Thread: WorkSafe: hunting on farmland

Well, I don't actually own the land Maca, I do run the business though so the buck can and will stop with me, there was quite a bit of consultation between management and the owners of the propertys and at the end of the day we just decided it was easier that way, it certainly was not a set in concrete requirement but it seemed to make the suits from ACC/Worksafe/Farmsafe happy.

We are having all electrical appliances tagged soon also, the company doing it are set to make a killing! theres a whole new industry springing up around H&S! we provide accommodation also so are having the refrigerators, ovens, microwaves, rice cookers and anything else that belongs to the company tagged also to cover our ass

Originally Posted by Tahr

Yeah. I saw that and a few others. Pretty tough. But you were talking about jail and a ruined business and thats a big step up.

In the builder's case his insurance paid $45k of the reparation that was ordered. It pays to have insurance, although I think fines can't be insured against under the Act. Only costs and reparation orders I think.

Something else I think is that almost invariably when there is a prosecution its because of some pretty damn dumb behaviour, and not just WorkSafe being picky. A few dollars for rubbers on the ladder would have mitigated the risk for that builder. Despite the builder's instructions to not use the ladder, it was on the site, so was an accident waiting to happen.

I carry the same insurance, but it doesn't cover the fine, I think a death would see me wiped out, be it me fault or not, that means the business gone and 5 guys looking for other jobs to support their families, my approach would be more supportive. I had a customer bring in a liniser machine that had been deemed unsafe, work safe wanted a pedal switch on a lead attached to operate it, we said nope it's dangerous, has your foot captured and moving around with the piece your polishing you'd be off balance. We suggested an emergency stop on the machine. Guy asked me to ring the girl from work safe to discuss. She told me she wasn't an expert in this field but had seen the foot pedal on other machines, I told her my thoughts and she said if I signed a letter to her with my idea for her files it would be ok? She really had no idea but all the power, I cringe at these on the hoof decisions. Same as chuck covers, a dangerous addition to any lathe, and I've been working on a lathe since I was 13, but hey what do I know.

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Well, I don't actually own the land Maca, I do run the business though so the buck can and will stop with me, there was quite a bit of consultation between management and the owners of the propertys and at the end of the day we just decided it was easier that way, it certainly was not a set in concrete requirement but it seemed to make the suits from ACC/Worksafe/Farmsafe happy.

We are having all electrical appliances tagged soon also, the company doing it are set to make a killing! theres a whole new industry springing up around H&S! we provide accommodation also so are having the refrigerators, ovens, microwaves, rice cookers and anything else that belongs to the company tagged also to cover our ass

I'll come and do it for you if I can go shooting? Oh fuck that's a no!

Originally Posted by Tahr

Visitors and events on farms – Safer Farms

You mentioned FarmSafe Ryan. I was the external consultant to ACC on FarmSafe's design and development. I worked alongside a man named John Wallaart who led the ACC team. It was a great work period of my life, and I'm proud of what we created. If you live to be 67 you can pack a fair bit into a working life

@Tahr That's a name from the past, Johns a good guy, I did his flying training back in the day.

Originally Posted by outdoorlad

@Tahr That's a name from the past, Johns a good guy, I did his flying training back in the day.

Yeah, a nice man. I still see him from time to time. He recently completed a PhD in H&S. I think the research was into respiratory devices.
Whenever we flew together with Air NZ he was plotting courses and mucking around with his techo watch for the whole flight.

Originally Posted by Maca49

I don't want to be first, if I own a logging company, it would have been closed or sold the stress would kill me.
Test and tagging is a sample of the crap with H&S, builders every 3 months, engineering workshops every 3 or 6 mths, I have a couple of Engineering companies at a cost of over 3k every 3 months, including some repairs. This work can basically be done by an untrained idiot using a testing machine, a compedent person, whatever that is, or someone with a EST qualification but no practical experience! Testing single phase must be a challenge and three phase would be a nightmare for most. But on goes the tag and alls good, really, 3 k every three months for some unqualified guy or a nil practical experience guy to say alls safe? I have some very experienced guys working for me and at times it's still a struggle to sort some of this gear out. But there's the joke, it's all about paper work and money. Anyone doing this work should be suitably qualified with practical experience, or it's a rout!

