shocks resulting from direct contact with exposed live electrical parts (other than ‘extra low voltage’) including shock from capacitive discharge. Those that are not notifiable include shock due to static electricity, ‘extra low voltage’ shock (arising from electrical equipment less than or equal to 50V AC and less than or equal to 120V DC), defibrillators are used deliberately to shock a person for first aid or medical reasons
• the fall or release from a height of any plant, substance or thing
• the collapse, overturning, failure or malfunction of, or damage to, any plant that is required
  to be design or item registered under the Work Health and Safety Regulations, for example, a collapsing crane
• the collapse or partial collapse of a structure
• the collapse or failure of an excavation or of any shoring supporting an excavation
• the inrush of water, mud or gas in workings, in an underground excavation or tunnel, or

 

A dangerous incident includes both immediate serious risks to health or safety, and also a risk from immediate exposure to a substance which is likely to create a serious risk to health or safety in the future, for example, asbestos or hazardous chemicals.

Who is responsible for notifying?

Any PCBU from which the ‘notifiable incident’ arises must ensure the regulator is notified immediately after becoming aware it has happened.

Procedures should be put into place to ensure work health and safety incidents are promptly notified to the people responsible for responding to them, for example, a manager and then notified to the regulator if required.

How do I report a notifiable incident?

The notice must be given by the fastest possible means—which could be by telephone or in writing, for example by email or online (if available).

In general, a PCBU ‘becomes aware’ of a notifiable incident once any of their supervisors or managers become aware of the incident e.g. when a worker suffers a serious injury and reports it to their immediate supervisor, it is at this point that the PCBU is considered to be aware of the incident.

It is vital that an incident site is not disturbed until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise (whichever is earlier). The person with management or control of the workplace is responsible for preserving the incident site, so far as is reasonably practicable.

Any evidence that may assist an inspector to determine the cause of the incident must be preserved—including any plant, substance, structure or thing associated with the incident.

However, preserving an incident site does not prevent any action needed:

• to assist an injured person
• to remove a deceased person
• to make the site safe or to minimise the risk of a further notifiable incident, or
• to facilitate a police investigation.

Records of notifiable incidents must be kept for at least five years from the date of notification. Penalties apply for failing to do so.

It is also a legislated requirement that every PCBU must provide information for workers that outlines how they notify an injury and how they may make a workers compensation claim.

This information must include the name and address of the insurer and must always be available in the workplace. The poster contains steps for employees to follow after a work-related injury or illness and could include the name of the person who manages recovery at let workers know what to do and who to contact if they get injured at work.

The information can be displayed electronically such as on a company website or intranet or by using the ‘If you get injured at work poster’, available to download or print through your state or territory’s safety regulator.

NOTE: you should check with your state or territory’s safety regulator if you have any concerns about the information outlined above.

 

This information is provided by ASOFIA as general work health and safety information. ASOFIA does not make any representation or warranty about the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained here or in any links to additional sources. The information herein does not replace any statutory requirements under any relevant State and Territory legislation, and you should always check with your relevant jurisdiction. Links to other websites do not constitute an endorsement of material at those sites, or any associated organisation, product or service.