Why don't you send a person on the course and buy a PAT machine? You'd have covered your cost easily within 6 mths.

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Originally Posted by Koshogi

Why don't you send a person on the course and buy a PAT machine? You'd have covered your cost easily within 6 mths.

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You've hit the nail on the head! What course? An hour with the guy that sells you the machine? I've got a registered electrician and a guy with 37 yrs repairing electric motors, power tools, pumps etc, can work with unlimited voltage. Now if they are have discussions on the best way to make a machine compliant, an hours course with some with a vested interest, you gonna know shit, except what the machine tells you. It makes a mockery of Electrical Compliance
Everybody testing should not only be qualified, but they should have practical hours built up as well, a little more than fitting a plug on a lead. I get companies doing their own compliance getting me to test their extension leads single and three phase, their 3 phase equipment, their RCDs, cause their test man doesn't know how? But he can test their plug in powertools? It's a bit of a joke to me!

Thank you all, Ryan in particular. I feel for you buddy. We're going to have an awful lot of goats and rabbits running around quite soon.

Indirectly through certain clients that my company contract to, Health and safety has become an all encompassing juggernaut that has more to do with ass covering than tenable gains in workplace safety.
Corporate safety officers and managers with no task experience, generally dreaming up bullshit policy that they feel keeps them safe from repercussion.
Try as they might, stupidity and risk cannot be completely legislated out of the work place. I find working on a heavily regulated site very sterile and the part of the workforce that thrives are generally yes men. Little flair for problem solving, imagination or drive and in my experience no safer than industry sectors which are less regulated.
Industry is set to tip in favour of the corporates as they love regulation and costs involved in compliance, it squashes small business as they can't readily absorb the cost.

Originally Posted by YosemiteSam

Thank you all, Ryan in particular. I feel for you buddy. We're going to have an awful lot of goats and rabbits running around quite soon.

That's another kettle of fish, the numbers are going to sky-rocket in some areas!

Originally Posted by YosemiteSam

Thank you all, Ryan in particular. I feel for you buddy. We're going to have an awful lot of goats and rabbits running around quite soon.

"
Already have, just had a garage signed off by a building inspector, asked him if he was a builder by trade, "O NO, have done a course at a technical institute."

Originally Posted by Maca49

I'll come and do it for you if I can go shooting? Oh fuck that's a no!

oh but @Maca49 to get on the property you would surely be "fully inducted' and then you would need to be stopping all those nasty possums and rabbits from chewing the power cables (you have just tested and tagged) thus preventing a hazard from occurring and then Ryan would be seen to be taking all practicable steps to prevent harm.

Originally Posted by Moutere

Indirectly through certain clients that my company contract to, Health and safety has become an all encompassing juggernaut that has more to do with ass covering than tenable gains in workplace safety.
Corporate safety officers and managers with no task experience, generally dreaming up bullshit policy that they feel keeps them safe from repercussion.
Try as they might, stupidity and risk cannot be completely legislated out of the work place. I find working on a heavily regulated site very sterile and the part of the workforce that thrives are generally yes men. Little flair for problem solving, imagination or drive and in my experience no safer than industry sectors which are less regulated.
Industry is set to tip in favour of the corporates as they love regulation and costs involved in compliance, it squashes small business as they can't readily absorb the cost.

My feelings, thoughts and experience exactly, the fun has gone from many workplaces, they have become like police states, very sad in many cases!

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If they're electricians, they wouldn't need to do the course.

It's a 1 day course, not a 1 hour course. I'm guessing you already know that though.

People complain that something costs too much. Yet they want people to not only be qualified and been deemed competent, but to have a minimum number of hours or years of experience. The more requirements you add, the higher the cost will be.

Experience doesn't equate competence.

Qualifications don't equate competence.

This thread is starting to sound like the entrenched moaning about change. Funnily enough, if the entrenched hadn't been so good at killing and injuring themselves and others, the HSWA wouldn't have been introduced.

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